This page is about a political tactic. For the album from Napalm Death, see: Smear Campaign. For the smear test, see Pap Smear. For the card game, see Smear (cards) “Electioneering” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Politics (disambiguation). ... Campaign finance refers to the means by which money is raised for election campaigns. ... In the past, political campaigns were conducted using traditional methods of personal contact, such as television and radio media purchasing, print advertising and direct mail. ... Opposition research often referred to as oppo is the section of an election campaign designed to investigate the life and record of the opposing candidate. ... Political consulting is the business which has grown up around advising and assisting political campaigns, primarily in the United States. ... In politics, campaign advertising is the use of paid media (newspapers, radio, television, etc. ... Political campaign Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Canvassing is the systematic contacting of individuals in a target group, often in a particular geographic area. ... Political campaign Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      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 in one or more elections. ... Lawn signs placed near a polling place in the U.S., July 2004 Lawn signs are one of the most visible features of an election campaign in some countries. ... Political campaign Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Negative campaigning is having too much doodoo in your underpants. ... An attack ad in election terms is an advertisement whose message is meant as an attack against another candidate or political party. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... 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 poll. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Look up Candidate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In United States and other democracies, political campaigns larger than a few individuals generally include a campaign manager whose role is to coordinate the campaigns operations. ... The staff of political campaigns are the people who get paid to formulate and implement the strategy needed to win an election. ... Smear Campaign is an album by the band Napalm Death released in 2006. ... The pap smear as we know it is an invention of Dr. Georgios Papanikolaou (1883-1962), an American of Greek birth, the father of cytopathology. ... Smear is game of the All Fours group, similar to Pitch or Setback. ...

A smear campaign or smear tactic is a deliberate attempt by an individual or group to harm another individual's or group's reputation. This tactic is also colloquially referred to as mud slinging.

Common targets are public officials, politicians, and political candidates. 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 politician is an individual involved in politics, sometimes this may include political scientists. ... Look up trial in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Reliability concerns quality or consistency. ... This article is about witnesses in law courts. ...

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. In extreme cases, smear campaigns may lead to widespread persecution, such as in the case of the Dolchstoßlegende before WWII.^{[citation needed]} For other uses, see Propaganda (disambiguation). ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Nasty little printers devils spew forth from the Hoe press in this Puck cartoon of Nov. ... This article is about untruthfulness. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with pejoration. ... Look up Persecution in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Magazine title from 1924, example of a propaganda illustration in support of the legend The Dolchstoßlegende, (German dagger-thrust legend, often translated in English as stab-in-the-back legend) refers to a social mythos and persecution-propaganda theory popular in post-World War I Germany. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

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. However, private persons or groups may also become targets of smear campaigns perpetrated in schools, companies, institutions, families, and other social groups. Political campaign Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Negative campaigning is having too much doodoo in your underpants. ...

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. 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. Look up ad hominem in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Neighborly gossips in the Altstadt in Sindelfingen, Germany Gossip consists of casual or idle talk of any sort, usually slanderous and/or devoted to discussing others. ...

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

This article or section deals primarily with the United States and does not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

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. 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 eventually was forced to publicly apologize to Nader. Image File history File links Gnome-globe. ... Ralph Nader (born February 27, 1934) is an American attorney and political activist in the areas of consumer rights, humanitarianism, environmentalism and democratic government. ... General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), also known as GM, is an American automobile maker with worldwide operations and brands including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Vauxhall. ...

A Senator was a lawyer working for a DA and they attacked him for defending shady persons, but he had been forced to defend them by working for the state. His opponent pretended to not have made the statement, and said they were sorry after they saw it was hurting their reputation and not the Senators.

Smear campaigns can occur on a suburban level, as evidenced by the political and media efforts to scapegoat and lie about the Parma Police Department in Ohio as part of a three year incident known as "the Parma Witch Hunt." Smear campaigns also occur on a national level and in many countries. In the Philippines, for example, smear campaigns are not uncommon; gossip, unconfirmed rumors, and distractions during political discussions are in no shortage; however, shame campaigns are often seen in a different form—that of marking on one’s house or property—or through negative TV advertisements, or worse, wet rags plopped on one’s head.

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.com.^[1] The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

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. “Libel” redirects here. ...

In popular culture

• In the Family Guy episode "Running Mates," Peter Griffin's last-minute advertisement in which he says, "Lois Griffin is a slut," is an example of mud slinging.

Family Guy is an Emmy Award-winning American animated television series about a dysfunctional family in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island. ...

References

See also

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

Political campaign Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Negative campaigning is having too much doodoo in your underpants. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 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 spreading them (for example, a political campaign might distribute anonymous flyers attacking the other candidate). ... For other uses, see Shame (disambiguation). ...

External links

• Spinsanity - A U.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