Meanings
- uncountableNegative comments and disparagement of a person or organization that is spread online or by word of mouth.
Badvocacy can be small and sneak up on you or can be big and take you by storm.
2014, Deborah Gonzalez, Managing Online Risk: Apps, Mobile, and Social Media Security, page 653 more examples
Today, this advocacy or ‘badvocacy’ is often the loudest voice out there – 83% of global respondents say they completely or somewhat trust the recommendations of friends and family.
2017 June 6, Mark Davies, “Guiding principles to navigate the Customer 4.0 revolution”, in Consultancy.ukIt has also occasionally arisen in the broader human rights context, with the ‘badvocacy’ controversy surrounding Invisible Children’s ‘Kony 2012’ campaign as one good example .
2019 July, Dustin N. Sharp, “Through a Glass, Darkly: Three Important Conversations for Human Rights Professionals”, in Journal of Human Rights Practice, volume 11, number 2This "badvocacy” relationship, a term coined by Amanda Taub (2012), relies on stereotypes and limited points of view and exploits the do-gooding imperative to push for simple solutions to simplified problems.
2021, Alexandra Cosima Budabin, Lisa Ann Richey, Batman Saves the Congo
Origin
Cite this entry
badvocacy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/badvocacy
“badvocacy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/badvocacy. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “badvocacy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/badvocacy.
Source: badvocacy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.