A Broken Crown: the Kaiser’s Rebuke of Hitler
By: Zayd Hamid, CARP Intern After World War I, the German state transformed from an illiberal constitutional monarchy to a semi-liberal republic. That republic…
Welcome to new intern Matthew Kovacev!
Matthew Kovacev was born in Pasadena, CA, but moved to the DC area at a very young age. He has spent much of his…
Welcome new intern, Ninya Khabush!
Ninya Khabush is currently studying at George Mason University. She is majoring in Government and International Politics with an interest in minoring Chinese. Ninya…
“Effects without cause”: Wagner’s character assassination of Meyerbeer
By Henri van Nispen Please allow me to begin with a question: Do you, dear reader, think that allowing music from Jewish composers in…
Welcome new intern, Lesley Chen!
Lesley Chen is a current undergraduate student at George Mason University pursuing a Major in Government and International Politics and a Minor in Legal…
A Prime Minister, A Scandal, and the Assassination of a Country’s Reputation, Part 2
By Neofytos Aspriadis In my previous post, I described how character attacks have been utilized in Greek politics during the COVID-19 pandemic, which reached…
A Prime Minister, A Scandal, and the Assassination of a Country’s Reputation
By Neofytos Aspriadis Part I Character assassination of states is defined as “the pursuit of sovereign states to destroy the reputation and image of…
Attacked over Partying
By Zayd Hamid Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin is the youngest female head of state in the world. With that distinction comes attention to…
Welcome to a new group of interns!
We at CARP lab are excited to welcome new and returning interns to our team this fall, and we’re handing over the blog reins…
CARP Debates: Depp v. Heard
Was Johnny Depp’s recent legal victory over ex-wife Amber Heard a victory the court of public opinion? CARP Facebook group members Nancy Snow and…
Brian Flores: Attention-Seeker or Victim
By Jeffrey Kafka Jr and Camilla Bracamonte Ex Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores has filed a lawsuit against the NFL on the fact of…
Banking on Bill Gates
By Jennifer Keohane Leadership vacuums beg to be filled, and the void in the coronavirus response from the Trump White House was black-hole-sized. As…
Character Assassination in the 2020 Presidential Race: A New Low?
By Andrew Douglas The race for the White House between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden gets uglier by the day. Join…
CARP Lab welcomes new intern
CARP Lab is pleased to introduce you to our newest intern, Andrew Douglas, who is joining us in Washington, DC this fall. Andrew is…
Reputation and Character Assassination in Academia: A Jessica Krug Story
By Arya Rashidian The reputation of a professor is how the students perceive the image of the professor based on their decisions, actions, and…
New YouTube Series
Check out our new “5 Questions in 5 Minutes” series. It features CARP Lab co-founders discussing their research with Arya Rashidi, CARP marketing intern.…
Part III: Character Assassination and the Fall of Louis XVI
Louis XVI’s reign saw the older forms of image enhancement known under Louis XIV (and even Louis XV) undermined as the rise of the…
`Part II: The Slippage of Monarchical Character Enhancement and Louis XV’s Political Culture
By Mikayla Knutson In the early years of Louis XV’s minority, Louis XIV’s memory conjured backlash to contemporary political culture. This marked the first…
Part I: Image Control and Character Enhancement under Louis XIV
By Mikayla Knutson French reverence of the monarch shifted dramatically between Louis XIV to Louis XVI as the pendulum shifted from extreme character enhancement…
Webinar #8: Presidential Character from Clinton and Cable to Trump and Twitter
This morning, CARP Lab hosted a conversation between Sergei Samoilenko and Dr. Stephen Farnsworth. Dr. Farnsworth is a professor at the University of Mary…
Webinar #7: Character Assassination in Political Campaigns
Today, Eric Shiraev spoke with political campaign consultant Jason Jay Smart about the role of opposition research in campaigning, different government systems, and how…
Webinar #6: Fallen Idols: Toppling Statues throughout the Ages
Across the world, statues of historical figures have recently become the focus of fierce discussion. However, this is hardly a new phenomenon. From Egyptian…
Webinar #5: Political Humor, Caricature, and Saturday Night Live
If you missed our webinar on June 12 with political humor expert Christopher Gilbert of Assumption University, it’s available here on YouTube. In this…
Character Attacks 2.0: A Politically Incorrect COVID-19 Guide
A disclaimer: Do not do not take this opinion piece too seriously. If you read it, then garnish it with a with a grain…
Webinar # 4: Conspiracy Theories and COVID-19 with John Cook
CARP 2020 Webinar # 4: Conspiracy Theories and COVID-19 is now posted on our YouTube channel. John Cook, George Mason University, Founder of SkepticalScience.com…
Webinar #3: Evil Queens and Wicked Empresses
If you missed the webinar on May 15, 2020, featuring Martijn Icks and Eric Shiraev discussing Dr. Icks’s chapter in the Routledge Handbook of…
CARP Webinar # 2: The Psychology of Character Assassination with Eric Shiraev
This webinar features a conversation with Dr. Eric Shiraev (George Mason U) about the psychology of character assassination. What can we learn from psychology? Are there…
May 1, 2020 Webinar Posted on YouTube
