Words can destroy lives. Public humiliation, social stigma, and relentless social pressure can inflict devastating psychological harm. Some people have even died by suicide amid such suffering.

Yet the cost of causing that harm can be astonishingly low.

How can someone's reputation be destroyed by allegations unsupported by a shred of evidence? Why are unverified accusations so readily believed, while those targeted are expected to prove their innocence?

And above all, why is it so easy to inflict lasting harm on another human being, yet so easy to escape accountability for it?