Never judge someone's character based on the words of another. Instead, study the motives behind the words of the person casting the bad judgment.
Hearsay, even from the people I love, doesn't equate to gospel truth.
It does not come to me in quite so direct a line as that; it takes a bend or two, but nothing of consequence. The stream is as good as at first; the little rubbish it collects in the turnings is easily moved away.
If you want to really know something you have to observe or experience it in person; if you claim to know something on the basis of hearsay, or on happening to see it in a book, you'll be a laughingstock to those who really know.
In cyberspace, 95 per cent of what you read is hearsay.