Ad Agencies’ Reckoning on Sexual Harassment Comes on Instagram, Anonymously
A group of women who work with agencies published a letter on Monday
that criticized the account’s tone and anonymity, saying, “It is not acceptable to use an anonymous social media account to accuse people, pass judgment, and use other bullying techniques to help the victims.”
Karen McKibben, a freelance executive producer who signed the letter, said
that as people report harassment allegations to the account rather to than their companies, “It just becomes this trial by social media and men just don’t have a chance to respond or defend themselves.”
She added, “Because it’s done anonymously, you can’t hold anybody liable for potential slander or hold
them accountable for what they’re posting because there’s no person to report to or complain to.”
Women who had signed the letter, in turn, denied those claims and said that the account stood for “anonymous cyberbullying and unfair prosecution.”
The Instagram account follows the lead of a spreadsheet
that circulated among journalists last fall that sought to collect the names of men described by colleagues as sexists, sexual harassers and rapists.
Ms. Gordon said she was conflicted about the Instagram account’s approach,
but said she understood the frustration of women “who didn’t feel like they had justice.”
“I’m sad that they exist, but I think the fact they exist is emblematic of something that’s really broken,” she said of @DietMadisonAve.
“Women have always shared the names of sexual predators inside
and outside of the workplace with one another,” the group said in a lengthy document about its mission that it shared with .
