Londoner wants hurtful information removed from website

A London, Ont. woman has been unable to have information she says is false removed from a gossip website.

It's a website that allows anyone to say anything about anyone else, and London residents have become frequent targets.

The website thedirty.com is filled with borderline adult ads and permits posters to upload inappropriate pictures and what many say are false comments about others.

Now, the site about “gossip and satire” is causing problems for a London woman we’ll call Patricia (not her real name), whose photo has been posted against her wishes.

She says "It is embarrassing; my name up there, my picture is up there."

Scrolling through the pages of the site you'll find postings that read worse than a scandal sheet, including comments about sexual activity, drug abuse and improper relationships – and, of course, a photo.

The posting about Patricia makes allegations she says are lies, and it includes her full name.

Initially, she was angry, but now she’s downright worried, "It hurts to know, that if someone I know, just accidentally finds these things and believes it, I could lose friends, I could lose a job."

The site boasts that it gets 20-million hits a month for its advertisers and Patricia's page has had over 7,000 views since it went up.

She says she's pleaded with the site twice to take her photo down, with no luck.

Technology analyst Carmi Levy says it's another example of the dark side of the internet, where offshore sites skirt around laws.

He says contacting a lawyer is an option but "There isn't a whole lot we can do. You have to grin and bear it. And you have to hope that site just eventually slides into obscurity. But, if someone is going to post something, they are going to do it, if they really want to.

Patricia calls her posting the ‘worst kind of online bullying’ that was put-up at a time when she was very fragile, and what happened to Patricia, could happen to anyone.

"When it went up, I was probably 18. A lot of young girls have confidence issues as it is, and that doesn't really help with those situations."

One suggestion Levy says could help is to contact the server provider – that company that hosts the website involved – and share your concerns.

As for the dirty.com, the website’s fine print says it “contains rumours, speculation, assumptions, opinions and factual information. Postings may contain erroneous or inaccurate information."

CTV News made repeated attempts to contact thedirty.com on Wednesday there has been no response.