names and shames
Calls out wrongdoers
Names and shames means to publicly identify someone or something as having done wrong, intending to damage their reputation as punishment or deterrent.
The tactic appears in journalism, activism, and government enforcement: The website names and shames companies that use sweatshop labor.
The noun form is name-and-shame: a name-and-shame campaign against tax evaders.
- calling outPublicly confronting behavior
- disclosureAct of revealing information
- responsibilityState of being answerable
- reputationCollective opinion of someone
- exposéInvestigative journalism piece
trial by media · whistleblowing · culpability · stigma · integrity · liability · bad actors · disgrace · transparency · humiliation · infamy · scandal · blacklist · redress · ostracism · revelation · publicity · backlash
names and shamescovers up
names and shamesforgives and forgets
Pardons and dismisses entirely
pardons · absolves · exonerates · excuses · rehabilitates
names and shamesrehabilitates
Returns to good condition
defends · vouches for · stands by · lauds · celebrates
name, names, named, naming, nameless, namely, namesake, shame, shames