Stella Reddy's Story

Reading Time: 2 minutes

For 9 years, I’ve lived under the shadow of toxic tenants who decided that my personal life was theirs to exploit.  They weren’t family, friends, or even acquaintances outside of a workplace setting. Yet they took it upon themselves to create seven websites filled with false narratives about me, designed to triangulate me with strangers across the internet. I even found posts on social media!

This is triangulation in action: pulling in a third party—readers of the web—to pit them against me, distort reality, and maintain control of a false story they created.

How They Triangulated Me

• Recruiting strangers: By publishing lies online on their many sites, they invited readers to judge me without ever knowing me. That was the scary part…
• False comparisons: They painted me as “unstable” while presenting themselves as the innocent victims who do no wrong. They compared me with various American politicians, all in an attempt to get more attention for their sites.
• Divide and conquer: Their goal was to isolate me, making me appear untrustworthy to anyone who stumbled across their sites. They even went after my family members!
• Silent rivalries: They hinted that others agreed with their narrative, creating the illusion of consensus against me. They even claimed that other tenants believed their stories about me.

The Harm of Online Triangulation

• Loss of trust: It eroded my ability to feel safe in communities, both online and offline.
• Isolation: By weaponizing strangers, they tried to cut me off from support.
• Confusion: Readers were manipulated into believing they were witnessing “truth,” when in reality it was a fabrication.
• Exhaustion: Constantly defending myself against lies drained my energy and confidence.

Breaking the Triangle

I refuse to play their game. Here’s how I dismantle their tactics:

• Owning my narrative: My site and social media now dominate searches of my name, replacing their lies with my truth.
• Direct communication: I speak openly to readers, bypassing the toxic tenants’ distortions. I am open to communication, not like them.
• Boundaries: I reject their attempts to drag me into comparisons or rivalries. I’ll leave all that to them: I love my life and am content within it.
• Solidarity: By sharing my story, I connect with others who recognize these tactics and refuse to be manipulated. There are way more people than I thought who are targets of malicious adults who bully.

My Empowerment Message

Triangulation is not proof of their strength—it’s proof of their weakness. They needed seven websites to try to control my identity, but those sites are now gone from the internet. What remains is my voice, my truth, and my resilience, and I only needed one website!

When you refuse to compete, the triangle collapses. And that’s exactly what I’ve done: I’ve taken back control of my name, my story, and my life. It wasn’t easy to do, but well worth it!