red-baiter
Anti-communist smear artist
A red-baiter is someone who accuses others of being communists or communist sympathizers, typically to discredit them politically.
The term emerged during periods of anticommunist anxiety in the United States, particularly the McCarthy era.
Red-baiting often involved loose accusations and guilt by association: The senator was a notorious red-baiter who saw Marxists behind every liberal cause.
Persecution of supposed subversives
- blacklistRecord of prohibited entities
- HUACRed Scare congressional committee
- loyalty oathsRequired statements affirming devotion
- un-AmericanContrary to national ideals
subversive · anti-communist · purge · denunciation · informant · McCarthyist · censure · conformity
Record of prohibited entities
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- firingTerminating employment
- career destructionEnding one's working life
- exileBanishment from homeland
unemployment · suicide · divorce · deportation · imprisonment · perjury charge · shunning · emigration
- informerOne who reveals secrets
- friendly witnessTestifier aiding questioning attorney
- demagogueManipulative populist leader
- zealotObsessive cause supporter
Richard Nixon · opportunist · crusader · inquisitor · prosecutor · investigator
Spread or defame
- accusationClaim someone did wrong
- innuendoOblique disparaging remark
- character assassinationDestroying someone's good name
- fearmongeringDeliberately spreading exaggerated threats
slander · defamation · rumormongering · insinuation · mudslinging · demagoguery · distortion · labeling
Collective ownership system
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
- Iron CurtainCold War's political divide
- espionageCovert intelligence gathering
- KGBUSSR intelligence service
CIA · spy · Rosenbergs · atomic secrets · infiltration · fifth column · Kremlin · Comintern
Collectivist political adherent
- socialistProponent of collective ownership
- liberalOpen to reform
- progressiveFavoring reform and innovation
- intellectualConcerning thought and reason
academic · screenwriter · actor · journalist · civil rights activist · peacenik · leftist · radical
witch-hunt
Persecution of supposed subversives
- blacklistRecord of prohibited entities
- HUACRed Scare congressional committee
- loyalty oathsRequired statements affirming devotion
un-American · subversive · anti-communist · purge · denunciation · informant · McCarthyist · censure · conformity · hearings
blacklist
Record of prohibited entities
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- firingTerminating employment
- career destructionEnding one's working life
exile · unemployment · suicide · divorce · deportation · imprisonment · perjury charge · shunning · emigration
J. Edgar Hoover
- informerOne who reveals secrets
- friendly witnessTestifier aiding questioning attorney
- demagogueManipulative populist leader
Richard Nixon · zealot · opportunist · crusader · inquisitor · prosecutor · investigator
smear
Spread or defame
- accusationClaim someone did wrong
- innuendoOblique disparaging remark
- character assassinationDestroying someone's good name
fearmongering · slander · defamation · rumormongering · insinuation · mudslinging · demagoguery · distortion · labeling · finger-pointing
communism
Collective ownership system
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
- Iron CurtainCold War's political divide
- espionageCovert intelligence gathering
KGB · CIA · spy · Rosenbergs · atomic secrets · infiltration · fifth column · Kremlin · Comintern · fellow traveler
communist
Collectivist political adherent
- socialistProponent of collective ownership
- liberalOpen to reform
- progressiveFavoring reform and innovation
intellectual · academic · screenwriter · actor · journalist · civil rights activist · peacenik · leftist · radical · agitator