How to Remove Posts from "Cheater" Websites

Last Updated: January 2025 | 9 min read

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Few things are as damaging to your personal reputation as finding your name and photo on a "cheater" or "shaming" website. Sites like TheDirty, ShesAHomewrecker, Cheaterland, and ExPosed are designed to ruin reputations anonymously.

These sites often host unverified, defamatory stories submitted by angry exes or trolls. Because they generate high traffic, they often rank on the first page of Google for your name.

The Reality: The Communications Decency Act (Section 230) often protects these site owners from liability for what users post. However, removal is possible through specific legal and policy channels.

Quick Navigation:

• Why These Sites Are Legal
• The "Terms of Service" Removal Method
• Copyright (DMCA) Strategy
• Legal Removal (Arbitration)
• Professional Removal Services

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Why These Sites Are Legal (Section 230)

In the United States, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields website owners from being sued for content posted by third parties.

• You can't sue the website just because someone posted a lie about you.
• You MUST sue the original poster (if you can find them) or find another legal angle.

This is why demand letters to these sites often go ignored or receive a generic "we are not liable" response.

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Strategy 1: The "Terms of Service" Removal Method

Most hosting providers and domain registrars have "Acceptable Use Policies" (AUP) that prohibit:

• Non-consensual intimate imagery (Revenge Porn).
• Doxxing (publishing private contact info).
• Harassment or threats of violence.

How to Execute:

1. Identify the Host: Use a "Whois" lookup tool to find who hosts the website (e.g., Cloudflare, GoDaddy).
2. Audit the Post: Does it contain your naked photos? Your home address? A threat?
3. File an Abuse Report: Submit a formal complaint to the hosting provider (not the website admin).
4. Result: If the host agrees it violates their policy, they may force the site owner to take it down or risk losing their hosting.

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Strategy 2: Copyright (DMCA) Strategy

This is the most effective tool if the post contains photos you took (e.g., selfies).

How it Works:

• You automatically own the copyright to any photo you take (unless you signed it away).
• If an ex-partner posts a selfie you sent them, they are infringing on your copyright.

The Process:

1. Verify Ownership: Confirm you took the photo.
2. Draft DMCA Notice: Create a formal Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notice.
3. Submit: Send it to the website's designated copyright agent (usually listed in their footer or DMCA policy).
4. Google Takedown: If the site refuses, you can send the valid DMCA notice to Google to have the search result de-indexed.

Note: This removes the photo, and often leads to the entire page being de-indexed by Google because the primary content is gone.

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Strategy 3: Legal Removal (Arbitration)

If the post is text-only (no photos) and not a policy violation, you may need a court order. Since suing the website is blocked by Section 230, you must sue the "John Doe" poster.

The "Arbitration" Shortcut: Some specialized removal services have arbitration agreements with these websites.

• Instead of a full lawsuit, the case goes to a private arbitrator.
• If the arbitrator finds the content defamatory, the website agrees in advance to honor the removal order.
• This is faster and cheaper than a public lawsuit.

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Strategy 4: Suppression

If the post cannot be removed (e.g., it's "opinion" protected by free speech), the backup plan is Suppression.

• Create 10-15 high-quality profiles (LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.).
• Build a personal website.
• Publish positive content regularly.

The goal is to push the cheater site result to Page 2 of Google, where 95% of people never look.

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Professional Help: When to Hire an Expert

Removing content from shaming sites requires navigating complex legal loopholes. One wrong move can make the situation worse (e.g., the site admin posts your angry email as a "update").

How We Help:

• DMCA Takedowns: We handle the legal copyright filings to strip photos and de-index pages.
• Arbitration Access: We have networks to facilitate legal removal orders.
• Google Policy Removal: We report doxxing and harassment violations directly to Google's specialized teams.

Pricing

• Cheater Site Removal: From $599
• Turnaround: 2-4 weeks
• Success Rate: High for posts containing images; Medium for text-only.

Get a Free Confidential Analysis

Don't let an anonymous troll define your reputation. Take action to clear your name today.