FUD — Meaning and details

Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt

FUD stands for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt, a marketing and communication tactic used to influence opinions or decisions by spreading negative, ambiguous, or misleading information.

FUD is commonly used in competitive industries such as technology and politics to discourage adoption of a rival product, service, or idea. By exploiting psychological triggers, FUD creates hesitation or fear in the target audience, steering them toward a desired action, such as sticking with the incumbent solution.

Example of FUD:

• In the early 2000s, proprietary software companies used FUD against open-source platforms by questioning their security and reliability.

While effective, FUD is often criticized as being unethical and manipulative, as it prioritizes persuasion over factual accuracy.