Whisper network
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A whisper network is an informal chain of information passed privately between people, typically women. It consists of gossip about people in a community (frequently a professional community) alleged to be sexual harassers or abusers.[1][2][3][4] The information is often shared between women by word of mouth or online in private communities, forums, spreadsheets, and crowd-sourced documents.[2][5][6] The stated purpose of maintaining these lists is to warn potential victims of "people to avoid" in their industry.[7] Whisper networks also purportedly help victims identify a common abuser and come forward together about a serial abuser.
The term "whisper network" was newly popularized during the #MeToo movement[2][8][9] after several private lists were published outside of private networks. Among the published lists were the Shitty Media Men list,[2][10] the California State Capitol list,[11] and the Harvey Weinstein Google doc.[12][13] Karen Kelsky created a less controversial list about men in academia called "Sexual Harassment In the Academy: A Crowdsourced Survey" which had grown to over 2000 entries by the end of 2017. It includes stories without actually naming the accusing and accused parties.[5] Kelsky said she hoped the list would help demonstrate the scope of sexual misconduct in the academic field,[5][12] and it has resulted in the investigation of twelve men at the University of Michigan.[14]