Doxxing

Doxxing is the act of researching and publicly publishing someone's private personal information — home address, employer, phone number, family members' identities, financial details — without their consent, typically as a tool of harassment, intimidation, or ideological enforcement. The name comes from "documents" (shortened to "dox"). It's one of the most serious forms of online harassment because it bridges the online and physical worlds: a doxxed person can be harassed at home, threatened at work, or endangered in real life.

What it means

Doxxing is used to silence people. The target is usually someone who has expressed a view that an adversary wants to suppress — by revealing their real identity, the attacker weaponizes the gap between pseudonymous online speech and offline life. Once someone knows your employer, they can call your boss. Once someone knows your address, the threat of physical harm becomes real. The chilling effect is immediate: many doxxed individuals simply stop speaking publicly.

Doxxing is sometimes dressed up as "public interest journalism" or "accountability reporting" — but the practical distinction between investigating a genuinely powerful public figure and revealing a private individual's address to a hostile mob is significant.

How it works on Gab

Doxxing with intent to harm is prohibited on Gab. The platform draws a line between public accountability journalism (a legitimate activity) and the publication of private personal information for the purpose of enabling harassment. Gab's pseudonymity support is one layer of protection against doxxing.

Related terms

Swatting is the physical-world escalation of doxxing. Anonymity and pseudonymity are the protections against it. The chilling effect it creates is one of its primary purposes.