As the mastermind behind the 1950s Communist witch hunt, US Senator Joseph McCarthy was one of the most notorious political figures of his time.…
On “Pederastic Monkeys”, “Bedwetting Men”, and “Fat Pigs”: Character Assassination in Online “Dueling”
By Eric Shiraev Decades ago, in my glorious kindergarten years, I remember those spontaneous episodes of verbal dueling we were engaged with one another,…
Impeachment Hearings, Credibility, and Character Assassination
By: Jennifer Keohane Character assassination infuses the impeachment inquiry unfolding in Washington, DC, the past few weeks. While there are any number of examples…
Clodius the Cross-Dresser
By Martijn Icks In December 62 BCE, Rome was gripped by a bizarre scandal. Publius Clodius Pulcher, a young man from a noble family,…
The Collaborative Nature of Modern Subversive Campaigns
By Sergei A. Samoilenko In January 2019, fake editions of The Washington Postwere handed out by members of culture jamming activist group the Yes…
Salieri vs. Mozart: Wrongfully Attacked?
By Eric Shiraev The composer Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) could not have even thought about becoming one of the most noticeable victims of character assassination…
The Amsterdam Colloquium: Some Thoughts
By Martijn Icks On June 21st, Edwina Hagen and I organized the colloquium “Character Assassination! Media and Mudslinging from Caligula to King Gorilla” in…
They Spoke In Defense of Their Contracts: Apologia in Sports
We often talk about character assassination in politics, but of course character attacks abound in other social realms as well. Sports, entertainment, academia, science,…
On Our Terminology
By Eric Shiraev Image:Wikimedia Commons/John Tenniel “When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I…
Traitors to Turkey
By Martijn Icks Ethnic minorities are particularly vulnerable to character attacks. Last March, Dutch parliament passed a motion urging the political party DENK to…
Character Assassination in the Court of Law
Or: Why Don’t More Character Assassins get Sued? One of the things that our extensive research into character assassination has uncovered is the staying…
Character Assassination: The Historical Perspective [Part 2]
By Martijn Icks In my previous blog, I argued for the importance of historical perspectives on character assassination. However, historical research also comes with…
Fiction to Reality in Ukraine’s Election Standoff
By Alexander Naumov Remember the slogan “Underwood 2016” when we wondered if Frank from House of Cards could get things done in Washington? Ukrainians…
Can Civil Debate Save Us?
As a former competitive debater and current professor of argumentation theories, I get a lot of questions about what civil debate entails. Moreover, as…
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Character Assassination: The Historical Perspective [Part 1]
By Martijn Icks “History is bunk,” American business man Henry Ford famously said. It’s a beloved quote, especially among historians, who like nothing better…
Keynote Address & Professional Speakers
Saturday, March 16 1:30-2:30 PM Keynote Address Shawn Turner is the President of MPACT Communication, a risk and strategy communication consultancy, and a Professor…
The Growing Character Assassination of Ralph Northam
by Rod Carveth OK, a couple of items to start with. First, should I ever lose my mind and run for elective office, here’s…
How Navalny Torpedoes Russian Officials
Photo: “Bribe” over Oleg Deripaska embracing Sergei Prikhodko, Titanic-style By Alexander Naumov “Hi, it’s Navalny.” This is how Russia’s most popular oppositionist starts his…
“I Just Don’t Like Her”
Or: We Can dance if we want to. I’ve written before about the double-bind facing female political candidates, which is well-established in the rhetorical…
CA trends to follow in 2019
By Sergei A. Samoilenko In this blog post, I continue the tradition of observing cultural tendencies relevant to the study of CA and reputation management.…
Outing Eulenburg: A German Scandal
By Martijn Icks “Outing” politicians and other public figures as gay against their wishes is a long-established practice in modern journalism. Some reporters regard…
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As Crazy As Caligula? [Part 2]
By Henri van Nispen Caligula is clearly a case of imperial madness and hardly suitable for serious reflection upon today’s problems. I care to…
The Grinch Who Assassinated Christmas
If you’ve been reading this blog and the work of CARP for awhile, you know that we have been pretty clear that only people…
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As Crazy As Caligula? [Part 1]
By Henri van Nispen Oderint, dum metuant. “Let them hate, so long as they fear.” It certainly is an adage appropriate for a creature…
The Tetris Model of Character Assassination
By Sergei A. Samoilenko Character assassination comes in many shapes and forms. Character attacks vary in their complexity across time and cultures at interpersonal,…
On Emotion, Character, and Gender
According to various reports, Hillary Clinton did not cry the night she lost the presidency to Donald Trump in 2016. Yet, one of her…
Dealing with the Iron Duke
By Martijn Icks Our Devil, who doth in Brussels dwell Cursed be thy name in heaven and in hell These words are not…
Alfred Nobel and Posthumous Reputation Management
By Sergei A. Samoilenko In 1888, a French newspaper published an obituary headlined “Le marchand de la mort est mort” (“The merchant of death…
