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A whispering campaign or 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 they are spread. For example, a political campaign might distribute anonymous flyers attacking the other candidate. The tactic is generally considered unethical [ by whom? ] in open societies, particularly in matters of public policy. The speed and the anonymity of communication made possible by modern technologies like the Internet have increased public awareness of whisper campaigns and their ability to succeed. The phenomenon has also led to the failure of whisper campaigns, as those seeking to prevent them can publicize their existence much more readily than in the past. Whisper campaigns are defended in some circles as an efficient mechanism for underdogs who lack other resources to disclose wrongdoings of the powerful without repercussions.
Other tactics include "buying" drinks and giving away cigarettes to patrons without making known that the benefactor is a representative of the company. More recently, companies are also paying bloggers to mention products or causes. As a form of astroturfing, companies hire employees to post comments on blogs, forums, online encyclopedias such as (on Wikipedia), etc. to steer online conversations in their desired direction.
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Whisper campaigns in the United States began with the conflict between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson as both were vying for the 1800 presidential election. The Federalists, which supported Adams, accused Jefferson of having robbed a widow and her children of a trust fund and of having fathered numerous mulatto children by his own slave women.
Whisper campaigns are frequently used in electoral politics as a method of shaping the discussion without being seen to do so. US President Grover Cleveland was the target of a whisper campaign in 1884, when Republicans claimed that he had fathered an illegitimate child while he was still Governor of New York. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was frequently a topic of whisper campaigns resulting from his support of the New Deal and his poor health.
During the 2000 Republican presidential primary, Senator John McCain, whose adopted daughter is a dark-skinned child from Bangladesh, was the target of a whisper campaign, which implied that he had fathered a black child out of wedlock. Voters in South Carolina were reportedly asked in a push poll, "Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain if you knew that he fathered an illegitimate black child?". [1] In addition, on the week of the nomination vote, dozens of radio stations were inundated with calls on this topic, and talk show hosts were asked what they thought of McCain's fathering of a black child out of wedlock.
In 2018, when the question of what the United States should do about the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi was an open question, a whispering campaign was mounted that attacked the character of Khashoggi. [2] [3]
The 1796 United States presidential election was the third quadrennial presidential election of the United States. It was held from Friday, November 4 to Wednesday, December 7, 1796. It was the first contested American presidential election, the first presidential election in which political parties played a dominant role, and the only presidential election in which a president and vice president were elected from opposing tickets. Incumbent vice president John Adams of the Federalist Party defeated former secretary of state Thomas Jefferson of the Democratic-Republican Party.
The 1800 United States presidential election was the fourth quadrennial presidential election. It was held from October 31 to December 3, 1800. In what is sometimes called the "Revolution of 1800", the Democratic-Republican Party candidate, Vice President Thomas Jefferson, defeated the Federalist Party candidate and incumbent, President John Adams. The election was a political realignment that ushered in a generation of Democratic-Republican leadership. This was the first presidential election in American history to be a rematch. It was also the first election in American history where an incumbent president did not win re-election.
The 1828 United States presidential election was the 11th quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Friday, October 31 to Tuesday, December 2, 1828. It featured a repetition of the 1824 election, as President John Quincy Adams of the National Republican Party faced Andrew Jackson of the Democratic Party. Both parties were new organizations, and this was the first presidential election their nominees contested. This election saw the second rematch in presidential history, something that would not occur again until 1840.
John Sidney McCain III was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms in the United States House of Representatives and was the Republican nominee for president of the United States in the 2008 election.
The 2000 presidential campaign of George W. Bush, the then-governor of Texas, was formally launched on June 14, 1999 as Governor Bush, the eldest son of former President George H. W. Bush, announced his intention to seek the Republican Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 2000 presidential election.
The National Enquirer is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years. The National Enquirer openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in tabloid journalism that results in conflicts of interest. It has also been embroiled in several controversies related to its catch and kill practices and allegations of blackmail. It has struggled with declining circulation figures because of competition from other glossy tabloid publications.
A smear campaign, also referred to as a smear tactic or simply a smear, is an effort to damage or call into question someone's reputation, by propounding negative propaganda. It makes use of discrediting tactics. It can be applied to individuals or groups. Common targets are public officials, politicians, political candidates, activists, and ex-spouses. The term also applies in other contexts, such as the workplace. The term smear campaign became popular around 1936.
The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, and Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska. Obama became the first African American to be elected to the presidency, as well as being only the third sitting United States senator elected president, joining Warren G. Harding and John F. Kennedy. Meanwhile, this was only the second successful all-senator ticket since the 1960 election and is the only election where both major party nominees were sitting senators. This was the first election since 1952 in which neither the incumbent president nor vice president was on the ballot, as well as the first election since 1928 in which neither ran for the nomination.
A push poll is an interactive marketing technique, most commonly employed during political campaigning, in which a person or organization attempts to manipulate or alter prospective voters' views under the guise of conducting an opinion poll. Large numbers of voters are contacted with little effort made to collect and analyze their response data. Instead, the push poll is a form of telemarketing-based propaganda and rumor-mongering masquerading as an opinion poll. Push polls may rely on innuendo, or information gleaned from opposition research on the political opponent of the interests behind the poll.
In politics, opposition research is the practice of collecting information on a political opponent or other adversary that can be used to discredit or otherwise weaken them. The information can include biographical, legal, criminal, medical, educational, or financial history or activities, as well as prior media coverage, or the voting record of a politician. Opposition research can also entail using "trackers" to follow an individual and record their activities or political speeches.
The term swiftboating is a pejorative American neologism used to describe an unfair or untrue political attack. The term is derived from Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT), the organization responsible for a widely publicized—and later discredited—political smear campaign against 2004 U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry. Since the 2004 election, the term has been commonly applied to a political attack that is dishonest, personal, and unfair.
Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi was a Saudi journalist, dissident, author, columnist for Middle East Eye and The Washington Post, and a general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab News Channel who was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018 by agents of the Saudi government at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The 2000 presidential campaign of John McCain, the United States Senator from Arizona, began in September 1999. He announced his run for the Republican Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 2000 presidential election.
Meghan Marguerite McCain is an American television personality, columnist, and author. She has worked for ABC News, Fox News, and MSNBC. She is the daughter of politician John McCain and diplomat Cindy McCain. McCain has been a public figure for much of her life, first appearing at the 1996 Republican National Convention.
John Weaver is an American political consultant. He worked on the John McCain presidential campaigns of 2000 and 2008. In between, he worked for a time for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He was also the chief strategist for the 2016 presidential campaign of Republican John Kasich.
From January 24 to June 6, 2000, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 2000 United States presidential election. Texas Governor George W. Bush was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 2000 Republican National Convention held from July 31 to August 3, 2000, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The 2008 United States presidential election in Colorado took place on November 4, 2008, as a part of the 2008 United States presidential election throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Voters chose nine representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 2008 United States presidential election in Alabama took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose nine representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 2008 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Allegations that Barack Obama secretly practices Islam, or that he is the antichrist of Christian eschatology, or covertly holds some other esoteric religious position, have been suggested since he campaigned for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and proliferated after his election as President of the United States in 2008. As with conspiracy theories surrounding his citizenship status, the claims are promoted by various political opponents, with American bloggers and conservative talk radio hosts particularly promoting the theories.