online mobs
Internet harassment crowds
Online mobs are loose groups that form rapidly on social media to attack a target—usually a person who has said or done something perceived as offensive.
The behavior includes mass criticism, harassment, doxxing, and attempts to damage the target's reputation or livelihood.
Unlike organized campaigns, online mobs emerge spontaneously and dissipate quickly: She was targeted by an online mob after her tweet went viral.
The phenomenon blurs the line between accountability and pile-on cruelty.
- trollsDeliberate online agitators
- harassmentAggressive, unwanted targeting
- doxxingPublishing personal information maliciously
- cancelRevoke or terminate
- viralSpreading quickly online
swarm · pile on · pile-on · witch-hunt · outrage · rage bait · cyberbullying · anonymous · Twitter · main character · targets · public shaming · shaming · toxic · brigading · attacks · ratio · callout
- cyberbullyingcyberbullying, targeted harassment, doxxing, threats, harassment campaigns
- online manipulationastroturfing, bots, bot farms, disinformation, fake news
- outrage culturerage bait, outrage porn, outrage cycle, viral outrage, virtue signaling
- online vigilantismdoxxing, public shaming, cancel culture, witch hunt, name and shame
- digital wellnessinternet addiction, tech addiction, social media addiction, gaming disorder, digital detox
- collective mindhive mind, hivemind, collective consciousness, collective intelligence, swarm intelligence
online mobsconstructive criticism
Fault-finding aimed at improvement
measured response · town hall meetings · parliamentary debate · Socratic dialogue · academic discourse
online mobsindividual conscience
One's private moral judgment
conscientious objectors · whistleblowers · public intellectuals · personal responsibility
online, mob, mobs, mobbed, mobbing, mobster, mobsters, line, lines