I heard that the Chofetz Chayim, who was an expert on the laws of not gossiping said, we are not allowed to believe lashoin hara,; in other words, if you hear something bad about someone else, as the Baal Shem Tov says, you must feel very bad; for either it’s true, that someone did something wrong, which is quite sad, or the person speaking to you, is malicious, which is also very sad!