“Labels like that are probably the biggest external clue. If a statement is false, that's the worst thing you can say about it. You don't need to say that it's heretical. And if it isn't false, it shouldn't be suppressed. So when you see statements being attacked as x-ist or y-ic (substitute your current values of x and y), whether in 1630 or 2030, that's a sure sign that something is wrong. When you hear such labels being used, ask why.”

Paul Graham - What You Can’t Say

http://www.paulgraham.com/say.html

Toxic or problematic, perhaps, but gaslighting is a specific term that means more than "bad" (or toxic), and I intended it in that very specific way. I think it's a useful term because of this specificity, and because it helps to explain the very specific feeling of confusion that it instils in those it is used against.