Doxing

{{internet}}
{{cquote|After their private data was released [by [[Russian]] operatives], American citizens who had given money to the [[Democratic Party]] were also exposed to harassment and threats. All of this mattered at the highest level of politics, since it affected one major political party and not [[Republican Party|the othe]]r. More fundamentally, it was a foretaste of what modern [[totalitarianism]] is like: no one can act in politics without fear, since anything done now can be revealed later, with personal consequences.|||Timothy Snyder<ref>''The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America'' by Timothy Snyder (2018) Tim Duggan Books. ISBN 0525574468.</ref>{{rp|232}}}}
'''Doxing''' ('''dropping docs''' or '''doc-dropping''', sometimes also spelled '''doxxing''') is the practice of revealing personally identifying information (such as names, addresses, places of employment, relatives, etc.) of people who use the [[Internet]], typically in a highly public manner as a call to arms against the target. One of the sad realities of the Internet is that there is an inexhaustible number of creeps and [[asshole]]s looking for targets to harass, typically of a specific [[politics|political opinion]], [[Religion|religious view]], [[social class]], [[race]], [[gender]],<ref>Amanda Hess, "[http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/women-arent-welcome-internet-72170/ The Next Civil Rights Issue: Why Women Aren’t Welcome on the Internet], Pacific Standard Magazine</ref> [[sexual orientation]], ''etc.'', ''etc.'' While commonly associated with malicious intent, especially towards aforementioned groups, it is very often seen as an act of "bringing justice" against people the doxxer and their self-righteous audience disagree with or perceive as being unjust.<ref>[http://countercurrentnews.com/2014/11/anonymous-launches-opdarrienhunt-demanding-justice-for-cosplaying-victim-of-police/ Anonymous Threatens to Doxx Police Officers in Response to Darrien Hunt's Death]</ref><ref>[http://www.wired.com/2012/10/truth-lies-doxxing-internet-vigilanteism/ ''Truth, Lies, and 'Doxxing'; The Real Moral of the Gawker/Reddit Story''], Wired.com</ref>

In the case of poorly done detective work or targets with common names, this can bring real pain to innocent people who aren't even related to the original situation.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/12/02/racists-getting-fired-exposes-weaknesses-of-internet-vigilantism-no-matter-how-well-intentioned/ ''‘Racists Getting Fired’ exposes weaknesses of Internet vigilantism, no matter how well-intentioned.''], Washington Post</ref><ref>[http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-people-the-internet-thinks-are-the-lizard-squad ''The People the Internet Thinks are the Lizard Squad''], Vice.com</ref> In cases such as that, where the doxed person ends up being somebody completely unrelated to the intended target or where the dox is otherwise a failure, the dox may be called a ''faildox''. While doxing can lead to simple [[trolling]], such as calling in pizza orders, prank calling, and sending in Mormon missionaries, in more malicious cases doxing is a prelude to [[SWATing]] or worse.

== Edge-case doxing ==
In the original definition, doxing requires hacking, or tricking someone into revealing information unwittingly. To a lesser degree, it also includes detective work piecing together information the target has revealed about themselves but which is obscure. It is also often considered doxing to widely publicize information the target has released themselves in the past, but which is for some reason currently not generally known or connected with a [[pseudonym]]. What constitutes doxing and what doesn't is currently hotly debated; often times along the lines of [[tribalism]] ([[RationalWiki|we]] don't dox, but the [[other]]s do!).

== Example ==
The perpetrator may look for something innocent as a profile picture of a social media link on a public account (YouTube, Reddit, etc.) and see if they can trace it back to something more identifiable, like a [[Facebook]] account.  After finding the person's name and city, they can use websites like PeopleFinders and Whitepages to find more info, including home address, telephone numbers, and date of birth.  If the person has legally changed their name, court records can be used to find former names.  If the person got a traffic ticket, the perpetrator can find out what kind of car they drive and/or the license plate number.  Finally, all the information is either published on a stalker forum or blog, or compiled into a list for mass distribution.

