WhatsApp and Lashon Hara

If I write a WhatsApp message that might be Lashon Harah, is it the same as speaking Lashon Harah?

Thank you for your question.

As we know, it is forbidden to speak Lashon Harah, and the Chafetz Chaim writes that it is not only one specific aveirah (transgression); rather, it could add up to many aveirot. For example, speaking against a Talmid Chacham, or in a case were the lashon harah will ruin someone's business. We see that one "little" gossip could accumulate many biblical transgressions.

So now we need to consider what Issurim one transgresses when one posts something on WhatsApp and at what point is one transgressing the Issur; is it at the time of writing or at the time it is being read?

Lashon Hora:

The Chafets chaim

חפץ חיים לשון הרע כלל א

איסור זה של לשון הרע הוא בין אם הוא מספר עליו בפיו ממש או שהוא כותב עליו דבר זה במכתבו .

Chofetz Chaim Laws of Lashon Hara, Klall 1:
This prohibition of lashon hara can apply either if it is spoken explicitly or if it is written in a letter.

We see that writing Lashon Harah has the same stringency as it being said. The Shut Marsham (volume 7 siman 92) writes in the name of the Teshuvat HaRemah (siman 11) that writing Lashon Harah is even more serious since written words carry more weight than spoken words and are more readily believed.

The question is at what point is the issur being transgressed? Is it when one writes lashon hara or when it is read? The Nesivot Chaim (Seif Katan 10) explains that since no one is listening or reading the lashon hara when it is being written, it is not yet considered as having done an issur of Lashon Harah. It is only when the person receiving the post reads it, that the issur is of Lashon Harah is being transgressed

Lifney iver lo siten michshol:

Rabbi Michel Yehudah Rabinovitch, author of Afikey Yam, who lived around the 1920s leading up to the Second World War, writes about Lashon Harah written in newspapers, and adds an important point:

אפיקי ים חלק ב פניני ים

בלשון הרע אחת יוכל לעבור על כמה מאות אלפים לאוין, כגון אלה שחץ שחוט לשונם ועט סופר מהיר, ומלשינים על אדם במכתבי העתים, ונקראים ע"י מאות אלפים איש, ועל כל אחד שמקבל הלשון הרע [כי ישנם הרבה, בעוה"ר, שמאמינים במ"ע וחושבים שאחרי' אין להרהר ואין לחשוב] עובר על לאו דלפני עור:

With just one instance of lashon hara, one could transgress several hundred thousand prohibitions, for example, those whose tongue is a sharp arrow and their pen is a swift scribe, who inform on people in the newspapers and are read by hundreds of thousands of people, and for every person who accepts the lashon hara (since there are many in the diaspora who believe in these words), the author transgresses the prohibition of placing a stumbling block before the blind.

I would like to explain what he means:

The Chafetz Chaim writes that when a person speaks Lashon Harah to another person, and then someone else joins the conversation, one could argue that they weren't speaking to him and are not responsible for what he overhears. However, the Chafetz Chaim explains that since one is speaking Lashon Harah, they are enabling others to listen in and therefore causing them a "stumbling block" with which they will transgress the prohibition of Lashon Harah.

Same too, writes the Afikey Yam when one writes Lashon Harah in a newspaper, one creates a stumbling block with which one will read the article and transgress the prohibition of Lashon Harah.

Even if one were to argue that the prohibition of Lashon Harah applies only when one believes the story, and not everyone believes what is written in the newspaper, the Chafetz Chaim Lashon Horah klal 6 seif katan 2) writes that even if one will not believe the Lashon Harah, one may only listen in cases where they think it will prevent a loss; in any other case, it is forbidden.

So we see that for each person who reads the article, the author will transgress the biblical prohibition of ‘lifney iver lo titen michshol’.

Similarly, with WhatsApp, every person who reads a post containing Lashon Harah not only transgresses the prohibition of Lashon Harah but also the one who posted it will have transgressed the prohibition of ‘lifney iver lo titen michshol’.

Onoat Devarim.

ויקרא פרק כה, יז

(יז) וְלֹא תוֹנוּ אִישׁ אֶת עֲמִיתוֹ וְיָרֵאתָ מֵאֱלֹהֶיךָ כִּי אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם:

Leviticus 25:17:

"And you shall not wrong one another, and you shall fear your G-d, for I am Hashem your G-d

This is brought to Le’halacha in Choshen Mishpat 226:1, that one may not say things which could hurt the feelings of another Jew. This applies even when one writes something that could hurt another person's feelings. Thus, we see how much care one must take not to hurt other people's feelings and the seriousness of the matter.

Conclusion:

We should remember, as David HaMelech writes, that life and death are in the power of the tongue. Just as we explained that negative speech can cause destruction, we should also realize and appreciate how positive speech can give life, a compliment and a smile can really encourage another person.

Wishing you much success.

Chofetz Chaim, Hilchot Lashon Hara, Klall 1

Shut Marsham, Volume 7, Siman 92

Nesivot Chaim, Seif Katan 10

 Afikey Yam, Vol.2

Leviticus Chapter25 Passuk 17

Choshen Mishpat Siman 226 Seif 1