FT244

The Internet has become a major force in American elections. Political parties use it to contact supporters, raise money, organise, and communicate with voters. And in the recent presidential election, the Republicans used the Net to spread disinformation – conspiracy theories – about Barack and Michelle Obama. (I should point out that I’m not being partisan here, although if the Democrats tried anything similar on the Republican candidate John McCain, I have yet to come across it).


The strategy appeared to be to make the Obamas seem strange, ‘other’ – even actually dangerous. Since Obama was a black man with an Arab middle name (Huss­ein), and a former law professor to boot, generating smears about the Obamas wasn’t hard.