Chafetz Chaim, Part One, The Prohibition Against Lashon Hara, Principle 6
Can copy this into an AI, or connect the whole library to your assistant. For deeper learning, you can directly use the original seforim, sites, and apps.
כְּשֵׁם שֶׁשַּׁיָּךְ אִסוּר קַבָּלַת לָשׁוֹן הָרָע, בְּאִם הַמְסַפֵּר סִפֵּר לוֹ עַל אֶחָד, שֶׁעָשָׂה עַתָּה דָּבָר שֶׁאֵינוֹ הָגוּן, שֶׁנִּצְטַוֵּינוּ עַל זֶה, שֶׁלֹּא לְהַחְלִיט בְּלִבֵּנוּ, שֶׁהַדָּבָר אֱמֶת, וְכַנַּ"ל בְּסָעִיף א"כֵּז שַׁיָּךְ גַּם אִסוּר קַּבָּלַת לָשׁוֹן הָרָע לְעִנְיַן שְׁאָר חֶלְקֵּי אִסוּר לָשׁוֹן הָרָע, שֶׁבֵּאַרְנוּ לְעֵיל, (כְּגוֹן לְבַזּוֹתוֹ (כא) בְּמַעֲשֵׂה אֲבוֹתָיו אוֹ בְּמַעֲשָׂיו הָרִאשׁוֹנִים, כֵּיוָן שֶׁהוּא (כב) מִתְנַהֵג עַתָּה כַּשּׁוּרָה אוֹ בְּחֶסְרוֹן חָכְמָה, הֵן בַּתּוֹרָה וְהֵן בְּעִנְיְנִי עוֹלָם, וְכַנַּ"ל בִּכְלָל ד, וְה' וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּזֶה), בְּכָל דָּבָר שֶׁהוּא גְּנוּת עָלָיו, שֶׁנִּצְּטַוֵּינוּ גַּם כֵּן, שֶׁלֹּא לְהִתְקַבֵּל דִּבְרֵי הַמְסַפֵּר לְפָנֵינוּ לְהִתְבַּזּוֹת עַל יְדֵי זֶה בְּעֵינֵינוּ, אֶת מִי שֶׁנֶּאֶמְרוּ עָלָיו. כְּלָלוֹ שֶׁל דָּבָר: (כג) כָּל דָּבָר שֶׁיֵּשׁ עַל הַמְסַפֵּר אִסוּר עֲבוּר דִּבּוּרוֹ, (כד) יֵשׁ עַל הַמְקַבֵּל אִסוּר עֲבוּר קַבָּלָתוֹ.
Just as the issur of accepting lashon hara obtains when the speaker says about someone that he now did something improper, concerning which we were commanded not to believe in our hear that the story is true (as mentioned above in section 1), so does it obtain relative to the other instances of the issur of [speaking] lashon hara that we explained above (such as shaming one with the deeds of his forbears or with his own early misdeeds, since he now conducts himself correctly, or [shaming him] with a lack of wisdom, both in Torah and in worldly affairs, and the like [as mentioned above in Principle IV and V].) In anything that is demeaning to him, we have been commanded, likewise, not to accept the words of the speaker for the one spoken of to be shamed in our eyes. In sum: Wherever there is an issur vis-à-vis the speaker for his speaking, there is an issur vis-à-vis the accepter for his accepting.