TheDirty.com Removal: Your Best Options in 2021
The digital world has made the sharing of information incredibly easy – including the spread of gossip. At some point in your life, you may have imbibed in some “hot goss,” or even shared some yourself. Sometimes, it is harmless. Other times, it can be the complete ruin of another’s reputation.
If you’ve looked yourself up online and found that you are a topic of discussion on TheDirty.com, it can feel devastating. Know that you are not alone and help is available. Schedule a pressure-free consultation today or give our experts a call: 646-863-8282.
In the meantime, we’ve broken down what TheDirty is, the legality of the site, how to find out who posted information about you, and how to get that information removed.
What is TheDirty.com?
You may be familiar with Page 6 of the New York Post and other gossip columns, but do you know of TheDirty.com? Also known as TheDirty, it is a self-proclaimed “world’s most popular” tabloid and gossip website. Its intent is to reveal “the dirt” on people in society, regardless if they are traditionally famous or not.
Created in 2007 by Nik Richie (aka Hooman Karamian), the site started as a space to chronicle the nightlife of the popular kids in Scottsdale, Arizona. It has since evolved into a space where individuals from all over the globe can vent their frustrations and gossip about those who they feel have wronged them in some way.
TheDirty and its Army
Those that publish content to this site have been dubbed “The Dirty Army,” and nearly 200,000 of them frequent the site every month. Users here can make posts about their cheating spouses, abusers (of all sorts), celebrity drama, and so much more. They even have the ability to include images and videos if they want.
Content categories vary and break down into politics, tech, industry, social, fashion, and sports. One can even search by the city if they choose. This makes it easier to get the scoop on individuals in one’s hometown or area they are visiting. TheDirty Austin, Sacramento, Reno, San Antonio, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Tucson, Wichita, San Antonio, Houston, Chicago, and San Diego are some of the more popular locations users scour.
Whether the author posts publicly or anonymously, the unlucky individuals that are the topic of conversation are often the target of hurtful comments and remarks (factual or not). Many times, there is more than one post about an individual. This usually results in a tarnished online reputation.
If you find yourself the subject of TheDirty, we are here to help. Give our experts a call today: 646-863-8282.
Are TheDirty & other gossip websites legal?
In short – yes.
TheDirty is a public forum and protected by the Communications Decency Act or CDA. The platform is available for users, not TheDirty employees, to create content and exercise their right of free speech under the First Amendment. These users are third parties, therefore, TheDirty is not responsible for the statement, opinions, and content published by its users. We see this on sites like Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, and other user-generated platforms in the digital realm.
Opinions are protected speech. If a statement can be proven false, only then can it be a defamatory statement. Calling someone an inappropriate name on sites like TheDirty.com may appear as a lie. However, it’s not something that can be proven as true or false in the eyes of the law. If someone were to state another person has a sexually transmitted disease, for example, and they in fact do not, that statement could be defamatory because it can be backed up with a medical record.
How can I find out who posted me to TheDirty?
While TheDirty.com will collect information to submit a post (such as name, email address, or phone number), they do not have to provide that information to someone that has become a victim of a post from the site.
To find out who published information about you on TheDirty, it will require you to take legal action and receive a court order for removal. Since many publishers are anonymous, you would sue “John Doe,” and subpoena his or her ISP (internet service provider) to glean their identity. This usually comes in the form of a full name and legal address.
Now that you have successfully uncovered the culprit, you can proceed with legal action against the individual. Once you win the case, you can then provide TheDirty with the legal decision and ask them to remove the post.
It is important to note that you would be suing the individual that published the content, not TheDirty. As mentioned above, TheDirty.com is protected by the CDA and is not liable for unlawful or illegal content provided by a third party (the user that published the post). Because of this, if you choose to sue TheDirty separately, you will likely be unsuccessful.
How to remove posts from TheDirty.com
TheDirty removal is absolutely possible. The most important thing you can do right off the bat is to resist contacting anyone at TheDirty directly. Doing so will usually result in being blacklisted, which creates more challenges down the line in getting posts removed. There are a few other items that can affect removal, but we’ll get into that a little later.
Take some time to review TheDirty’s legal FAQ page if you haven’t done so already. They are very serious in their stance of not accepting payment for removal. More often than not, a court order is necessary to remove the content.
There are a few instances that violate the site’s policy guidelines and do not require a court order. This includes child porn, revenge porn, and the publication of personal information (like addresses, bank account numbers, etc.). Simply submit a request following TheDirty’s removal guidelines to their legal team.
3 components that will affect removal:
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Has there been any communication with TheDirty?
- Oftentimes, sites like TheDirty.com will blacklist or ban users that threaten or harass the site for post removal rather than first submitting a litigation request using their reporting channels. Even if the communication began innocently enough, TheDirty and its staff can deem interactions as negative in cases like emails that threaten a lawsuit, cease and desist letters, and other legal actions. To prevent the need for court-ordered removal, refrain from making contact with the owner or staff of the site directly.
- Oftentimes, sites like TheDirty.com will blacklist or ban users that threaten or harass the site for post removal rather than first submitting a litigation request using their reporting channels. Even if the communication began innocently enough, TheDirty and its staff can deem interactions as negative in cases like emails that threaten a lawsuit, cease and desist letters, and other legal actions. To prevent the need for court-ordered removal, refrain from making contact with the owner or staff of the site directly.
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Who is the subject of the post? Is it a celebrity or a non-public figure?
- It is much easier to remove a post if the individual the post is in regards to is not in the public spotlight. While it is not impossible to remove a celebrity-related post from the site, it is significantly more challenging to complete. In many cases, a court order is mandatory to remove posts deemed as slanderous or damaging and will require working with an experienced internet attorney.
- It is much easier to remove a post if the individual the post is in regards to is not in the public spotlight. While it is not impossible to remove a celebrity-related post from the site, it is significantly more challenging to complete. In many cases, a court order is mandatory to remove posts deemed as slanderous or damaging and will require working with an experienced internet attorney.
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What is the age and relevancy of the post?
- Make note of the age and popularity of the damaging post in question. If the post is fairly old and has a decent amount of comments, you could be dubbed a “Dirty Celebrity.” As a result, you would be included in the same category as a more traditional celeb. This would make it more difficult to assure post removal, potentially requiring a court order to have it removed.
Due to the complexity of removing information from TheDirty.com, many individuals will choose to hire a reputation management company to complete the work for them. To explore your potential options for removing or suppressing negative information from TheDirty, give us a call today: 646-863-8282, or schedule an appointment with our experts to get started right away.
Maintaining a positive online reputation
When all is said and done, removal of negative or unwanted information online is never guaranteed. While removing content from TheDirty is possible, posts can easily circulate to other sites and social media platforms. Often times, they aren’t as easy, or altogether futile to remove. The ease of spreading information, and the rate at which it travels, can make dealing with results of this nature overwhelming and challenging to combat.
That is why we recommend being proactive with your online reputation in addition to removal. Publishing positive content, practicing good SEO strategies, and linking to social media is the foundation of managing a positive online reputation.
Not sure where to start? Schedule a time to talk with one of our Reputation Advisors or give them a call: 646-863-8282. We look forward to helping you create a positive online reputation.