The Smear: How Shady Political Operatives and Fake News Control What You See, What You Think, and How You Vote by Sharyl Attkisson
In THE SMEAR, Sharyl Attkisson argues that regular folks are easy targets for false information or smear campaigns: “The public has no idea of the extent to which news is influenced by smear merchants.” This situation didn’t just happen—it’s been a long time coming: “The past two decades have served as an ideal incubator for an industry of smears and fake news.”
The author gives the reader lots of reasons to worry. Attkisson documents, in great detail, many of the behind-the-scenes organizations with political agendas. The consumer of news is “pummeled by countless narratives—some based on grains of truth; others wholly invented for the audience.”
Attkisson warns news consumers to be cautious even if all the media outlets are parroting the same line. “Today, if enough pundits, operatives, and media parrot the same narrative, it becomes incorporated into the fabric of the news as an accepted fact.”
And yet, smear campaigns are not new—they are as old as the Republic:
“Our founding fathers knew very well the power of a sharp character assassination . . . Hamilton and Jefferson were planting stuff on each other’s sex lives.”
The author documents many smear campaigns—originating from both the Left and the Right. She cites the Clarence Thomas hearings as an example of smears from both sides, and also, how one might fight a smear:
“The Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination showed both sides that the best way to fight a smear might not be to take a defensive posture—but to mount an offensive countersmear.”
Attkisson is careful to define what she means by “smear.” It’s not the dissemination of falsehoods, so much as exaggeration: “Expert smear artists take a sprinkle of truth—in this case Imus’s objectionable comments—and pervert it into a weapon of mass destruction to advance a larger goal, often political or financial.” Smear campaigns take something that is true and "amplify a misdeed out of proportion.”
For me, one of the most fascinating sections was about a variation of smear called “Astroturf.” In this variation, the pros pretend they are ordinary folks: “Paid interests disguised as ordinary people troll assigned topics, news sites, reporters, blogs, and social media for the purpose of posting comments that spin and confuse.” The idea is to “give the impression there’s widespread support for or against an agenda when there’s not.”
Attkisson concludes with this sobering warning:
“One thing you can count on is that most every image that crosses your path has been put there for a reason. Nothing happens by accident. What you need to ask yourself isn’t so much Is it true, but Who wants me to believe it—and why?”
So all in all, I found THE SMEAR to be a solid, and a scary work. The author writes clearly and concisely. Although not a short book, it is reasonably easy to follow. The book explains many detailed cases on both sides of the political spectrum. Of course, I already knew about many of the tragic stories, but I had no idea of the magnitude of the smear machines.
