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

See Examples For:

whispering campaign

There was a whispering campaign against him, suggesting that he had touted tickets online and that he was a police informant.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 1, 2016

Schweich, who was Christian but had Jewish ancestry, also had expressed angst to friends over what he perceived to be an anti-Semitic whispering campaign.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 23, 2015

David Garth, Koch’s media guru, needed to defuse the whispering campaign, and Bess and Ed were friends.

From New York Times ● Jan. 9, 2015

Regardless, China completed a sweep of all five badminton golds, but the treatment of the women, and a whispering campaign about doping against swimming sensation Ye Shiwen angered the Chinese.

From Reuters ● Aug. 13, 2012

The keen competition fought very shy of Mr. Peacock, thanks to the Bish and his whispering campaign.

From Fore! by Loan, Charles Emmett Van