harassment campaign
/həˈræsmənt kæmˈpeɪn/
CommonA sustained, organized effort to intimidate, silence, or harm a specific person through repeated online attacks.
The word 'campaign' distinguishes it from a single incident. It implies intent, duration, and coordination. Targets are often journalists, activists, content creators, or people who spoke out publicly.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | she's been dealing with a harassment campaign for six months. every post she makes gets flooded. | Sustained targeted harassment has persisted across many posts over a long period. | x, 2024 |
| 02 | the harassment campaign drove her off the platform. she deleted everything. | The sustained attacks succeeded in removing the person from the platform. | reddit, 2023 |
| 03 | what they did to her isn't drama. it's a harassment campaign. | The framing as 'drama' minimizes what is actually organized targeted abuse. | tiktok, 2024 |
| 04 | launched a harassment campaign against journalists who covered the story. | Journalists became targets of organized sustained attacks for reporting. | x, 2023 |
Use it when
- Someone has been consistently targeted across multiple platforms over time.
- Multiple tactics like doxxing, reporting, and messaging are combined to target one person.
- There is a clear organized group behind repeated attacks against a target.
Do not use it when
- You mean a single incident of online abuse.Use “pile-on” instead.
- You mean general community toxicity without a specific target.
Harassment campaign vs pile-on
harassment campaign
Harassment campaign is sustained, organized, and targets the same person over time.
VS
pile-on
Pile-on is a single event where many people attack at once.
Origin and context
The term entered mainstream internet vocabulary around 2014-2016 as organized online abuse became a recognized pattern. Frequently discussed in the context of Gamergate and subsequent waves of organized online attacks.
- First seen
- mid-2010s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/harassment-campaignUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0