Digital Assassination

The Digital Rumor Mill

September 20, 2011

A New York Times article this morning describes in graphic detail how social media sites are replacing the small town coffee shop as the venue for gossip—but with an anonymous freedom to be vicious.  One mother of two was falsely described as “a methed-out” “freak” and worse.

In Digital Assassination, we report on a related phenomena—how politically active elites in rural counties are setting up what look like public-spirited Web sites that purport to sponsor discussions on local issues, when in fact they exist to slip verbal knives in the ribs of political rivals.