attack, backbiting, backstabbing, belittlement, blackening, calumny, defamation, defamation of character, defilement, denigration, depreciation, dirt, dirty politics, disparagement, gossip column, juicy morsel, last-minute lie, malicious defamation, malicious gossip, muckraking, mudslinging, mudslinging campaign, name-calling, political canard, revilement, roorback, scandal, scandalmongering, slander, smear, smear campaign, smear word, tidbit, vilification, whispering campaign