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The Art of Countering Smear Campaign

by Sudipta Nandi
(Kolkata, India)

The Art of Countering Smear Campaign: A Reverse Psychological Approach


Does the phrase “smear campaign” sound familiar? Maybe not, but I am sure it immediately pokes something inside, something in the gut. Right?

A Tonny Warrick quote may help more.

“Rumors are passed by haters, spread by fools, and believed by idiots.”

Yes, rumors involving defamation, anonymous attacks, manipulated, amplified half-truths or outright lies are integral parts of a smear campaign. Most of the time, the victims of smear campaigns feel so helpless that they try the “flight” response. However, non addressal of such activities only encourage more integrated attacks. Ethnicity and race are often highly targeted by smear campaigns and those campaigns are responsible for elevated levels of PTSD, anxiety, depression and other relevant disorders.

Smear campaigns are possible anywhere. It can be the workplace, the frequently visited places, the communities people live in or a just ended relationship.

Case 1: This is a very common story. So, alpha boy has a sigma girlfriend. Now, alpha boy is egoistic, glitter while sigma girl is ambivert and reserved. Obviously, the relationship ends with speed. After some months, sigma girl starts to observe that her profiles in social media are getting attacked with degrading phrases. Some guys in her community are leering at her and whispering. Rumors always reach the victim’s ear. She found out from some common friends, that the ex is spreading rumors about her being in multiple relationships and a gold digger. The rumors started attracting perverts and other nasty people.

Case 2: This one is a workplace story. A new male intern (say M) joins the sales team of a renowned company. M is a bookworm and introvert. The team leader (say TL) is a micromanager with massive passive aggressive traits. TL has a reputation for increasing work pressure for interns to the level of burnout. Interns usually tolerate the pressure, but M starts to raise his voice. Subtly but firmly. The whole team starts to react. Reactions involve isolation, poor feedback, demotivating words and poor treatments. When M reports to the HR, many employees contact to state similar experiences. But none of them reported as they were too overwhelmed with the strategic attacks.

To fight back, we need to go to the root of the smear campaign.

The Psychological Traits of Smear Campaign

1) It is a type of emotional abuse
2) It focuses on breaking confidence and healthy spirit
3) There are tendencies to prove the victim crazy, delusional and not important
4) The goal is to gain something including full control

Why Does Smear Campaign work?

Well, social dynamics and cognitive biases have a lot to do with it. Note that if the group of people do not help the culprit/hater(s), those campaigns never work. Considering the rumor quote, the fools and idiots are usually afraid, and the haters have some profitable powers (to help the fools and idiots). For instance, in case 2, the TL has power over feedback and other hierarchical object points. Moreover, the fools and idiots often suffer from the bystander syndrome. This syndrome refers to inactivity in the presence of others. People always think that someone else is going to react or take initiative. Also, they tend to imitate the reactions of others in the group. Naturally, the victims never get the required support.

How To Deal with the Campaign?

We should understand that fools and idiots are not going to help. They are the key nodes of this campaign. But, there is another quote.

“Rumors die when they reach a wise person’s ears”.

So, we need to find these wise people. They can be a victim's key support system. Of course, lady luck sometimes plays “hard to get”. So, we need a strategic and evidence-based path.

The Reverse Psychological Approach

1) Golden rule 1: Never lose your calm, that is a major victory for them
2) Rather keep a daily journal with details of who, what, how, patterns and motives
3) Tell your story to the support group, family, friends, supportive colleagues (if any)
4) Do not lose connection with the support group
5) Learn legal rights
6) Report with details (even a simple social media post can help finding a focus group)
7) Golden Rule 2: Do not confront them with the same aggression or same strategy (counter-gossip)

Finally, silence is not guilt. Rather, silence can be used proactively. For instance, the sigma in case 1 creates a group of similar female victims and keeps posting on social media. She also takes the help of a women's group in the community and the rumors start to die.

There are always some ways. So, stay informed, stay protected.


References
https://reputationreturn.com/emotional-effects-of-smear-campaigns/
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/10757172-rumors-are-passed-by-haters-spread-by-fools-and-believed
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/speaking-in-tongues/202412/smear-campaigns-and-how-to-overcome-them
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/bystander-effect

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