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Speaking at The 2014 inaugural Forbes Under 30 Summit which took place in Philadelphia, Monica Lewinsky, known for her infamous affair with the then US president Bill Clinton in 1995, claimed that she was one of the first victim or "patient zero" of online harassment in the pre- Google era.
At 41, the former White House intern ended her nearly decade- long silence by announcing her campaign against cyber-bullying.
The 2014 inaugural Forbes Under 30 Summit kicked off Sunday, October 19th in Philadelphia. "I was Patient Zero, The first person to have their reputation completely destroyed worldwide via the Internet,” Monica said at the summit addressing a gathering of nearly 1,000 of the country's young entrepreneurs.
"In 1998, as you can imagine, there was a media frenzy. Even though it was pre-Google, (that’s right, pre-Google). The World Wide Web (as we called it back then) was already a big part of life. Overnight, I went from being a completely private figure to a publicly humiliated one. I was Patient Zero." she said recalling the public harassment she had to face.
Lewinsky broke down while describing the ordeal of having to deal with the scandal that made her an overnight celebrity and ended in Clinton’s impeachment by the House of Representative and subsequent acquittal by the Senate, Forbes reports.
(courtesy: Forbes)
Lewinsky has faced harsh criticism in the past for cashing in on the celebrity status that she gained following the aftermath of the scandal as she indulged in various ventures from designing her own line of handbags to working as a television personality.
But Lewinsky describes herself as a "social activist. public speaker. contributor to vanity fair..." on micro-blogging website Twitter.
Lewinsky joined Twitter yesterday in an attempt to engage social media with her new campaign to end cyber bullying. “Having survived myself, what I want to do now is help other victims of the shame game survive, too" , she said in her speech.
However, within in minutes her Twitter account which was barely three tweets old, was attacked by an army of internet misogynists. The Tweets can't be quoted due to the profanity of the language, however one glimpse at her Twitter feed will provide a better insight towards the abusive nature of the internet trolls.
There were those however who spoke in support of her and expressed their concern against the issue of cyber bullying and the danger it currently possesses.
@MonicaLewinsky You will be fine. :) Chin up, deep breath.
— Kate Doak (@katedoak) October 20, 2014
@MonicaLewinsky Be brave and bold in this twitter hatred-jungle. And block, block, block, block...
— Cecilia Lagos (@CeciliaLagos) October 20, 2014
@MonicaLewinsky simply take a deep breath, center, then just say whats on your mind.You deserve this time for you & your voice. Good luck.
— Yardonna (@yardonna) October 20, 2014
@MonicaLewinsky a hearty hello . Don't engage with any trolls block them and rise above it
— chris latimer #632 (@justbeinganicon) October 20, 2014
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