In the Shadows: How Campaigners Shift the Debate

Damian Collins MP | Issue 3 | Comment, Lobbying, Magazine

From the Archive

Steve Bannon Campaign Hashtag Digital
Steve Bannon talks to media during the 'Sovereignism v Europeanism' in Rome. (Photo by Alessandra Benedetti - Corbis/Getty Images)

Damian Collins MP explains how digital campaigns alter our perceptions of the news

[dc]A[/dc]Andy Reid, the head coach of the NFL Super Bowl reigning champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, likes to ‘flood the zone’ in his offensive plays, sending more runners into an area of the field than the defenders can cover. This makes man to man marking impossible and creates doubt and confusion over the exact move the attackers intend to make. Like many sporting terms it’s found a home in politics, in particular thanks to Donald Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon. In 2018 he was reported as observing that, “The Democrats don’t matter. The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit.” We see this strategy in play in the US with the constant drum beat of attacks on the ‘mainstream media’, where the term ‘fake news’ is used against stories Donald Trump doesn’t like, regardless of whether they are true or not. The President’s own remarks can also be a source of confusion, for example in September he tweeted at voters in North Carolin...

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