Public figures are as effective as their reputations are strong. Rumors, lies and propaganda eat away at reputations.
Defending against these cancers takes patience, skill and strategy.
First, you need to understand why people remember -- and repeat -- gossip and rumors.
Part of the reason is that our brains are hard-wired to only keep the most important information about other people.
You don't have enough space in your head to remember every little detail, good or bad, about all the people you encounter.
It is, however, vitally important to remember bad and dangerous things about other people.
Would you:
- Get into a car with a notorious drunk driver?
- Marry a man known for being unfaithful?
- Elect a mayor who embezzled money from his last job?
- Hire an actress who tends to pout in her trailer for days?
I could go back now and tell you wonderful things about the drunk driver, or the pouty actress -- that the drunk won a Bronze Star in Vietnam, that the actress has been nominated for three Oscars -- and it wouldn't matter. Your first impression is hard to shake.
We could even reverse this, and tell you three wonderful things first, then the one horrible thing, but the horrible bit of gossip, true or not, would have more weight and power.
That's the problem with rumors, gossip and lies.
Propaganda is even tougher to combat. It's an organized campaign of misinformation, fear, censorship, half-truths and lies.