How one tweet can ruin your life | Jon Ronson

TED · 3.1M views · 2015-07-20 · 17:12

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Overview

Jon Ronson's TED talk on public shaming on Twitter, centered on Justine Sacco and others whose lives were upended by online mobs. He argues we have become a baying crowd and should rethink how we treat each other online.

On Hacker News

HN commenters bring it up in threads about online mobs and cancellation as a relevant talk by a journalist who interviewed shamed people.

Recommended by 5 HN people across 5 months · HN mentions 2018–2025

Topics

Futurism & technology and society Social issues & culture Psychology & human behavior

What people said

dkdcio · 2025-07 · Recommendation
I'm reminded of this TED talk in these scenarios, by a journalist and author who interviewed many people who have been publicly shamed: [VIDEO]
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josephg · 2023-02 · Recommendation
Yep; to say nothing of the psychological effects of being told that the whole world hates you. That sounds really traumatic. I'm not generally a contrapoints fan, but I really enjoyed the video she made about her experience with this on twitter: [LINK] Or the TED talk "How one tweet can ruin your life" from 2015: [VIDEO] We studied To Kill a Mockingbird and The Crucible when I was in highschool. I remember thinking how barbaric and despicable "mob justice" was. I didn't understand it, and I assumed I never would - I thought it was something we reference from history. But twitter really has brought the mob justice style witch hunts back. I don't understand how anyone can claim its not a real phenomenon. Being cancelled is obviously quite a real experience for the people it happens to.
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Zealotux · 2021-05 · Recommendation
A relevant TED Talk I always think of when reading about these stories: [VIDEO] Which makes me think: who are these people with enough time of their hands to be morality warriors on internet? Also who are these _friends_ who jumps on conclusion without allowing for a defense? I shouldn't be difficult, in this digitalized world, to provide solid proof of wrongdoing. I may not be the most aware of social cues, or maybe it's a cultural thing, but some of these people seems like absolute sociopaths.
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Sources

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