brigading

[ bri-gey-ding ]

noun

, Digital Technology.

1. the practice of organizing or participating in a coordinated campaign of online harassment against a targeted individual or group, especially on social media:

   Female streamers and members or allies of marginalized groups are targeted more often and suffer more persistent brigading on their channels.

2. Usually vote brigading. the practice of manipulating an online poll with an organized campaign of favorable or unfavorable votes, often as a general statement of approval or disapproval for a group, an individual, or their beliefs and affiliations rather than a genuine opinion about a specific question: review bomb.

   The movie was a target of vote brigading in the first week of its release, dragging its rating down even though it was popular among audiences in the theater.

Word History and Origins

Origin of brigading¹

First recorded in 2015–20; brigad(e) ( def ) + -ing ¹( def )

Example Sentences

Cooks moving up in the ranks of the brigade system understand how little they matter and how much that big name can boost a career.

From Eater

The Reddit brigade, for one, is getting restless for Round 3 of stimmies.

From Fortune

More interesting for the Reddit brigade, short positions have dropped from nearly 140% of shares outstanding to roughly 50% yesterday, says the shorts-trackers at S3 Partners.

From Fortune

Let’s spin the roulette wheel, and see what the Reddit brigade is targeting today… Yep, it’s silver.

From Fortune

As McKay Coppins wrote in a profile, Gingrich was chased out of Congress by the “same bloodthirsty brigade he’d helped elect.”

From Washington Post

In fact, anticipating this very emergency, brigading with the British had already been begun.

From Project Gutenberg

In brigading the regiments no attention whatever was paid to the race or color of the men.

From Project Gutenberg

Sometime in the same month an order was issued from army headquarters, regularly brigading Morgan's command.

From Project Gutenberg

Strongholds were strengthening, regiments brigading, cavalry organizing on all sides.

From Project Gutenberg