The problem is when it is weaponized by corporations to bypass competition or by activists who are upset for one reason and get everyone to rally for an untrue reason.

Example: McDonalds has an employee write about their horrible experience working for Burger King which is a complete fabrication to get people to hate their competitor.

Example 2: supporters for Presidential candidate John Smith don’t like that Target has been donating to Smith‘s rival political party. Smith supporters fabricate untrue stories about Target’s working conditions to get people to boycott the store and hurt profits. This would lead to less money being available for donations from the store.

In all honesty, I do think Name and Shame is perfectly reasonable and should be done. But I still want to highlight some ways that it can be abused. I don’t think Reddit should use this as an excuse to forbid the practice but Reddit should do due diligence in proving the story is right like verifying an employee’s employment at the company they are shaming, for example.