Part 3 – My Step-by-step Strategy
by Jurgen Homola (www.jurgenhomola.com)
Welcome back to the 3rd and final part of How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You. So far I have shared with you the story of “The Frog And The Scorpion” in Part 1, where I illustrated that individuals are always true to their nature in everything that they do. In Part 2, I gave you an example of a smear campaign which happened to me personally and now, in Part 3 of How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You, I am going to give you my promised step-by-step strategy to follow, just in case this kind of thing happens to you.
In case you have not read any of the previous parts of How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You, here are the links to each part:
Part 1: The Frog And The Scorpion
http://jurgenhomola.blogspot.com/2009/11/effectively-handle-smear-campaign.html
Part 2: My Personal Story
http://jurgenhomola.blogspot.com/2009/11/effectively-handle-smear-campaign_16.html
http://jurgenhomola.blogspot.com/2009/11/effectively-handle-smear-campaign_16.html
I can remember, as a student and even when I started out as entrepreneur, to get a message to the other side of the world took a fax machine. And that wasn’t so long ago either. Later, along came software that made faxing simpler. And then – finally – came along the Internet. Now, everyone has access to everyone else. And as time was ticking along, the Internet became double-edged sword. The Internet has become THE tool for freedom of expression. This is really great.
What a phenomenal advancement! It was certainly needed and it must – without doubt – be maintained as a tool for freedom of speech. However, there is now also a true danger for anyone to be defamed. It happens daily. And it is starting to happen more and more. And if you don’t know how to handle these senseless personal “cyber attacks”, times can be pretty challenging. Trust me, I know all about that.
To combat these “cyber attacks”, it does require a strategy that will effectively help you to maintain your reputation – and do so fast. But how does one go about doing this?
"Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate." – Albert Schweitzer
Now for my suggested strategy on …
How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You
Before I give you this strategy, I do need give you a quick disclaimer: I am not an attorney, and neither do I give legal advice. This article is not legal advice. It is my suggested strategy – a suggested step-by-step method you can follow to get control over your life, should someone launch a defamation campaign against you.
This strategy does work, but you have to work it before it will give you results. You will not get results by feeling sorry for yourself, or if you rather want to lash back in anger. Always remember that, with any strategy, there is hard work and action required. The harder you work the strategy, the better and quicker the results. If you just read this strategy and don’t follow the steps, it won’t work. If you are afraid of applying the steps outlined in this strategy, you need to push yourself beyond the point of fear. Do a NIKE on your fear and JUST DO IT – apply the strategy. Go for it! You can do amazing things. Just trust in your own abilities.
And then, should you decide to let someone else handle this on your behalf, make sure that they follow YOUR integrity and YOUR strategy. ALWAYS stay abreast of facts. Know what is happening and when. Give them a plan of action and the results you expect.
What is a Smear Campaign?
Before I go on, let’s also take a quick look at what is a smear campaign really is. A smear campaign is a premeditated, deliberate, intentional – and often baseless – attack on the reputation of an individual, a group of people, or a company. Unfortunately, most of the time, the accusations of a smear campaign have no merit. And because people don’t think before venting their anger (smear campaigns are usually because of some anger or jealousy issues – a manipulation technique to try to get others to comply with the angry or jealous individual’s beliefs), such campaigns can have a cataclysmic consequence on its target.
Now, let the “fun” begin. Here is what you need to do:
Step 1:
ALWAYS act fast, but never in anger! This is something I never did – acting fast. I didn’t have these strategies. And then, I wasted valuable time by thinking this attack would eventually sizzle out. It never does. I was angry. “How could they do this?” was my question, instead of “How can I turn this into something good?”, “What can I learn from this?” and “How can I help others who are facing the same or similar challenges?”
It is ABSOLUTELY VITAL that you ACT FAST. This is the major keys in fighting a smear campaign. Decide how to respond to the accusations fast – very fast. In most cases the accusations are implied, insinuated and convoluted. You need to recognize exactly what you are accused of having done. Once you identified what you are accused of, you can plan your response. However, ALWAYS ACT IMMEDIATELY.
Time is definitely never on your side in these cases. The faster you act, the better. And don’t be afraid to tell others about the defamation campaign against you. You definitely need to tell others that someone has launched a smear campaign against you. Some times you even need to go to the police.
Your pride will be ‘nicked’ quite a bit, but THINK. Leave your emotions out of it as far as you can.
Step 2:
Always remember to respond with a prudent but vigilant defense. Be true to your own nature. Don’t compromise your integrity. The worst things you could do is to respond with “honorable” resentment. Don’t believe for a moment that you are justified by applying “righteous anger”. Take a stance that makes the accusers seem ridiculous and unintelligent for even thinking what they are accusing you of. Always stay calm and confident in your defense. Show that the accusations are ridiculous and that these are noting but lunacy.
Step 3:
Now, secure the support from all reliable acquaintances and friends. Once you have, it is time to tactically threaten that you will expose the perpetrators. I know this may sound as if I am contradicting myself here. Not so. It took me two years of fighting my urge to respond in anger. But not responding in anger does not mean I will be walked all over. I am using every possible avenue I have to obtain recompense for damages caused by the accusers. However, I am not doing it out of revenge or anger. I have this philosophy: If someone steels my sandwich when I am hungry, I want my sandwich back. An apology is not going to feed my hunger. The sandwich will. You took my sandwich, and I want my sandwich back. Make me a new one if you have to, but give me my sandwich.
