1. People who engage in diversion; those who create a distraction or redirect attention away from something.
Usage: Plural of diversionist; Often used in military or tactical contexts
2. In historical and political contexts, individuals who attempt to divert a movement, organization, or cause from its stated goals or ideology.
Usage: Chiefly historical or political; Often used pejoratively

Examples

• The military used diversionists to draw enemy fire away from the main assault.
• The general deployed diversionists to create confusion on the battlefield.
• Critics accused the new members of being diversionists trying to weaken the party's core message.
• The diversionists succeeded in redirecting public attention from the scandal.
• Diversionists were stationed at multiple points to split the opposing forces.