Typical trope of bullying environment:
Someone points someone else as guilty by slandering them/making rumors about them/blaming them because of something/leaking their disadvantages, and other people who don't even know the real circumstances will just follow it by connecting the events concerning the victim and thinking the victim as someone evil as they please.
It happens irl too and honestly, this is freaking annoying. The victim will be deemed as guilty until they're proven innocent, and maybe even after that, people still think of them as someone wicked who can hide their misdeeds. I mean really, do they never really try to put theirselves in the victim's shoes?