The email was brief and to the point. ‘Has anyone ever told you that you’ve got a face like the Churchill dog?’ asked the author, contacting me after I’d written about losing weight.
Then there was the time, after revealing my online dating adventures, that a charming gent wrote a letter to tell me ‘You look like an overstuffed sofa, no wonder you’re single.’
A bit mean, but I was fair game. I’d chosen to put aspects of my life into the public domain, and that comes at a price. I expected – and received – criticism. Some of which, like the above comments, went too far.
Given my personal experience of trolling, you might expect that the news Sebastian Bond, now unmasked as the man behind Tattle Life – a gossip forum regularly described as ‘toxic’ and ‘a paradise for trolls’ – has been successfully sued for defamation, would bring a smile to my face. That I’d join the ranks of influencers performing victory dances as they predict the court case spells the beginning of Tattle’s demise.
Not so. Because – confession time – I love Tattle, am a member and will be bereft if it disappears. I’ll even go so far as to say that I think it delivers a valuable public service.
I first joined during lockdown and mostly contributed to threads recommending books, TV shows and recipes. Despite its reputation as an evil witches’ coven, there’s also a great deal of nice and helpful stuff.
But, of course, there’s plenty of sharp-tongued (and often very funny) criticism of those in the public eye too. Along with Tattle’s 12 million other monthly users, I also lap up the juicy gossip and wicked take downs.
Thanks to Tattle I’m now wise to the grifting of certain influencers and bloggers with a history of launching fundraisers for projects that never materialise. And the ones charging followers for membership to online platforms and clubs and then failing to deliver the goods.
I love Tattle, am a member and will be bereft if it disappears, writes Claudia Connell
Sebastian Bond has been unmasked as the man behind Tattle Life – a gossip forum regularly described as ‘toxic’ and ‘a paradise for trolls’
I agree with the site’s view that if you turn your personal life into a business and then monetise it in the public domain, you have to expect a certain amount of pushback.
I love the fact that Tattle is quick to point out when certain people fail to declare that the product they are #ohmygodobsessed with on Instagram is actually a paid endorsement. Frankly, if your business model requires you to post everything from what you eat and wear, to what skincare you use and where you go on holiday, then – good or bad – people are going to have an opinion. And if you’re a beauty, health or fashion influencer, isn’t it reasonable to expect people to comment on how you look?
In an ideal world nobody should be unnecessarily cruel and, of course, nobody should make false accusations. I’m appalled by so-called ‘doxxing’, where information such as home addresses and medical information is published.
But, equally, when people cash in on their private lives it’s unreasonable to cry ‘foul’ when they come under scrutiny.
So many social media users want to be able to post what they like, state their unproven claims and then sit back and bask in the admiration of their diehard followers.
We live in the age of the hashtag, and the #bekind one has, ironically, become one of the most damaging. What started as a call to consider the feelings of others turned into a threat directed at anyone who spoke out: stay quiet or we’ll accuse you of bullying.
As a result, for years social media was the wild west of the internet until, in 2018, Tattle strode into town and held influencers to account.
Some of the Tattle exposés of key influencers have been positively forensic. Members have access to the site’s own version of Wikipedia, listing meticulously researched details about some of our best-known celebrities and influencers, pointing out their hypocrisies, false narratives and attempts to mislead.
Tattle didn’t become hugely popular by accident, it boomed because we all love salacious gossip, especially when it involves the rich and famous. Look how gripped the world was by the Wagatha Christie case. Two footballers’ wives at war over fake Instagram posts? Delicious!
What about people watching reality shows such as Love Island? Are they tuning in for the romance or because they want to join in the WhatsApp group bitching about all the boob jobs, Turkey teeth and duck lips?
Ok, it may not be kind or sisterly, but it’s human nature and it’s been going on for millennia. The digital age didn’t invent gossiping and mocking, it just took it from over the garden fence to behind a screen. And if you’re an influencer who has become rich thanks to the internet, then it’s probably time you grew a thicker skin.
For me Tattle is a fun, light-hearted distraction – everything an online forum should be. If we do end up saying ta-ta to Tattle, it will leave a big, gossip-shaped hole in the lives of users like me and the millions of lurkers who secretly read but don’t post.
As for affronted influencers: don’t want your life, photos, claims and work combed through? There’s an easy solution: don’t put it out there.
