Is Spitzer a victim of a Black PR campaign?
When I woke up this Monday I thought this would be one of those tedious weeks, when nothing really happens in the PR horizon. Thankfully, I was totally wrong!
The New York Times put a smile on my face with its shocking disclosure that the governor (now an ex-head) of the State of NY, Eliot Spitzer, has been linked to a VIP prostitution ring. Well, I must say I wasn’t very surprised. Actually I had been expecting something like this to happen and was even quite worried that the ongoing presidential campaigns in the US still haven’t amused us with some of the typical-for-this-time compromising scandals.
Political sex scandals have always been a favorite and most useful tactic for BPR practitioners. The main reason is that this type of crisis negatively affects all of the significant aspects in the target’s life- family, career, social status, health and security. Usually, it is used for defamation or to cause the resignation of some of the most powerful names of the day (almost 80 % of the people step out of their positions). It is also an interesting fact that most of the individuals that have been involved in sexual misconduct are male and married. Personally, I haven’t ever heard of a public woman? ever being prosecuted for sexual harassment so if you have information about such a case please let me know. The other sure indication is that smear campaigns are often produced in the manner of box-office hits and have their own introduction, culmination and end. Keep an eye on the structure of the scandal; see how many juicy details constantly pop-up; think about who shows up on the TV (in this case the friends of the girl) and overall try to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
How the sexual accusation works
- It is a sign of hypocrisy: The main point here is to reveal the unknown, hidden life of the target. It must show that there is a huge incompatibility between his public and private face, which could also affect his professional and social responsibilities. Distrust is the key element here and if the person is able to betray his own family, he is capable of doing even worse towards the interests of the society in general.
- It could be connected to a crime: The Spitzer affair is not only an ethical offence towards the people that have put their trust in him, but also shows a lack of respect towards the American laws. Being part of a prostitution ring implies that the ex-governor is likely to disobey the rules of his country and to place his own ego above the obvious state politics. The funny thing here is that in 2004 he was part of an investigation of an escort service in NYC that resulted in the arrest of 18 people on charges of promoting prostitution and related charges ruined by sexual irregulations?. The irony here speaks for itself.
- The Reputation recovery process will take a long time: It is a well-known fact that even if you build up your reputation for years, it takes only a minute to lose it forever. One of the biggest problems facing the reputation officers today is that many of them are trying to create extremely superb, almost unrealistic images of current politicians. They are trying to accumulate all of the positive qualities you can think of and are somehow losing connection with reality and normal human characteristics such as weaknesses, passions and imperfections. This hyperbolism disables professionals from fully recovering their good name, with the lack of a proper explanation of who they actually are.
Who is behind the smear allegation
The official statement is that Spitzer’s involvement in the ring was caught on a federal wiretap as part of an investigation opened in recent months. The information was leaked by a law enforcement official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing inquiry. Who he was or what kind of interest he is pursuing is not very clear, but I know one thing for sure, in most of the cases attackers use a third party (even if they are government or legislative bodies) to spread their data without the risk of being caught.
So who has the right motives to take Spitzer down? Well, basically this could be anybody:
- It could be let. Gov. David Paterson - the person who succeeded him
- It could be “Kristen” or Ashley Alexandra Dupre who turned out to be a hungry R&B singer, seeking fame
- It could be the Republican Party- trying to defame the members of the opposition before the upcoming elections
- It could be someone from his own political group
- It could be some big fish, whose economical and financial interests have been offended by the strong anti- criminal activities, proclaimed by the ex NY governor
- It could be someone who is trying to distract the public eye for some unknown reasons, by creating a stronger political scandal that will fully absorb the attention of the media.
comments
Interesting post. I have to admit that this is well outside of my realm of knowledge, but it interests me so I started reading.
I have to say when I first saw this news it didn’t sit right with me, like it was too convenient though I didn’t really know why. The way the information was leaked, how it doesn’t match normal trends for this type of activity, and his past actions all point to this being a smear as you pointed out, and as for me, I’d put my money on either the Republicans, some big fish, or creating a distraction for the reasons behind this one. Seeking fame has a good possibility too, though I haven’t seen the singer milking too much publicity out of this yet, so unless I just missed seeing it I don’t think its one of the reasons for this smear. Guess we’ll all have to pay close attention to all the visible aftermath and watch for other attacks to figure this whole thing out.