pile-on

[ pahyl-on, ‐awn ]

noun

the action of followers who join a hostile group in harshly criticizing or judging a less dominant group or individual, sometimes gloating over that group’s or person's defeat or diminished standing (often used attributively): Long after the merciless baiting ceased to be funny, her critics continued to join the pile-on.Social media encourages a kind of pile-on mentality that is very unforgiving of mistakes and flaws.

Origin of pile-on

Noun use of verb phrase pile on

And yet the social media pile-on against Champion was swift.
Is This The Most Hated Man in Books?: Twitter vs. Edward Champion | Brandy Zadrozny | September 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The media pile-on will change the way voters look at the debate, as happened after Gore's eye-rolling performance in 2000.
Why President Obama, Despite Scoring Points, Fell Flat in the Denver Debate | Howard Kurtz | October 4, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
The pile-on against this 17-year-old boy is pretty ugly, but I suppose unsurprising.
Jonathan Krohn | David Frum | July 4, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
The risk in the pile-on is that a real doozie will get missed, lost in the daily torrent.
The Biggest Rand Paul Outrage Yet | Kent Sepkowitz | June 15, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST

Browse