human-flesh search

Definitions

1. Research at an Internet forum where questions may be posed for other people to answer.
2. Vigilante justice where Internet users collaborate to find people and punish them by public exposure, harassment, or intimidation.

Examples

“3 March⟳ 2010, The New York Times, China's Cyberposse Mop had a forum called human-flesh search⟳ engine, where users could pose questions about entertainment trivia that other users would answer⟳: a type⟳ of crowd-sourcing.”

“3 March⟳ 2010, The New York Times, China's Cyberposse Human-flesh search⟳ engines — renrou sousuo yinqing — have⟳ become⟳ a Chinese phenomenon: they are a form⟳ of online vigilante justice in which Internet users hunt down and punish⟳ people who have⟳ attracted their wrath.”

CEFR level