Red-baiting is the act of accusing, denouncing, attacking or persecuting an individual or group as communist,socialist, or anarchist, or sympathetic toward communism, socialism, or anarchism. The word "red" in "red-baiting" is derived from the red flag signifying radical left-wing politics. In the United States the term "red-baiting" dates from at least 1927. In 1928, black-listing by the Daughters of the American Revolution was charterized as a 'red-baiting relic'. It is a term commonly used in the United States, and in United States history, red-baiting is most often associated with McCarthyism, which had its origins in the two historic Red Scare periods of the 1920s (First Red Scare) and 1950s (Second Red Scare). In the 21st century, red-baiting does not have quite the same effect it previously did due to the fall of Soviet-style Communism, but some pundits have argued that notable events in current American politics indicates a resurgence of red-baiting consistent with the 1950s.

Red-baiting was employed in opposition to anarchists in the United States as early as the late 1870s when businessmen, religious leaders and editorial writers tried to rally middle class workers to oppose dissident railroad workers and again during the Haymarket affair in the mid-1880s. Red-baiting was well established in the U.S. during the decade before World War I. In the post-war period of 1919-1921 the U.S. government employed it as a central tactic in dealing with labor radicals, anarchists, communists, and foreign agents. These actions in reaction to the First Red Scare and the concurrent Red terror, served as part of the organizing principle shaping counter-revolutionary policies and serving to institutionalize anti-communism as a force in American politics.

Glenn Edward Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. He formerly hosted the Glenn Beck television program, which ran from January 2006 to October 2008 on HLN and from January 2009 to June 2011 on the Fox News Channel. Beck has authored six New York Times–bestselling books. Beck is the founder and CEO of Mercury Radio Arts, a multimedia production company through which he produces content for radio, television, publishing, the stage, and the Internet. It was announced on April 6, 2011, that Beck would "transition off of his daily program" on Fox News later in the year but would team with Fox to "produce a slate of projects for FOX News Channel and FOX News' digital properties". Beck's last daily show on the network was June 30, 2011. In 2012, The Hollywood Reporter named Beck on its Digital Power Fifty list.