red-baiters
Anti-communist accusers obsessively
Red-baiters are people who accuse others of being communists or communist sympathizers, typically to discredit them politically.
The term carries a negative connotation, suggesting the accusations are reckless or opportunistic rather than legitimate.
Red-baiting was especially prominent during the McCarthy era of the 1950s but persists as a political tactic: The red-baiters labeled anyone who supported labor unions as un-American.
Persecution of supposed subversives
- smear campaignOrganized defamation effort
- denunciationFormal public accusation
- accusationClaim someone did wrong
- innuendoOblique disparaging remark
character assassination · exposure · outing · finger-pointing · informing · insinuation · public shaming · labeling
Record of prohibited entities
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- purgeEliminate unwanted elements
- scapegoatingUnfairly assigning fault to innocents
- vilificationAbusive condemnation of someone
stigmatization · exclusion · harassment · victimization · intimidation · defamation · career destruction · unemployment
Red Scare congressional committee
- blacklistRecord of prohibited entities
- loyalty oathsRequired statements affirming devotion
- subversivesThose undermining established systems
- un-AmericanContrary to national ideals
anticommunism · Cold War · informants · hearings · testimony · Joseph McCarthy · J. Edgar Hoover · fellow travelers
One who overstates threats
- scaremongeringSpreading exaggerated threats
- paranoiaIrrational persecution fears
- demonizationCasting as evil
- hysteriaUncontrollable emotional excess
panic · conspiracy theories · infiltration · subversion · fifth column · domino theory · foreign agents · sleeper cells
Political art for causes
- disinformationIntentional deceptive falsehoods
- indoctrinationSystematic uncritical belief instillation
- demagogueryManipulative political rhetoric
- ideologyStructured belief framework
manipulation · sensationalism · incitement · polarization · pamphlets · newsletters · radio broadcasts · newspapers
witch-hunt
Persecution of supposed subversives
- smear campaignOrganized defamation effort
- denunciationFormal public accusation
- accusationClaim someone did wrong
innuendo · character assassination · exposure · outing · finger-pointing · informing · insinuation · public shaming · labeling · tarring
blacklist
Record of prohibited entities
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- purgeEliminate unwanted elements
- scapegoatingUnfairly assigning fault to innocents
vilification · stigmatization · exclusion · harassment · victimization · intimidation · defamation · career destruction · unemployment · exile
HUAC
Red Scare congressional committee
- blacklistRecord of prohibited entities
- loyalty oathsRequired statements affirming devotion
- subversivesThose undermining established systems
un-American · anticommunism · Cold War · informants · hearings · testimony · Joseph McCarthy · J. Edgar Hoover · fellow travelers · pinkos
alarmist
One who overstates threats
- scaremongeringSpreading exaggerated threats
- paranoiaIrrational persecution fears
- demonizationCasting as evil
hysteria · panic · conspiracy theories · infiltration · subversion · fifth column · domino theory · foreign agents · sleeper cells · national security
agitprop
Political art for causes
- disinformationIntentional deceptive falsehoods
- indoctrinationSystematic uncritical belief instillation
- demagogueryManipulative political rhetoric
ideology · manipulation · sensationalism · incitement · polarization · pamphlets · newsletters · radio broadcasts · newspapers · yellow journalism
red-baiterscommunists
Collective ownership advocates
fellow travelers · Marxists · socialists · leftists · reds
red-baitersdefense attorneys
Lawyers representing accused individuals
red, bait, baiter, baiting, baited, baits, reds, redder, reddest