The Mud Machine and Gender-Based Violence

Few things harm the fight against gender-based violence as much as the mud machine, a concept developed by Umberto Eco in his novel Numero Zero through the character Simei, an editor who explains it clearly:

“You don’t need to prove anything. Just plant doubt. Mud sticks.”
“Expose sexual stories from someone’s past, even if they are unimportant or irrelevant. It doesn’t matter if they’re true. Just mentioning sex gets attention, scandal, and suspicion. It’s perfect for the mud.”

Speaking publicly about someone’s sexuality without their consent is sexual harassment. When journalists do it just to create scandal, they are not interested in the truth — only in generating attention and suspicion. They combine their own goal (more views and readers) with the goals of dishonest informants: to destroy people who reported them for gender-based violence, abuse of power, or isolating violence. As Numero Zero says:

“Slander, suggest, hint. You don’t need evidence, only emotional connection and repetition.”

When the mud machine is part of isolating violence, the mud doesn’t only hurt the person being attacked — it also damages the wider fight against gender-based violence and the feminist movement. This is why it’s no surprise to see anonymous accounts, run by someone who has attacked CREA since 2003 for defending a person sexually abused as a minor, now celebrating the current smear campaign. It’s no surprise that he is happy the campaign has accepted the same false accusations he has been repeating for 20 years.

What is surprising is that some people and groups who claim to be feminists or against harassment stay silent, using “doubt” as an excuse. As Numero Zero also says:

“The point isn’t to prove someone did something — it’s enough to suggest they might have done it. If you create enough doubt, you’ve destroyed them. The mud doesn’t have to be real — it only has to leave a stain.”

What’s even more surprising is that some of these people and groups not only accept the aggressor’s messages — they share and repost them from his anonymous accounts.

And you — will you take part in the mud machine?