whispering campaign

American  

noun

1. the organized spreading of insinuations or rumors to destroy the reputation of a person, organization, etc.

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whispering campaign British  

noun

1. the organized diffusion by word of mouth of defamatory rumours designed to discredit a person, group, etc

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whispering campaign Idioms  

1. A deliberate spreading of derogatory rumors about a candidate, as in That whispering campaign destroyed his chances for election. [c. 1920]

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Etymology

Origin of whispering campaign

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

European Union officials opened an antitrust probe into Sanofi SAN 0.26%increase; green up pointing triangle to assess whether the French drugmaker’s marketing campaign for a flu vaccine breached competition rules.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026

The “Intel Inside” marketing campaign made Intel a household name and a ubiquitous personal-computer chip supplier in the 1990s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026

“The Devil Wears Prada 2” marketing campaign is so garish and transparent that it feels more like an in-universe joke from the first movie, rather than a revelry.

From Salon • Apr. 20, 2026

The tone of the marketing campaign bid request itself echoes that message, with its introductory paragraph pulled directly from Newsom’s State of the State speech in January.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

A massive marketing campaign promoted the launch of the OASIS.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline