targeted harassment
/ˈtɑːrɡɪtɪd həˈræsmənt/
CommonRepeated, directed abuse aimed at a specific person with the intent to intimidate, silence, or cause harm.
The word 'targeted' is key. It's not just being in the crossfire of internet drama. Someone made you their focus. Platforms use this term in their policies to distinguish it from general offensive content.
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | it's not drama. she's been a victim of targeted harassment for months. | The situation is ongoing, personal, and serious rather than mutual conflict. | x, 2024 |
| 02 | they follow her to every platform she moves to. that's targeted harassment, not drama. | Cross-platform following of a target signals deliberate ongoing harassment. | reddit, 2023 |
| 03 | reported the account for targeted harassment. same person, different accounts, same abuse. | The harasser was using multiple accounts to evade blocks and continue targeting the same person. | x, 2024 |
| 04 | targeted harassment drove her out of a hobby she loved. that's the point of it. | The goal of the harassment was to remove her from a community. | tiktok, 2023 |
Use it when
- One person or group has made a specific individual their ongoing target.
- The harassment follows someone across platforms or into direct messages.
- The abuse is personal and escalates when the target responds or ignores.
Do not use it when
- You mean general online abuse without a specific target.
- You mean a one-time hostile comment.
- You mean a community conflict where many people are involved on both sides.
Targeted harassment vs harassment campaign
targeted harassment
Targeted harassment emphasizes the personal focus on one individual, even by a small number of people.
harassment-campaign
Harassment campaign emphasizes the organized, ongoing nature of the abuse and often involves larger groups.
Origin and context
Terminology adopted from policy and journalism around 2014-2016, during discussions of organized harassment. Platforms incorporated it into trust-and-safety policies to define abuse directed at specific individuals.
- First seen
- mid-2010s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/targeted-harassment