http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/arts/celebrities-twitter-instagram-cyberbullying-kardashian-swift.html 2016-10-12 17:02:46 The New Celebrity Diet: Cyberbullying Famous rivals are using the tactics of online harassers into their PR offensives. Retweet counts and Instagram followers are the new Billboard 100. === The reality TV star Rob Kardashian had a family matter to discuss, so naturally, he turned to Twitter. “Didn’t invite the Mother of my child to a baby shower you all were trying to throw for me!!?” he Mr. Kardashian, in internet parlance, had doxxed Ms. Jenner — he published personal, private information about her online, seemingly without her consent. It’s a maneuver harassers use to humiliate, intimidate or silence their targets. It also helped Mr. Kardashian score his most popular tweet ever. Lately, celebrity feuds have taken on the contours of The modern celebrity arsenal incorporates these other digital bullying tools: SECRET RECORDINGS SEXUAL HUMILIATION REVENGE PORN MOB DEPLOYMENT It’s no coincidence that a Kardashian fingerprint can be lifted from many of the most high-profile incidents. While most celebrities use the internet to promote their mainstream careers — movies, albums — Ms. Kardashian West’s core product is herself. Stirring up dramatic personal narratives on her reality television show and social media accounts is her main event. Ms. Swift, who studiously avoids confrontation while writing veiled riddles about her ex-boyfriends and frenemies into her songs, didn’t stand a chance. Ms. Kardashian West’s assault was part of a multiplatform offensive. On Twitter, she leveraged Ms. Swift’s phone call to advertise her new Snapchat account: And she went on to milk the publicity by posting another Snapchat video of herself Blac Chyna, who recently clawed her way into the Kardashian universe through her relationship with Rob, has proved a quick study. A few days after Mr. Kardashian doxxed his sister You’d think that the utter savageness on display here would horrify fans. Online celebrity feuds capitalize on some of the most vile and destructive social ideas: that sexual shaming is an acceptable response to a stated opinion; that women are manipulative liars; and that a person who missteps in a private dispute deserves to be punished by the crowd. And these days, nearly everybody has a story about being subjected to similar abuse online. Occasionally, celeb-on-celeb attacks backfire: In May, the rapper Azealia Banks For the famous person caught in the cross hairs, though, it’s not always so fun. Just ask Ms. Swift, who It’s a P.R. game, until it’s a real thing.