By Greg Sargent - July 29, 2008, 1:52PM
So what's the best way to debunk the false Obama smears?
Lots of folks are weighing in today on the
union mailer we posted on below that knocks down the more scurrilous rumors making the rounds about Barack Obama. A good take comes
by way of the Jed Report, who says that this is the best anti-smear effort he's seen yet:
In late June, Professor Sam Wang, a neuroscientist at Princeton (mindgeek at Daily Kos), penned a New York Times op-ed describing how debunking falsehoods by repeating the falsehoods can in fact strengthen the original falsehood. Consequently, the best way to spread the truth is by leading with the truth to debunk the smear. For example, emphasize that "Barack Obama IS a Christian" instead of saying what he is not...
As you can see, instead of answering each smear in the negative, the mailer instead poses questions that can be answered positively. In this fashion, the flier is reinforcing who Barack Obama actually is instead of who Barack Obama is not.
By contrast, the Obama campaign's
official anti-smear Web site leads with the smears, stating them as assertions, rather than as questions, the way the mailer does.
One related side-note: The word "Muslim" appears nowhere on the mailer, even though it directly takes on that particular falsehood. That seems very effective.
Late Update: A savvy political operative just got in touch to suggest that there is a reason to explicitly include the word "Muslim": It means that if you Google "Obama" and "Muslim," the anti-smear effort will also pop up. Which is to say, inquiring minds who are not yet informed on Obama's heritage could be more likely to learn the truth.
On edit: Everyone believes his/her way is the best way, but what we need is a responsible media.
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