Thread by @GKMTNtwits

Trump/Pence/McConnell/Ryan/GOP/Russia excel @ Character Assassination/It's worth thinking about that as we take information in! Select excerpts follow from "Character Assassination Encyclopedia Entry" academia.edu/31185573/Chara… … #ProgressDems #ComeyTownHall (1)

"The term could also be selectively applied to social groups, institutions,and corporations, which could all experience loss of reputation due to character assassination." (2)

"The mechanics of character attacks are best understood by examining the abusive ad hominem techniques as suggested by the philosophy of logic & argumentation studies." (3)

"This fallacy, used in an adversarial context, involves irrelevant responses that attack the opponent instead of the opponent’s arguments." (4)

"Such personal attacks steer attention away from the debated issue to the opponent’s“human or personal side,” like traits or reputation." (5)

"In practice, the character assassination’s agency may involve doublespeak, raising false accusations,fostering rumors, spreading innuendo, or deliberately misinforming others about the opponent’s morals, integrity, and public image." (6)

"It may also involve manipulating and spinning technically true information, presenting it in a misleading manner or devoid of necessary context." (7)

"As a result of character attacks, individuals maybe rejected by their professional community members of their social or cultural environment. The process of character attacking may resemble an annihilation of a human life, as the damage sustained can last a lifetime..." (8)

Fundamentals of Character Attacks, as suggested (by Martijn Icks & Eric Shiraev), there are several political science models that explain the reason for character attacks.They believe the attacker’s motivation is often based on the intent to destroy the victim psychologically (9)

or reduce his or her public support and/or chances of succeeding in a political competition." (9b)

"For example, during elections, attacks are often used to sway undecided voters...an effective means of manipulating voters toward a desirable action. They also facilitate...originally favorable supporters to the ranks of the “undecided” or "uncommitted" voters." (10)

"Fundamentally, an attack on one’s image, reputation, or brand depends on relevant audiences’ perceptions...studies show consumers are highly selective of what they deem to be “believable,” preferring to accept what is most congruent with existing attitudes..." (11)

"...When organizations & leaders find themselves in a crisis, they are particularly vulnerable to attack...Their reputation is then judged in the “court of public opinion..." (12)

"Situational crisis communication theory is particularly applicable here in both organizational & political contexts. The theory suggests the level of reputation threat is determined by whether the public believes that the organization caused the crisis..." (13)

"Character Attack Typology/Icks & Shiraev introduced a classificatory study of character attack types based on their...research. They argued cases can be categorized in terms of their scope (individual/collective), timing (live/postmortem), & momentum (planned/spontaneous)" (14)

"During a political campaign... “drive-by” character assassinations usually occur...On the other hand, the slow pace of character poisoning is based on a long term plan. A classification of seven character attack methods is as follows ⤵️ (15)

Anonymous lies
Misquoting
Silencing
Acts of vandalism
Name-calling
Mental illness (allegations)
Sexual deviance" (16)

"Character Assassination Application Areas/In politics, character attack is usually part of a “smear campaign”...The purpose is to discourage or weaken the support base of the victim. Another purpose is to force the victim to respond in terms of time, energy, and resources." (17)

"Smears often consist of ad hominem attacks in the form of unverifiable rumors and distortions,half-truths, or even outright lies; smear campaigns are often propagated by gossip magazines and websites... (18)

Smears are also effective in diverting attention away from the matter in question. The target of the smear has to address the problem of correcting the false information in addition to responding to the original issue …" (18b)

"…Shooting the messenger refers to destroying the reputation & credibility of a whistleblower. Killing the messenger is a practice that goes back to antiquity, a known extreme but effective tactic that helped prevent the spread of messages & silenced dissenting voices... (19)

It is now part of active corporate business conduct. A corporation subject to negative attacks may elect to eliminate the messengers or discredit their messages. Many whistleblowers lose careers & families due to subsequent, relentless corporate attacks..." (19b)

"Character assassination strategies can be a part of information warfare efforts, which involve management & use of information in pursuit of a competitive advantage over an opponent... (20)

This approach may involve dissemination of propaganda or disinformation to demoralize the enemy or manipulate the public... designed to manipulate the audience at the rational level by either discrediting conflicting information or supporting false conclusions." (20b)

You can read more / "Character Assassination Throughout the Ages," by downloading the paper here: academia.edu/6903626/Charac… … (21) ###