Assassinating Survivors of Sexual Assault
By: Jennifer Keohane A rancorous, partisan battle over Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court has rocked Washington, DC this week. Kavanaugh is defending…
Theodora’s Secrets
By Martijn Icks Ravenna is among Italy’s hidden gems. Boasting no less than eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, its rich history as a residence…
Making Profit from Character Assassination
In times of deep political polarization, the continued capitalization of kompromat and the circulation of ridicule in the media continue to drive divergent attitudes…
Remembering John McCain
The passing of long-serving senator and two-time presidential candidate John McCain on August 25, 2018, spurred discussion in Washington this week. It also illustrates…
The Ancient Roots of Character Assassination
By Martijn Icks When did character assassination originate? The question is impossible to answer. We can safely bet that the art of defamation is…
Trumpism as Brand Commodification
The so-called Trump Bump is a gift that keeps on giving. Traditional news outlets and their social media competitors for advertising dollars, liberals and…
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The Character of Thomas Jefferson: Then and Now [Part 2]
Today, the most notable character attacks of Thomas Jefferson derive from widely-circulated newspapers, campus protests, or national figureheads. But Jefferson’s character is also questioned…
Shame on You: Public Humiliation as Punishment
By Martijn Icks Social media have made public shaming all too easy. With great frequency, cries of moral indignation resound on the Internet, aimed…
On Authenticity and Character Assassination
By Jennifer Keohane While the heat and humidity have made those in DC lethargic and prone to staying inside and binging on Netflix, on…
CARP Welcomes Undergraduate Researcher Mikayla Knutson
The following is a brief summary of Mikayla’s research experience in her own words. You can find her very first contribution to the CARP…
![The Character of Thomas Jefferson: Then and Now [Part 1]](https://carp2019826045890.files.wordpress.com/2020/12/d8d70-jefferson_portrait_rembrandtpeale_1800.jpg?w=400&h=400&crop=1)
The Character of Thomas Jefferson: Then and Now [Part 1]
By Mikayla Knutson In recent years, research into Sally Hemings’ life highlighted the experiences of slaves at Monticello and prompted questions of Thomas Jefferson’s apparent…
CARP 2019 Conference “Character Assassination and Populism”
Fairfax, VA – George Mason University’s Character Assassination and Reputation Politics (CARP) Research Lab hosts its second international conference “Character Assassination and Populism: Challenges and Responses” on…
Judging the Dead: The Revolting Case of the Cadaver Synod
By Martijn Icks Read – How there was a ghastly trial once Of a dead man by a live man, and both, Popes (Robert…
On Western Paternalism, Suffering Others, and White Knight Syndrome
By Sergei A. Samoilenko In March 2012, Teju Cole, an American writer, photographer, and art historian, wrote on his Twitter account, “The fastest growth…
Selfish Teachers
By: Jennifer Keohane Can you undertake a character assassination campaign against a profession? We at CARP Lab have had rousing debates about whether groups…
Sharia for the Netherlands
By Martijn Icks Last month, Eric Shiraev and I participated in the 2nd International Conference in Scandalogy at the University of Bamberg, Germany. It…
CARP Digest [March 2018]
Hello, It’s been another busy month for CARP and it’s contributors. Recently, Jennifer Keohane, Sergei Samoilenko and Eric Shiraev spoke about CARP, it’s research…
Highlights from Perspectives on Character Assassination
By Sergei Samoilenko This past Friday, Jennifer Keohane, Eric Shiraev and I participated in a panel on the topic of “Perspectives on Character Assassination…
New Book Announcement
By Jennifer Keohane I want to use this post to share a bit of exciting news. I have a new monograph, released with Lexington…
NETWORKS OF LIES, or How the Cambridge Analytica Scandal Worked
By Vasily Gatov Most people do not usually meet and befriend political consultants or spin doctors. Neither are they well acquainted with system architects…
CARP Digest [February 2018]
We have been busy this past month. Just yesterday, Sergei Samoilenko and I attended a series of panels in Washington, D.C. focusing on reputation…
Take Aways from Reputation Management Challenges: What Every New Professional Should Know
By Katya Beisel Yesterday morning, seasoned public relations practitioners, communication educators and university students from across the nation’s capitol area gathered at the National…
Assassinating Children and Teens. Or, leave Barron Trump Alone
By: Jennifer Keohane There’s been an unspoken rule of American politics that the children of politicians are off-limits for mockery in the press. While…
Dracula: A Tale of Horror
By Martijn Icks Few names in history hold as much terror as that of Vlad Dracula, “Little Dragon”, also known as Vlad the Impaler.…
CARP Digest [January 2018]
In Head in the Clouds: The Ridicule of Socrates in Classical Athens, Martijn Icks started a new year by looking to the past and…
Living in a Fishbowl of Big Data: Insights for CA Research
Internet companies and intelligence agencies now have access to large amounts of personal data including compromising materials that can be potentially used for blackmailing…
How is Character Communicated?
