ANATOMY: Of a smear

Do you have a deep dislike or distain for someone you don’t know or have never met? If so, it may be because someone you don’t know and have never met told you this is what you should think. You may be a victim of a smear.

So what is a smear? Author and journalist Sheryl Attkisson wrote a book on the subject titled “The Smear.” She wants to help people understand how shady political operatives attempt to control what you see and what you think. The book defines a “smear“ as “An effort to manipulate opinion by promulgating an overblown, scandalous and damaging narrative.

The goal is to destroy ideas by ruining the people who are most effective at communicating them.”

We all saw this tactic used against President Trump. Many were able to see, eventually, that this is what operatives were doing against Trump. Even Nancy Pelosi admitted it was a tactic. Some smears were large-scale such as The Russia Collusion Hoax, and some as simple as “Trump says to Drink Bleach.” Sadly, pushing out a false narrative by activists is a widely used tactic, always with the same play book.

This smear tactic is used by operatives every day even in our own community. Why then, when so many could see through these smear campaigns against President Trump, are people not able to see through the smear tactics used against people in our own community? It is time to consider what we are reading. Stop and think. The purpose of a smear campaign is to rile up emotions and promote hate. Don’t let yourself fall for it.

STEPHANIE SCHAD

Coeur d’Alene