Whose Funding, and Who Benefits from Attacks on Our Leaders

Over the past several months, I’ve seen consistent and coordinated professional attacks on Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. But there isn’t sufficient clarity or transparency on who’s funding and who benefits from such attacks.

I’ve said for years that the first step in denigrating a person’s character is to distort how others see them. This could look like a coordinated social media campaign involving journalists or influencers that crescendos into a leader’s removal from office or even calls for criminal charges. It could look like a steady drip of negative news stories that offer just enough information to raise questions, but is devoid of nuance, context or balanced reporting. It could even look like the strategic elevation of podcasters or YouTubers who agree to lambast certain leaders or officials.  

Here’s what I want you to appreciate: ruining a person’s brand doesn’t happen at once or overnight. Undermining a brand or leader often unfolds over a period of weeks, months and even years. Even respected leaders can be undermined by a steady stream of negative stories or coverage. As such, below I list four things I’d like you to remember when you see critiques on leaders.

There is Incentive to Consume

I’m sure few of us would like to admit it, but many people are drawn to that which is negative. If this weren’t the case, feel good stories would go often far more than they do. Leaders doing good work would be consistently platformed and highlighted. Instead, there is incentive to consume that which appears negative. In a best case scenario, media consumers may be so committed to uncovering wrongdoing that they may cease to examine who is lodging or funding the attack.

Premise Can Mask Motivation

When the negative coverage begins, it may appear benign; like a genuine quest to manage taxpayer resources or ferret out misbehavior. The premise can sometimes mask motivation. In some instances, the critique isn’t about accountability but rather about toppling someone deemed threatening to the status quo.

There are Multiple Examples

Think about Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. In addition to some traditional media outlets hawking his every move, there is an ecosystem of conservative YouTubers and bloggers who relentlessly publish stories about him. These platforms have hundreds of thousands of followers, and they can easily drive a narrative that undermines him or anyone in their crosshairs.

The same is true with New York Attorney General Letitia James, or Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Almost every month, major platforms will have one story or another about James, Willis or some other high profile Black leader. The titles are as predictable as they are derisive: “xx is in big trouble,” “xx is screwed,” “xxx exposed.”

One Profile Consistently Targeted

The subject of the coverage or content is almost always Black, almost always committed to getting resources to people in distress, and almost always threatening to the status quo. None of these leaders are perfect; but perfection is not the requirement for public service. Certainly, there are always things leaders can do to improve. But these attacks seem to be less about accountability and more about ruining these leaders’ political future by eroding their basis of support.

For this reason, I want media consumers to be savvier in what we consume and in understanding the message behind the message. Too often we consume without questioning the coding, biases and framing we’re receiving.

However, we cannot know who a person is until we appreciate who is funding them. We should examine every critique, not just by the merits, but also by who is funding and lodging the critique. And if a platform only critiques one profile of leader, we must not only ask why, but ask who benefits.

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Jennifer R. Farmer is a crisis communications expert and founder Spotlight PR LLC.   Be sure to check out other blogs for additional PR tips.