from Webster "witch hunt" 1 : a searching out for persecution of persons accused of witchcraft 2 : the searching out and deliberate harassment of those (as pol

from Webster "witch hunt" 1 : a searching out for persecution of persons accused of witchcraft 2 : the searching out and deliberate harassment of those (as political opponents) with unpopular views Obviously this case has nothing to do with witches. In general, it is about using people's strong fear of something (is this something real or unreal - it doesn't matter, the fear itself is what only matters), like witchcraft or the threat of Finnish and Mexican immigrants taking away kernel hacking jobs, to energize and direct the crowd against one's enemies and advance the one's leadership position over the crowd.