scaremongering
Peddling baseless panic
Scaremongering is the deliberate spreading of alarming or exaggerated claims to provoke public fear, typically for political or commercial advantage.
The term is almost always pejorative—accusing someone of scaremongering dismisses their warnings as manipulative rather than legitimate: Critics called the campaign's ads about crime pure scaremongering.
A scaremonger is one who engages in this practice.
Uncontrollable emotional excess
- sensationalismOverhyped news coverage
- doomsayingPredicting imminent catastrophe
- catastrophizingImagining worst-case outcomes
- panic-inducingCausing sudden overwhelming fear
exaggeration · hyperbole · overstatement · apocalyptic · doom-and-gloom · breathless · inflammatory · overblown
Biased information for influence
- brainwashingCoercive psychological manipulation
- indoctrinationSystematic uncritical belief instillation
- persuasionConvincing through reasoning
- spinRapid rotation around axis
distortion · misrepresentation · exploitation · deception · maneuvering · tactics · agitprop · demagoguery
Uncontrollable sudden fear
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- terrorExtreme, overwhelming fear
- alarmUrgent warning signal
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
apprehension · trepidation · unease · worry · foreboding · paranoia · phobia · menace
Intentional deceptive falsehoods
- falsehoodDeliberate untrue statement
- fabricationDeliberately untrue statement
- hoaxDeliberate deception for effect
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
lie · untruth · distortion · misrepresentation · canard · fake news · conspiracy theory · debunked
Politically-motivated accusation without evidence
- red-baitingTarring opponents as communists
- xenophobiaHatred of outsiders
- nativismPreference for native-born citizens
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
populism · demagogue · witch hunt · scapegoating · othering · us-vs-them · nationalism · immigrant
hysteria
Uncontrollable emotional excess
- sensationalismOverhyped news coverage
- doomsayingPredicting imminent catastrophe
- catastrophizingImagining worst-case outcomes
panic-inducing · exaggeration · hyperbole · overstatement · apocalyptic · doom-and-gloom · breathless · inflammatory · overblown · histrionic
propaganda
Biased information for influence
- brainwashingCoercive psychological manipulation
- indoctrinationSystematic uncritical belief instillation
- persuasionConvincing through reasoning
spin · distortion · misrepresentation · exploitation · deception · maneuvering · tactics · agitprop · demagoguery · rhetoric
panic
Uncontrollable sudden fear
anxiety · apprehension · trepidation · unease · worry · foreboding · paranoia · phobia · menace · threat
disinformation
Intentional deceptive falsehoods
- falsehoodDeliberate untrue statement
- fabricationDeliberately untrue statement
- hoaxDeliberate deception for effect
myth · lie · untruth · distortion · misrepresentation · canard · fake news · conspiracy theory · debunked · fact-check
McCarthyism
Politically-motivated accusation without evidence
- red-baitingTarring opponents as communists
- xenophobiaHatred of outsiders
- nativismPreference for native-born citizens
authoritarianism · populism · demagogue · witch hunt · scapegoating · othering · us-vs-them · nationalism · immigrant · terrorism
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- intimidationthreats, threatening, menacing, intimidate, bullying
- fearmongeringfear tactics, panic spreading, doomsaying, catastrophizing, doom and gloom
- propagandapropaganda, brainwashing, disinformation, misinformation, indoctrination
- smear tacticssmear, smear campaign, mudslinging, attack ads, hit piece
- misinformationmisinformation, disinformation, fake news, falsehoods, hoaxes
scaremongeringreassurance
Words meant to calm
reassuring · calming · comforting · soothing · confidence-building
scaremongeringresponsible journalism
Accurate, fair news reporting
truth-telling · balanced reporting · understatement · sobriety
scaremongeringPollyannaism
Irrational persistent cheerfulness
downplaying · wishful thinking · sugarcoating · happy talk · whitewashing
scare, scary, scared, scares, scaring, alarmist, scariest, scarier, monger