Third‑party provocation tactic

A manipulative strategy where an actor intentionally convinces someone else (who will interact with your target) to expect hostility, so the target’s normal reaction confirms the planted expectation and escalates conflict without direct contact. The tactic works remotely and anonymously and relies on ordinary confirmation bias and interpersonal defense reflexes to self‑amplify. — Naming and recognising this tactic helps journalists, platform designers, and community leaders detect and interrupt engineered interpersonal escalation that fuels polarization and smear campaigns.