What does blackmailing mean?

Answer 1

Here is an example = It's when you know a secret about a person (anything) and that person doesn't want anyone to know what you know. You decide to get this person to do something/ help you, but this person doesn't want to, SO you say "if you don't do this for me I'll tell your secretto everyone" = Black Mailing (you just black mailed this person!)

Answer 2

It means that someone is giving you some options (usually 2) Take their offer (money, something valuable or even "NOTHING") or something bad will happen. E.G. Keep away from 11th street or I'll break your legs: - More of a thret but you get the idea. "If you drop the charges I'll give you money" is also a form of black mail but it is not so hurtful.

Answer 3

Blackmailing is a type of extortion. However, unlike the crime of extortion, it does not have to involve money. If you know a secret or other information about someone that could harm them if others knew and you wanted them to do something they didn't want to do or to not do something which they want to do, you could threaten to expose them.

This is why in the past that being gay was considered a security risk, because gay folks of that time period had plenty of good reasons for others not to know they were gay. So all it would take would be for a political opponent or enemy of the country to threaten to tell everyone they were gay, and the gay person might just give up the information they are hiding. However, it had nothing to do with the person being gay, but how society treated gay folks. A common blackmail attempt is to threaten to out them to their folks, but that rarely works anymore because their folks likely already know.

Celebrities have a constant risk of being blackmailed, and sometimes by complete lies -- such as claiming a celebrity is abusing children. The paparazzi and others will pick up on any dirt they are doing. While the paparazzi usually just wants photos, if it is really juicy and the celebrity is highly influential, they might trade the secret for power or a favor instead. Maybe they sell drugs on the side, maybe they slept with the wrong person, maybe the media knows that they made an arrest go away, or whatever, and they use that as power over the celebrity to try to get them to do someone's bidding.