This is the step where you move on into your real serious mode. You will first need to secure the support of all your close links – all those who are on your side. Round up everyone you know. Then, use these people – in particular those who owe you – to help. Do research about your accusers on the internet. Look all over for things they have done which you can use to build up your ‘arsenal’. Play “Colombo
Once you have the information, prepare it to be published. Now, talk with your accusers. Give them a chance to correct their foolishness and demand from them to fix what they messed up. They need to do this publicly. If they play hardball, don’t be intimidated.
Approach those involved with the accusers and threaten legal action if they do not renounce and distance themselves from those conducting the smear campaign. Contact website administrator and CEO’s of companies owning the web sites that publish the defamations, and diplomatically demand that they remove the bad publicity about you on the web. Explain to them what you are about to do, Sometimes this alone can get any bad publicity removed from a site, sometimes even ban the author from administering and maintain these sites. Everyone knows that accomplices to criminal activities are as guilty as the accused.
Step 4:
If your accusers pretend that they were not involved, go public.
Now that you are fully armed with intelligence, proof and you have given all the opportunity to fix their mess, simply turn the wheel. Make the accusers the accused. Publish your story and the information you found about your accusers. Get it into various available news media, in particular by using the Internet. Write press releases. Write articles. Wherever possible, stay anonymous. Use the same tactics your accusers use. The chance is almost 100% that they have gone about smearing your name anonymously.
But always remember that when you go to battle, never react. Don’t get cocky. Simply respond. Keep your cool all the way. Always keep your accusers guessing. Make sure you stay one step ahead. You have identified the individuals and groups who are waging the smear campaign against you. consider nothing off limits – but stay calm and collected. Don’t bend the law and – if possible – have a legal heavyweight on your side. Expose the dirty laundry of anyone involved – anything the accusers has done in the past. Publicize all the “dirt” of the accuser. Go public in a big way – on your blogs, your web sites, on your social network – use every avenue you can think of. There are many. Use al the avenues you can think of.
Simultaneously, write articles that will promote your professionalism and elevate you on the web. Write about your passions. Make sure you avoid your accusers stealing your identity. What you are ultimately doing here is to get your stuff out onto the web and at the same time getting your accusers into a position where they have to explain their actions publicly.
Step 5:
Persist uncompromisingly and relentlessly. Don’t give up and don’t be fooled into delaying your anti-defamation campaign. It is hard work, but the effort will pay off. You have given the perpetrators enough opportunity to correct their wrongdoings. Now you have to stick to your guns to get the results YOU want – to be exonerated from any accusations.
If you want to effectively fight a smear campaign, you need to expunge any memory that you were ever accused. To do this, bring the smear campaign against you into disrepute. Publicly question your opponent’s credibility. Pursue with this strategy relentlessly. Don’t be persuaded that your accusers are finally giving in. The chances are that they will get even madder than what they were before.
As far as possible, try to stay anonymous in your strategy, except where you tell your story on your own web sites. Always be factual, and always be honest. And remember never to do anything out of anger.
Sue everyone involved – even the web site owners – for slander, extortion and damages if need be, and never be intimidated. Lay criminal charges the moment you can prove extortion, harassment and intimidation. These are serious criminal offenses and are punishable by law. Don’t drop the charges against anyone unless you have your accusers compensate you for your damages. You gave them the opportunity to refute their accusations. They refused to do so. You need to do something to remove them from your life so you can go on doing what your are best in.
I sincerely hope that you never need to follow these steps – ever. I then also hope that this article has helped you in some way or another, even if you are not defending a smear campaign against you. If you need to use these steps to help you in fighting a smear campaign against you, I sincerely wish you victory every step along the way. By following these steps outlined here in How to Effectively Handle a Smear Campaign Against You, and by doing so without anger, you will find that you will get results.
The secret is never to get emotional. Try to let go of the thought that you have to hurt your accusers because of the pain they caused you. Accept that you have been defamed. I know how much it hurts. I know how your pride is nicked. But always avoid retaliation. Retaliation is often seen as an admission of guilt. Your aim is now that your accusers need to defend their actions.
I wish you LOTS of luck and many, many years of “smear” free life. Please feel free to comment on articles on my blog at www.therealjurgenhomola.com. Go to www.therealjurgenhomola.com and share your own experiences. Please also use www.therealjurgenhomola.com to share your thoughts or opinions. And to learn more about who Jurgen Homola really is, please visit my web site at www.jurgenhomola.com. You can also follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JurgenHomola
In my next few articles I will show all entrepreneurs why they will never get the finances they deserve and what to do to make sure they get unlimited funding for any of their entrepreneurial projects. So make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed and sign up as a member of this blog. I will have lots of amazing complimentary tools and resources available to all subscribers.
And remember this: Take care of your own destiny. Keep abreast of facts concerning you and be aware of what is being written about you on the Internet. Do searches – Google – on your name regularly. You might be surprised what you find.
PS. I would gladly hear from any attorney who may read this and be willing to consider this as a possible case on a contingency basis.
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