Swiftboating
Swiftboating is a term used in US American politics that can roughly be translated with the German term “ Schmutzkampagne ”, although there are striking differences.
More precisely, it concerns an attack on an election campaigner, whereby suddenly "new facts" are brought to light. These new facts suddenly make central points of the self-portrayal of a politician seem implausible and are not published by the political opponent, but rather by apparently “neutral” persons or groups in order to involve the attacked person in a “character debate” that they must lose.
Essential to this term is the creation of “evidence” by a group of witnesses, the creation of evidence through specially created homepages, political blogs, etc., which are intended to create the impression of seriousness and credibility.
Origin of the term
In the 2004 election campaign for the US presidency between George W. Bush and John Kerry , the Democratic candidate Kerry presented himself as experienced in military matters and as a veteran of the Vietnam War , as he had commanded a Swift Boat (patrol boat). The central point of his election campaign was the promise to solve the problems caused by the occupation of Iraq, emphasizing his bravery in the face of the enemy, as demonstrated by three " Purple Hearts " (wound badges).
Shortly thereafter, the group of alleged ex-war comrades, the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth , appeared, portraying Kerry as a coward, militarily incapable, etc., which led to a massive loss of popularity among the American public. There is ample evidence that the formation and funding of the group was initiated by George Bush's electoral staff and that it was formed solely to reduce Kerry's chances in this way.
Swiftboating Obama
The book The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality , published on August 1, 2008, is understood by political commentators as an attempt to discredit the presidential candidate Barack Obama in the same way as John Kerry did, and is also referred to as "swiftboating". With hundreds of footnotes, this book tries to substantiate allegations such as drug abuse, personality cult, Muslim, etc. by referring to right-wing radical political blogs and websites.
Individual evidence
- ↑ The WashingtonNote: - ( Memento of the original from August 29, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . As of August 15, 2008
- ↑ "Obama is being swiftboated yet again": http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-marsh/swiftboating-obama_b_74670.html . As of August 15, 2008
- ↑ Pensito Review: http://www.pensitoreview.com/2008/01/05/swiftboating-obamas-religion . As of August 15, 2008
- ↑ USA blog: Swiftboating Obama: - ( Memento of the original from December 31, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . As of August 14, 2008.
