Swift Boating

Swift boating is another way to describe an attack on a speaker that is often unfair and not true. This technique is often used to smear the campaign of an official and show the person in a negative light. When Jo-Ann Armao referred to “swift boating” in the 2004 presidential election with John Kerry, it had to do with the time that John Kerry said he spent in the military versus the time he actually spent in the military, and what he did during his years of service. Many people questioned Kerry’s experiences that he claimed to have had in Vietnam and called him a “liar” which greatly hurt his chances at gaining office. Swift boating is used to directly hurt or weaken a persons image and discredit them to the public.