A smear campaign, smear tactic or simply smear is a metaphor for activity that can harm an individual or group's reputation by conflation with a stigmatized group. A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Campaign finance refers to the means by which money is raised for election campaigns. Grassroots fundraising is a method of Fundraising used by or for political candidates which has grown in popularity with the emergence of the Internet and its In the past Political campaigns were conducted using traditional methods of personal contact such as Television and Radio media purchasing print advertising and " Opposition Research " is episode 121 of The West Wing. Political consulting, beyond the self-evident definition of consulting in political matters refers to a specific Management consulting industry which has grown up around In Politics, campaign advertising is the use of paid media (newspapers radio television etc Canvassing is the systematic initiation of direct contact with a target group of individuals commonly used during Political campaigns A campaign team (and during Elections An election promise is a Promise made to the public by a Politician who is trying to win an Election. " Get out the vote," sometimes " GOTV," is a term used to describe two categories of political activity both aimed at increasing the number of votes cast Lawn signs (also known as yard signs) are used in Election campaigns in some countries Negative campaigning is trying to win an advantage by referring to negative aspects of an opponent or of a policy rather than emphasizing one's own positive attributes or preferred In Political campaigns an attack ad is an Advertisement whose Message is meant as an attack against another candidate or Political party. Fear mongering (or scaremongering) is the use of Fear to leverage the opinions and actions of others towards some end A push poll is a Political campaign technique in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a Voter suppression is a form of Electoral fraud and refers to the use of governmental power political campaign strategy and private resources aimed at suppressing (i A candidate is the prospective recipient of an Award or honor or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position for example to be elected In Representative democracies, Electoral campaigns larger than a few individuals generally include a campaign manager, either Paid or Volunteer The staff of Political campaigns are the people who formulate and implement the Strategy needed to win an election Metaphor (from the Greek: μεταφορά - metaphora, meaning "transfer" is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects Conflation occurs when the identities of two or more individuals concepts or places sharing some characteristics of one another become confused until there seems to be only a single Social stigma is severe social disapproval of personal characteristics or Beliefs that are against cultural norms. Sometimes smear is used more generally to include any reputation-damaging activity, including such colloquialisms as mud slinging.

Common targets are public officials, politicians, and political candidates. A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person Smear compaigns are often based on information gleaned from opposition research conducted by paid political consultants. " Opposition Research " is episode 121 of The West Wing. To a lesser degree, the term can refer to an attempt to damage a private person's reputation; for example, during a trial, the opposing counsel may attempt to cast doubt on the reliability of a witness. A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about a Crime or dramatic event through their Senses (e

The concept of the smear campaign is related to the concepts of propaganda, media bias, yellow journalism, and other falsehood-related terms such as libel and pejoration. Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people Media bias in the United States Yellow journalism is Journalism that downplays legitimate news in favor of eye-catching headlines that sell more newspapers A lie (also called prevarication) is a type of Deception in the form of an untruthful statement especially with the intention to deceive others often with the further Words and phrases are pejorative if they imply disapproval or contempt In extreme cases, smear campaigns may lead to widespread persecution, such as in the case of the Dolchstoßlegende before WWII. Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual/group by another group The stab-in-the-back legend ( German:, literally "Dagger stab legend" refers to a social Myth theory popular in Germany in the period after World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Definition

A smear campaign is an intentional, premeditated effort to undermine an individual's or group's reputation, credibility, and character. "Mud slinging", like negative campaigning, most often targets government officials, politicians, political candidates, and other public figures. Negative campaigning is trying to win an advantage by referring to negative aspects of an opponent or of a policy rather than emphasizing one's own positive attributes or preferred However, private persons or groups may also become targets of smear campaigns perpetrated in schools, companies, institutions, families, and other social groups.

Smear tactics differ from normal discourse or debate in that they do not bear upon the issues or arguments in question. A smear is a simple attempt to malign a group or an individual and to attempt to undermine their credibility.

Smears often consist of ad hominem attacks in the form of unverifiable rumors and are often distortions, half-truths, or even outright lies; smear campaigns are often propagated by gossip spreading. An ad hominem argument, also known as argumentum ad hominem ( Latin: "argument to the man" "argument against the man" Gossip is idle talk or Rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others Even when the facts behind a smear are shown to lack proper foundation, the tactic is often effective because the target's reputation is tarnished before the truth is known.

Smears are also effective in diverting attention away from the matter in question and onto the individual or group. The target of the smear is typically forced to defend his reputation rather than focus on the previous issue.

Smear tactics are considered by many to be a low, disingenuous form of discourse; they are nevertheless very common.

Examples

Smear tactics are commonly used to undermine effective arguments or critiques. For example, Ralph Nader was the victim of a smear campaign during the 1960s, when he was campaigning for car safety. Ralph Nader (born February 27 1934 is an American Attorney, Author, Lecturer, political activist, and independent candidate for President In order to smear Nader and deflect public attention from his campaign, General Motors engaged private investigators to search for damaging or embarrassing incidents from his past. General Motors Corporation ( GM) ( is a multinational automobile manufacturer founded in 1908 and headquartered in the United States. General Motors eventually was forced to publicly apologize to Nader.

In January 2007, it was revealed that an anonymous website that attacked critics of Overstock.com, including media figures and private citizens on message boards, was operated by an official of Overstock. Overstockcom ( is an Online Retailer headquartered in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, near Salt Lake City. com. ^[1]

Legality

In many countries, the law recognizes the value of reputation and credibility. Both libel, a false and damaging publication, and slander, a false and damaging oral statement, are often punishable by law and may result in imprisonment or compensation for damages done.

References

See also

• Negative campaigning
• Dirty tricks
• Whisper campaign
• Shame campaign

External links

• Spinsanity - A U. Negative campaigning is trying to win an advantage by referring to negative aspects of an opponent or of a policy rather than emphasizing one's own positive attributes or preferred In politics and business dirty tricks refers to unethical duplicitous Slanderous or illegal tactics employed to destroy or diminish the effectiveness of opponents A whisper campaign is a method of Persuasion in which damaging rumors or innuendo are spread about the target while the source of the rumors seeks to avoid being detected while Shame is variously an affect emotion cognition state or condition S. political website that specializes in highlighting smear tactics and other unethical forms of political discourse.
• FearAndSmear - Exposing fear tactics, FUD and deliberate misinformation in Politics, Business & on the Internet