An NPR article reports, "Jonah Lehrer, a once popular science writer, fabricated some quotes he attributed to Bob Dylan, then lying about it. Mike Daisey … lied about what he saw during his visits to Chinese factories that make Apple products."

An online herd passed swift and decisive judgment on these transgressors. They became victims of what journalist Jon Ronson calls a new form of public shaming, 21st century style. Ronson's new book, So You've Been Publically Shamed, explores our society's newfound glee in tearing others apart after they sin or fail. True, nobody is physically harmed (usually) in an Internet flogging, but the damage to one's reputation can be more severe, and enduring. But Ronson is more interested in what happens to us as the "shamers" of the "shamees." Ronson argues that shaming others "destroys souls, brutalizing everyone, the onlookers included."

Possible Preaching Angle:

Of course, you could have heard that from the One who said, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone."

Source:

Eric Weiner, “Jon Ronson Has Nothing To Be Ashamed Of, But What About The Rest Of Us?” NPR (4-1-25)