brigading

Brigading is the organized, collective action by a group of users intended to influence the outcome of a discussion, vote, or content evaluation on an online platform. It involves coordinating many participants to act within a short window to shift rankings, replies, or moderation decisions. The term originated in online communities where groups mobilized to sway opinions or outcomes beyond what individuals could achieve alone.

Common forms include coordinated upvotes or downvotes to affect a post's visibility or a user's standing, mass posting of identical messages, cross-posting to related threads, or coordinated reporting to trigger moderation actions. Some brigading campaigns also involve coordinated editing of content in wikis or other collaborative spaces to alter meaning or governance outcomes. Brigading is often organized via external chat rooms, forums, or social media, and may target specific events or debates.

Impact and platform responses: Brigading can distort perceived popularity or legitimacy, suppress dissent, or degrade discussion quality. It presents governance challenges for platforms, which may implement measures such as rate limiting on votes or posts, verification requirements, detection of coordinated behavior, or suspensions of accounts involved in coordinated activity.

See also: vote manipulation, coordinated inauthentic behavior, astroturfing, edit warring.