pile-on
Join the criticism
A pile-on is a situation where multiple people attack, criticize, or add to something at once.
The term comes from sports, where players literally pile onto a tackled opponent or celebrating teammate.
More commonly now, it describes coordinated criticism, especially online: The tweet sparked a pile-on from angry followers.
As a verb phrase, to pile on means to join such an attack or to keep adding when there's already enough: Everyone piled on after her mistake went viral.
Many atop one person
- ganging upJoining forces against someone
- swarmingGathering in large numbers
- coordinated attackPlanned simultaneous military strike
- brigadingOrganized mass harassment
ratio · dunking · dragging · tweetstorm · public shaming · mass reporting · targeted harassment · cyberbullying
Aggressive, unwanted targeting
- intimidationDeliberate fear-inducing pressure
- victimizationBeing made to suffer
- targetingSelecting as objective
- houndingPersistently pursuing or pressuring
persecution · abuse · ganging up · coercion · trolling · cyberbullying · dogpiling · scapegoating
Rapid mountain snow collapse
- delugeSevere overflow of water
- floodOverwhelming water overflow
- barrageSustained, overwhelming attack
- onslaughtFierce, overwhelming assault
torrent · inundation · swamping · overload · bombardment · saturation · tsunami · crushing
Conformity-driven poor decisions
- herd mentalityTendency to follow crowds
- echo chamberSelf-reinforcing information environment
- peer pressureInfluence from one's equals
- conformityAdherence to norms
social proof · jumping on · joining in · following the crowd · viral spread · contagion · snowball effect · cascade
dogpile
Many atop one person
- ganging upJoining forces against someone
- swarmingGathering in large numbers
- coordinated attackPlanned simultaneous military strike
brigading · ratio · dunking · dragging · tweetstorm · public shaming · mass reporting · targeted harassment · cyberbullying · trolling
harassment
Aggressive, unwanted targeting
- intimidationDeliberate fear-inducing pressure
- victimizationBeing made to suffer
- targetingSelecting as objective
hounding · persecution · abuse · ganging up · coercion · trolling · cyberbullying · dogpiling · scapegoating · public humiliation
avalanche
Rapid mountain snow collapse
onslaught · torrent · inundation · swamping · overload · bombardment · saturation · tsunami · crushing · engulfment
groupthink
Conformity-driven poor decisions
- herd mentalityTendency to follow crowds
- echo chamberSelf-reinforcing information environment
- peer pressureInfluence from one's equals
conformity · social proof · jumping on · joining in · following the crowd · viral spread · contagion · snowball effect · cascade · momentum
tackle
Gear or takedown
ball carrier · grounding · scramble · bodies · whistle · foul play · infringement · penalty
- digital culturesocial media, memes, hashtags, viral content, influencers
- cyber conflictstrolling, cyberbullying, flame war, online harassment, doxing
- social crueltybullying, harassment, humiliation, shaming, mocking
- mosh pitsmoshing, mosh pit, mosher, circle pit, slam dancing
- online trollingtrolling, trollface, bait, baiting, flame bait
- online mobsdogpile, dogpiling, mob attack, online mob, swarming
pile-onrally around
Collectively support someone
defense · support · standing up for · circling the wagons · group defense
pile-onrestraint
Control over impulses
silence · holding back · disengagement · letting it go · ignoring