# Whispering campaign > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Whispering_campaign > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Whispering_campaign.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whispering_campaign > Source revision: 1352912149 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Method of persuasion This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Whispering campaign" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) A **whispering campaign** or **whisper campaign** is a method of [persuasion](/source/Persuasion) in which damaging [rumors](/source/Rumor) or [innuendo](/source/Innuendo) are spread about the target, often in an attempt to create a [scandal](/source/Scandal) or other desired outcome, while the source of the rumors seeks to avoid being detected while they are spread. For example, a [political campaign](/source/Political_campaign) might distribute [anonymous](/source/Grey_propaganda) flyers attacking the other candidate. The tactic is generally considered [unethical](/source/Ethics)[*[by whom?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Unsupported_attributions)*] in [open societies](/source/Open_society), particularly in matters of [public policy](/source/Public_policy). The speed and the anonymity of communication made possible by modern technologies like the [Internet](/source/Internet) have increased public awareness of whisper campaigns and their ability to succeed. The phenomenon has also led to the failure of whisper campaigns, as those seeking to prevent them can publicize their existence much more readily than in the past. Whisper campaigns are defended in some circles as an efficient mechanism for [underdogs](/source/Underdog_(competition)) who lack other resources to [disclose](/source/Whistleblower) wrongdoings of the powerful without repercussions. ## Marketing Other tactics include "buying" drinks and giving away cigarettes to patrons without making known that the benefactor is a representative of the company. More recently, companies are also paying bloggers to mention products or causes. As a form of [astroturfing](/source/Astroturfing), companies hire employees to post comments on blogs, forums, online encyclopedias such as ([on Wikipedia](/source/Conflict-of-interest_editing_on_Wikipedia)), etc. to steer online conversations in their desired direction. ## Politics Whisper campaigns in the [United States](/source/United_States) began with the conflict between [John Adams](/source/John_Adams) and [Thomas Jefferson](/source/Thomas_Jefferson) as both were vying for the [1800 presidential election](/source/1800_United_States_presidential_election). The [Federalists](/source/Federalist_Party), which supported Adams, accused Jefferson of having robbed a widow and her children of a [trust fund](/source/Trust_fund) and of having fathered numerous [mulatto](/source/Mulatto) children by his own [slave women](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Female_slavery&action=edit&redlink=1). Whisper campaigns are frequently used in [electoral politics](/source/Electoral_politics) as a method of shaping the discussion without being seen to do so. [US President](/source/US_President) [Grover Cleveland](/source/Grover_Cleveland) was the target of a whisper campaign in 1884, when [Republicans](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) claimed that he had fathered an illegitimate child while he was still [Governor of New York](/source/Governor_of_New_York). US President [Franklin D. Roosevelt](/source/Franklin_D._Roosevelt) was frequently a topic of whisper campaigns resulting from his support of the [New Deal](/source/New_Deal) and his poor health. During the [2000 Republican presidential primary](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)_presidential_primaries%2C_2000), Senator [John McCain](/source/John_McCain), whose adopted daughter is a dark-skinned child from [Bangladesh](/source/Bangladesh), was the target of a whisper campaign, which implied that he had fathered a [black child](/source/Black_people) out of wedlock. Voters in [South Carolina](/source/South_Carolina) were reportedly asked in a [push poll](/source/Push_poll), "Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain if you knew that he fathered an illegitimate black child?".[1] In addition, on the week of the nomination vote, dozens of radio stations were inundated with calls on this topic, and [talk show](/source/Talk_show) hosts were asked what they thought of McCain's fathering of a black child out of wedlock. In 2018, when the question of what the United States should do about the [disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi](/source/Disappearance_of_Jamal_Khashoggi) was an open question, a whispering campaign was mounted that attacked the character of Khashoggi.[2][3] ## See also - [Black propaganda](/source/Black_propaganda) - [Call-out culture](/source/Call-out_culture) - [Chinese whispers](/source/Chinese_whispers) - [Defamation](/source/Defamation) - [Fraser Committee](/source/Fraser_Committee) - [Fear, uncertainty, and doubt](/source/Fear%2C_uncertainty%2C_and_doubt) - [Gang stalking](/source/Gang_stalking) - [Smear campaign](/source/Smear_campaign) - [Swiftboating](/source/Swiftboating) - [Whisper network](/source/Whisper_network) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Dirty Tricks, South Carolina and John McCain"](http://www.thenation.com/article/dirty-tricks-south-carolina-and-john-mccain/). *The Nation*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0027-8378](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0027-8378). Retrieved 2016-05-10. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-WP101818_2-0)** Robert Costa; Karoun Demirjian (October 18, 2018). ["Conservatives mount a whisper campaign smearing Khashoggi in defense of Trump"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/conservatives-mount-a-whisper-campaign-smearing-khashoggi-in-defense-of-trump/2018/10/18/feb92bd0-d306-11e8-b2d2-f397227b43f0_story.html). *The Washington Post*. Retrieved October 19, 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Forward101918_3-0)** Ron Kampeas (October 19, 2018). ["Pro-Israel Voices Join Smear Campaign Against Jamal Khashoggi"](https://forward.com/news/breaking-news/412347/pro-israel-voices-join-smear-campaign-against-jamal-khashoggi/). *The Forward*. Retrieved October 20, 2018. ## External links Look up ***[whispering campaign](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/whispering_campaign)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. - ["Dirty Tricks, Patrician Style"](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dirty-tricks-patrician-style/) by [Dick Meyer](/source/Dick_Meyer) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Whispering campaign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whispering_campaign) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whispering_campaign?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.