"Shooting the messenger" (also "killing the messenger" or "attacking the messenger" or "blaming the bearer of bad tidings / the doom monger") is a metaphoric phrase used to describe the act of blaming the bearer of bad news, despite the bearer or messenger having no direct responsibility for the bad news or its consequences.[1]
Until the advent of modern telecommunication, messages were usually delivered by human envoys.[2] For example, in war, a messenger would be sent from one camp to another. If the message was unfitting, the receiver might blame the messenger for such bad news and take their anger out on them.[citation needed]