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 conservatives, and even Trump and Putin all benefit from the commodification of public interest in the Trump White House.
By Jennifer Keohane While the heat and humidity have made those in DC lethargic and prone to staying inside and binging on Netflix, on Twitter, it’s always a perfect 75 degrees with conditions ripe for character assassination. My case today comes from the recent wave of primary elections ahead of November’s midterms. In New York’s …
Continue reading On Authenticity and Character Assassination
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 March 15-17, 2019. One primary characteristic of today’s global society is the growing public distrust in traditional authorities. In the context of institutional legitimacy crisis, there is a great demand for …
Continue reading CARP 2019 Conference “Character Assassination and Populism”
By Sergei A. Samoilenko In March 2012, Teju Cole, an American writer, photographer, and art historian, wrote on his Twitter account, “The fastest growth industry in the US is the White Savior Industrial Complex. The white saviour supports brutal policies in the morning, founds charities in the afternoon, and receives awards in the evening.” It …
Continue reading On Western Paternalism, Suffering Others, and White Knight Syndrome
By Vasily Gatov Most people do not usually meet and befriend political consultants or spin doctors. Neither are they well acquainted with system architects and hackers – those who write rules of computer network systems and those who crack them. The overwhelming majority of the public gathers their understanding and perception of such professionals from …
Continue reading NETWORKS OF LIES, or How the Cambridge Analytica Scandal Worked
Internet companies and intelligence agencies now have access to large amounts of personal data including compromising materials that can be potentially used for blackmailing the next generation of politicians and presidents.
Clearly, a brandjacked and counterfeited social cause is a serious issue. When pinpointing and punishing a few guilty scapegoats is generally prescribed as a solution to a complex issue, there is less urgency to promote real structural changes. By trivializing the campaign, multiple influencers with vested interests stonewall the necessary development of numerous matters such as women’s autonomy, broken legal systems, and institutionalized structural violence in Hollywood.
by Katya Beisel November may not have been as busy for us as October was, but it was just as exciting. Aside from our regular weekly blog posts, we organized our first virtual press conference on Nov. 10. Our first attempt at livestreaming panel discussions of CARP's research initiatives and insights was a success, and …
Because of distributed influence away from religious leaders, and politicians, popular comedians are increasingly replacing the traditional press as primary opinion leaders.
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 we already know very well - they are our daily colleagues, nearby and distant research associates, and students. We also receive comments from those who we don’t know that well yet, …
Character Assassination and Reputation Politics Research Lab 