Negative campaigning, also known more colloquially as "mudslinging", is trying to win an advantage by referring to negative aspects of an opponent or of a policy rather than emphasizing one's own positive attributes or preferred policies. In the broadest sense, the term covers any rhetoric in which one refers to one's opponent in an ad hominem manner.
Negative campaigning can be found in most marketplaces where ideas are contested. In U.S. politics, "mudslinging" has been called "as American as Mississippi mud". Some research suggests negative campaigning is the norm in all political venues, mitigated only by the dynamics of a particular contest.
Read more about Negative Campaigning: Techniques, Advantages, Risks and Consequences, Controversy and Regulation
Famous quotes containing the word negative:
“There is no reason why parents who work hard at a job to support a family, who nurture children during the hours at home, and who have searched for and selected the best [daycare] arrangement possible for their children need to feel anxious and guilty. It almost seems as if our culture wants parents to experience these negative feelings.”
—Gwen Morgan (20th century)