“Dirty tricks” are actions taken by a political campaign or candidate to damage their opponents that may involve unethical, distasteful, or illegal behaviors.
Political candidates and parties have used dirty tricks dating back to the early years of the American …
“Roorback” is a false, dirty or slanderous story used for political advantage, usually about a candidate seeking political office.
In 1940 the Chicago Tribune offered this definition: “A roorback is a false report about some alleged misdeed in a candidate’s …
A “push poll” is a form of interactive marketing in which political operatives try to sway voters to believe in certain policies or candidates under the guise of an opinion poll.
More akin to propaganda than an actual unbiased opinion …
The act of spreading negative rumors about a political candidate, in order to discredit him or her in the eyes of voters. This can also be called a whispering campaign. According to Merriam Webster, the phrase dates back to …
“Swiftboating” is an untrue or unfair political attack or smear campaign. It’s similar in meaning to mudslinging.
The term comes from the 2004 presidential campaign when the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth produced a series of television ads and …
In politics, “ballot box stuffing” is a term that refers to the practice of illegally submitting more than one vote in a ballot in which just one vote is actually permitted. The goal is ballot box stuffing is to rig …