An example dox may look like this: ''ExampleAccount404's real name is Natalie Morgan Smith.  She was [[transgender|born as Alan Edward Smith]] on 32 Octember, 1989.  She works at No Fun Incorporated and went to school at the University of Education.  Her telephone number is 555-867-5309 and she lives on 123 Fake Street in Nowhere, California. Her daughter Taylor Smith goes to Tweeny Bopper Middle School in Nowhere, where she is on the track team. Taylor can by found on Instagram under name taylorbaby_555.''

Once the information is public, it can be used for evolution knows what.  The perpetrator may call the employer and cost the victim their job.  In more extreme cases, the information can be used for [[SWATing|prank-calling the police and sending authorities to raid the victim's house]].

== Avoiding doxing ==
*Set all personal social media accounts ([[Facebook]], [[Twitter]], [[Instagram]], etc.) to "private" or "friends only".  
*If possible, at least for public accounts, consider using a [[pseudonym]] instead of your legal or common name. 
*If you must use your real name, don't include your middle name.
*Never publicly give out your location, not even your city. Set your city to "friends only". If they have your name and city, they can find your address using Whitepages.
*Since profile pictures are typically public, exercise caution. Unless it's for a professional profile, use a drawing or edit your photo so you aren't recognizable by reverse image search. Snapchat filters are perfect for this. Also, never use the same profile picture for two sites.
*Consider never posting a picture of yourself on [[Reddit]] or any public forum. This is the safest approach. If you really want to, never use that picture elsewhere. Take it specifically for Reddit and use an odd angle, avoiding any kind of recognizable backgrounds (that you might find for your house on Zillow... it's common for doxxers to cross-reference one's address that way). 
*Never give out any personal social media links on public forums. Keep your public accounts and personal accounts separate.
*Only use your birthday if you have to. Fake it if you suspect you'll never have to verify it. Set it to private or friends only. 
*Take caution when uploading videos to [[YouTube]] – sometimes, it's better to be safe than to be famous. 
*Never accept a friend or follow request from someone you don't know.

A lot of these used to be considered common sense – "share personal information at your own risk" – and no one would have dreamed of a "Web 2.0" world where people openly share these personal details with strangers on social media.

==See also==
{{collist|2|
*[[8chan]]
*[[Anonymous]]
*[[Coal Fax]]
*[[Closet]]
*[[Encyclopædia Dramatica]]
*[[Gamergate]]
*[[Internet crime]]
*[[Kiwi Farms]]
*[[Larpercore]]
*[[Unite the Right]] — the wrong perpetrator was (intentionally) named by [[4chan]]
}}

==External links==
* [http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Who_is_harmed_by_a_%22Real_Names%22_policy%3F Who is harmed by a "Real Names" policy?] These are all security issues arising from merely revealing a target's name.
* [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/jessi-slaughter Jessi Slaughter], an infamous case of doc-dropping widely reported in the news.
* [http://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromRetail/ Reddit's ''Tales from Retail''] was recently featured in a case of dox-dropping, when a disgruntled waitress posted the personal information of a supposedly homophobic customer on Reddit. The customer sued, and the waitress was fired, reminding everyone that dox-dropping can also result in a backlash for the person that dropped the dox.
* [http://www.onthemedia.org/story/racists-getting-fired-and-desire-do-something-about-ferguson/ "Racists Getting Fired" and the Desire to Do Something about Ferguson], an article by OnTheMedia discussing a new [[Tumblr]] blog devoted to doxxing and reporting racist behavior on social media to employers.
* [http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/10/07/turning-over-a-rock-and-exposing-slime-to-the-light/ "Turning over a rock and exposing slime to the light"] by [[PZ Myers]]
* [http://skepchick.org/2014/10/the-top-10-reasons-to-ban-me-from-bay-area-science-festival/ "The Top 10 Reasons to Ban Me from Bay Area Science Festival"] and [http://skepchick.org/2014/12/why-im-okay-with-doxing/ "Why I’m Okay with Doxing"] by [[Rebecca Watson]], in reference to the above

==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}

[[Category:Crime]]
[[Category:Doxers| ]]
[[Category:Internet culture]]
[[Category:Neologisms]]

Categories: Crime, Doxers, Internet culture, Neologisms