The act of dismissing or
undermining valid criticism of a piece of media by accusing the critic of being dishonest, biased, or acting in bad faith, often paired with an
exaggerated or uncritical defense of the media. Frequently accompanied by
exaggerated claims that critics are “censoring” or that their critique poses a threat to discourse, this behavior is often used to justify retaliatory actions against critics.
Person A: “I think the pacing of this show is really off, and the dialogue feels unnatural. It’s not as good as people are
making it out to be.”
Person B: “Wow, so you just hate fun, huh? You’re probably
one of those people who’s just here to tear things down for clout. Maybe stop trying to ruin it for the rest of us.”
Person A: “I’m not trying to ruin anything; I’m just giving my opinion.”
Person B: “No, you’re just being a bad-faith hater. People like you are the reason creators can’t take risks anymore. Honestly, criticism like this is toxic and borders on censorship.”
Person A: “Okay, now you’re just gooning. I’m giving a valid critique, and you’re accusing me of bad faith to shut me up.”
In this scenario, Person B uses gooning to deflect the critique, accusing Person A of dishonesty and framing the criticism as harmful or toxic to the discourse. Person A calls out the behavior as gooning to highlight the
manipulative tactic being used.
