Public shaming has presumably been used as a punishment since people realized they could shame one another, but while shaming was once localized and would usually involve a pretty big faux pas, the internet means someone's entire life can be ruined by total strangers over something as minor as a tasteless Tweet.
This great TopTenz list demonstrates ten times people were publicly shamed online in ways that totally damaged their lives. While you could argue that at least most of them should have known better, it's hard to fault the baseball fan who tried to catch a foul ball and then ruined his team's chances of making it to the Series.
(And I should also apologize to the other people in the subway. All they wanted was a sandwich.)
View From the Pitchfork Mob
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