The recent scandal that led U.S. Rep. Chris Lee to his sudden resignation is a tale of online reputation. Here you have a 46-year-old married member of Congress who answered a Craigslist singles ad as a 39-year-old divorced lobbyist. And, for the sake of eye candy, he included a picture of himself standing half-naked in front of a mirror flexing his muscles. Lucky for him, the woman whose ad he answered, was a 34 year-old single mom searching online for a date who decided to check his story on Facebook. Once she realized he was a married politician, she forwarded his goodies to gossip site Gawker and the exposure set his resignation in motion.
For the record, a public figure (or anyone really) should beware sharing anything online that is meant to be a private matter. Some say the single woman is the bad guy for sending the shirtless pics of the Craigslist Congressman and sharing her flirtatious convo with Gawker – Lee had never even met or been involved with her. I say – when you play with fire online, you might get burned in public.
No one is safe.
Here’s the story (ABC News):
