brigading

American  

[bri-gey-ding] / brɪˈgeɪ dɪŋ /

noun

Digital Technology.

1. the practice of organizing or participating in a coordinated campaign of online harassment against a targeted individual or group, especially on social media.

   Female streamers and members or allies of marginalized groups are targeted more often and suffer more persistent brigading on their channels.

2. Usually vote brigading the practice of manipulating an online poll with an organized campaign of favorable or unfavorable votes, often as a general statement of approval or disapproval for a group, an individual, or their beliefs and affiliations rather than a genuine opinion about a specific question.

   The movie was a target of vote brigading in the first week of its release, dragging its rating down even though it was popular among audiences in the theater.

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Etymology

Origin of brigading

First recorded in 2015–20; brigad(e) ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

What counts as sufficient coordination for a campaign to qualify as brigading?

From Washington Post • Dec. 23, 2021

Facebook said that such coordinated campaigns, known as brigading, are a new area that the company is starting to police.

From Washington Post • Dec. 1, 2021

So apparently YouTube doesn't understand how brigading works or why impact matters more than intent.

From Washington Post • Jun. 5, 2019

There are almost ceaseless allegations, on both sides, of harassment, brigading, astroturfing and sock puppetry: terms that describe coordinated, oppositional online campaigns, the feigned impression of grassroots support and fake online identities.

From Washington Post • May 5, 2016

You can't manufacture an army by brigading regiments—by creating divisions and forming army corps.

From Ailsa Paige by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)