Witch hunts by another name.
It's never made clear, however, if the first guy was actually guilty of what he was accused of. I think that's more of a witch hunt, because we're vilifying people based on a single accusation - without proof or corroboration. Of course there may be more to the story here, it just hasn't been told in this particular article.
I always assumed a witch hunt was just it's own thing, it might get someone who is "guilty" or might not, it doesn't care / matter either way.