beat-up

Adjective

 * 1)  Worn out by overuse; in a state of disrepair

Noun

 * 1)  An artificially or disingenuously manufactured outcry, usually in the media.
 * 2) * 2009, Natasha Robinson, | 'James Packer book outrage a beat-up, says Paul Barry', The Australian, | Business section
 * “It has been suggested that this is a vicious book, a poisonous book, that it's a disgrace to have written it,” Mr Barry said at today's book launch. “That's a total beat-up."
 * 1) * 2009, Michael Cook, | 'Is Britain’s stem cell crisis a beat-up?', BioEdge
 * Few areas of science journalism are more susceptible to frothy beat-ups than stem cell research.