A whispering campaign or whisper campaign is a method of
persuasion
Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for influence. Persuasion can influence a person's beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviours.
Persuasion is studied in many disciplines. Rhetoric studies modes of persuasi ...
in which damaging
rumor
A rumor (American English), or rumour (British English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences; derived from Latin 'noise'), is an unverified piece of information circulating among people, especial ...
s or
innuendo
An innuendo is a wikt:hint, hint, wikt:insinuation, insinuation or wikt:intimation, intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called in ...
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
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracy, democracies, political campaigns often refer to election, electoral campaigns, by which representatives a ...
might distribute anonymous flyers attacking the other candidate. The tactic is generally considered
unethical
Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied eth ...
in
open societies, particularly in matters of public policy. The speed and the anonymity of communication made possible by modern technologies like the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
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
underdog
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or wikt:top dog, top dog. In the case where an under ...
s who lack other resources to
disclose wrongdoings of the powerful without repercussions.
Marketing
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
Astroturfing is the deceptive practice of hiding the Sponsor (commercial), sponsors of an orchestrated message or organization (e.g., political, economic, advertising, religious, or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from ...
, companies hire employees to post comments on blogs, forums, online encyclopedias such as (
on Wikipedia), etc. to steer online conversations in their desired direction.
Politics
Whisper campaigns in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
began with the conflict between
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
and
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
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
( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...
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
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...
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
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...
. US President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
was frequently a topic of whisper campaigns resulting from his support of the
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
and his poor health.
During the
2000 Republican presidential primary, Senator
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
, whose adopted daughter is a dark-skinned child from
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
, was the target of a whisper campaign, which implied that he had fathered a
black child out of wedlock. Voters in
South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
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?".
In addition, on the week of the nomination vote, dozens of radio stations were inundated with calls on this topic, and
talk show
A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...
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.
See also
*
Black propaganda
*
Call-out culture
*
Chinese whispers
*
Defamation
Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
*
Fraser Committee
*
Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
*
Smear campaign
*
Swiftboating
*
Whisper network
References
External links
{{wiktionary
"Dirty Tricks, Patrician Style"by
Dick Meyer
Communication of falsehoods
Political campaign techniques