Definition

Noun: * An organized, secret, and often malicious effort to spread damaging rumors or insinuations about a person, group, or idea, typically to undermine their reputation, credibility, or chances of success, especially in a political or competitive context.

Usage

A "whispering campaign" is a covert strategy of character assassination. It relies on informal, private conversations to spread unverified or false information, making the source difficult to trace. The goal is to create a negative public perception without engaging in open, accountable criticism.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The candidate was a victim of a vicious whispering campaign that spread false rumors about his personal life.
  • Before the board vote, a whispering campaign was launched against the CEO, suggesting financial mismanagement.
  • The company used a whispering campaign to discredit its competitor's new product by hinting at safety issues.

Advanced Usage

• "to launch/mount a whispering campaign": To initiate such an organized effort.
  • Fearing her popularity, his opponents launched a whispering campaign against her.
• "to be the target/subject/victim of a whispering campaign": To be the person attacked by such rumors.
  • He found himself the target of a whispering campaign after announcing his candidacy.

Variants and Related Words

• Smear campaign (n): A broader, often more public effort to damage someone's reputation. A whispering campaign is a specific, covert type of smear campaign.
• Character assassination (n): The deliberate destruction of a person's reputation, which can be achieved through a whispering campaign.
• Disinformation (n): False information spread deliberately to deceive, which is the typical content of a whispering campaign.

Synonyms

• Smear tactic
• Mud-slinging (informal)
• Defamation effort
• Vilification campaign

Related Idioms and Phrases

• To spread rumors/innuendo: The core action of a whispering campaign.
  • Instead of debating the issues, they resorted to spreading innuendo.
• A campaign of lies: A direct description of the content of a whispering campaign.
  • He dismissed the allegations as nothing more than a campaign of lies.

Noun

1. the organized dissemination of derogatory rumors designed to discredit a candidate