The Smear

Behind most major political stories there is an agenda: to destroy an idea or the people advancing it. Maybe you watched someone on the news report that Donald Trump is a racist misogynist, saw a Facebook post about Russian hackers, or heard that Hillary Clinton used a body double during her campaign. Regardless of accuracy, the themes get repeated until they become accepted by many as the truth. It’s called “the smear.” Sophisticated operatives work behind the scenes to establish narratives, manipulate journalists, and shape the images you see every day. Nothing is by accident.

Now hard-hitting investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson takes you behind the scenes of the modern smear machine, exploring how operatives from super PACs, corporations, and both sides of the political aisle have manipulated a complicit mainstream media to make disinformation, rumor, and dirty tricks defining traits of our democracy.

And she doesn’t just tell stories—she names names, sharing her deeply researched account of how smears take shape and who their perpetrators are—from Clinton confidant Sidney Blumenthal to liberal political operative David Brock. Dissecting the most divisive, partisan election in American history, she explores how both sides used every smear tactic as a political weapon, culminating in Donald Trump’s hard-fought victory, even as his detractors have continued their smears against him into the Oval Office.

What emerges is a timely assault on the mainstream media’s willingness to sacrifice ethics for clicks, and the cynical politicians and high-paid consultants who exploit this reality.