By Jennifer Keohane In this post, I introduce a rhetorical approach to character. This understanding may not square with other academic disciplines that may…
Femmes Fatales in Ancient Rome: Messalina and Agrippina
By Martijn Icks Women don’t have it easy in politics. They are held to high, often conflicting, standards by men, but perhaps by other…
On #MeToo and Brandjacking of Social Movement Campaigns
Clearly, a brandjacked and counterfeited social cause is a serious issue. When pinpointing and punishing a few guilty scapegoats is generally prescribed as a…
Assassinating Academics
By Jennifer Keohane Approximately three weeks ago, I published an opinion editorial in the Baltimore Sun that was critical of the commencement speaker at…
Head in the Clouds: The Ridicule of Socrates in Classical Athens
By Martijn Icks The line between good-hearted humour and debasing ridicule is notoriously hard to draw. A few weeks ago, Sergei Samoilenko blogged about…
The Declining Importance of Character and Other 2018 Trends
By Sergei Samoilenko Many media and political analysts struggle to adequately explain today’s reputation scandals. Oftentimes, they attempt to grasp the recent downfall of…
Sex and Smears: Can Character Assassination Be Good?
By: Jennifer Keohane In a previous post, I noted that while hypocrisy surrounding gun policy has not been enough to cast doubt on the…
Why Character Assassination Is A Misleading Term (But we continue to use it anyway)
By Martijn Icks Character assassination is an eye-catching word. It triggers associations with murder and violence, with slashed throats and dripping poison. It’s a…
CARP Digest [November 2017]
by Katya Beisel November may not have been as busy for us as October was, but it was just as exciting. Aside from our…
Like a Jester, Like a Joker: Comedians as The Fourth Estate in a Low-Trust Society
Because of distributed influence away from religious leaders, and politicians, popular comedians are increasingly replacing the traditional press as primary opinion leaders.
Gun Control Debate Fails to Rage On
Because the National Communication Association conference is coming up later this week, pulling many of us away from classes and research, I’m not going…
The Ungodly Ideas of Spinoza
By Martijn Icks and Rudmer Bijlsma At first glance, the Jewish-Dutch philosopher Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677) seems an unlikely target for character assassination. The…
The Character Assassination Check List
by Eric Shiraev, Ph.D. These days we receive lots of emails, postings, and other comments related to our work. Many messages come from people…
CARP Digest [October 2017]
by Katya Beisel October was eventful for us. It was CARP’s first full month of publishing content on this new platform. Additionally, we devoted…
The Benefits of Bureaucratic Leadership: When There is No Character to Assassinate
By Sergei Samoilenko In March 2017, Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most famous anti-corruption activist, and his Anti-Corruption Foundation launched a large-scale investigation campaign “Don’t Call…
One Hypocrisy Charge that Won’t Seem to Stick
It seems that at least for now, sexual hypocrisy will be punished, but firearm hypocrisy will not be.
Fiddler on the Roof: Nero and the Great Fire of Rome
By Martijn Icks “Politicians fiddling while the NHS burns,” wrote an editor in the Belfast Telegraph last week. “Tweeting while the world burns,” an…
The Character Assassination of Robert Bork
Was Robert Bork a victim of Character Assassination?
Responding to Misinformation and Character Assassination in Science
By Sergei Samoilenko Last week I had a chance to discuss several issues related to character attacks against scientists with my colleagues at the…
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Character Assassination and Reputation Politics Research Lab 