新闻英语词汇:whispering campaign （or whisper campaign）_北京外宾旅游指南

新闻英语词汇 Journalism Vocabulary

whispering campaign （or whisper campaign）

Meaning

the intentional damaging of an important person's reputation by saying unpleasant things about them that may not be true
（破环他人名声的）造谣活动，散布流言蜚语的活动 (Cambridge )

whispering campaign是指使用影射或其他偷偷摸摸的手段中伤对手，同时力求避免谣言的来源被发现。例如，一个竞选活动可能会使用自动电话呼叫或匿名传单攻击其他候选人。Internet之类的现代技术使通信的速度和匿名性得以增强，从而提高了whispering campaign 杀伤力。

Citations
Bolton’s Whisper Campaign to Oust Mattis. Sources say the hawkish national security advisor is behind rumors that the defense secretary plans to resign. White House National Security Advisor John Bolton and his deputy are trying to squeeze out U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis by spreading rumors about his imminent departure, according to two well-placed sources.
---- EP (foreignpolicy) by Lara Seligman | October 25, 2018,

According to reporting by the Post, several House Republicans have mounted a whisper campaign to discredit Khashoggi—or at least, to knock his reputation down a few notches—based on his ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, and his role as an embedded journalist who covered Osama bin Laden. Trump administration aides are reportedly aware of the rumors, and are “being careful to not encourage the disparagement,” but they’s also “doing little to contest it.”
-- vanityfair By Tina Nguyen October 19, 2018