4/4 - A similar example is this fake scenario: You know the saying that you have more chance of being struck by lightning than you do of winning the lottery?
Well, you use that knowledge to spread the rumor that if you buy a lottery ticket from the only vendor in town that sells them, (A small business that is a competitor to you) that you will likely be struck by lightning.
Then you tell naïve town folk that a lightning strike happened near that convenience mart, and everyone in town is afraid to buy their lottery ticket from that vendor, for fear of getting struck. They just stop buying from that vendor all together.
That vendor now suffers a financial loss because selling lottery tickets was his bread and butter, and your competing convenience mart (that doesn't sell lottery tickets) gets more customers into your business instead.
Of course the lightning story was manufactured in order to harm the other guy and benefit yourself. It was disingenuous and insidious. It is analogous to what Media Matters does to those organizations that won't follow their orders.
A similar example is this fake scenario: You know the saying that you have more chance of being struck by lightning than you do of winning the lottery?
Well, you use that knowledge to spread the rumor that if you buy a lottery ticket from the only vendor in town that sells them, (A small business that is a competitor to you) that you will likely be struck by lightning.
Then you tell naïve town folk that a lightning strike happened near that convenience mart, and everyone in town is afraid to buy their lottery ticket from that vendor, for fear of getting struck. They just stop buying from that vendor all together.
That vendor now suffers a financial loss because selling lottery tickets was his bread and butter, and your competing convenience mart (that doesn't sell lottery tickets) gets more customers into your business instead.
Of course the lightning story was manufactured in order to harm the other guy and benefit yourself. It was disingenuous and insidious. It is analogous to what Media Matters does to those organizations that won't follow their orders.