Rumors can ruin. Secrets can spread. Smearing can suppress. I find it intriguing what stories get lifted up through loud pronouncements and how others gain traction through the underground, under the radar. The stories shared behind closed doors can be the ones that circulate the fastest, it seems that knowledge that is not supposed to be known is quite attractive to audiences. However, I believe the whimsical tales that are whispered from one to another can be edited, exaggerated, and can even be weaponized to otherize individuals or groups. Another aspect of clammed-up stories that interests me is their ability to avoid confrontation. In my experience, main line stories can be confronted from the opposite side of the claim, sometimes they can even be confronted by the same side to reveal different details. On the other hand, the stories shared with a closed-mouth tend to be met with disbelief, strengthened by reassurance, and spread through sharing. I believe the ominous stories tend to require a background on the situation, as the origin story is thought to be cultural memory or public discourse. I believe the more the rumors are shared, the faster the whispers spread, sometimes to a point where facts appear not to matter.
In this blog, I plan to discuss the power of the smear campaign, a plan made to discredit a public figure by invalidating their credibility, creating doubt in the minds of the people. In light of the arrest of the former Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, I believe it’s important to assess the stories being shared by different media channels, giving each story its due justice. I believe the stories brought to the top don’t fall there by accident, but are a carefully crafted art form of some of the most conniving and controlling societal leaders. I believe the smear campaign orchestrated distortion, a manipulation of a narrative designed to cause confusion and distract audiences from being the best version of themselves, eventually to the point of exhaustion or desensitization of the harmful actions made by those in our world. However, I do believe smear campaigns are more complex than the classic conflict of good vs evil, but an agenda to oversaturate humanity, moving individuals from passion to indifference.
Strategy as Attack
As I mentioned before, under-the-radar stories gain traction by the listener’s disbelief of what was shared, the audience’s reaction. The excitement, disgust, surprise or anything on the spectrum contribute to the smear campaign’s ability to dismantle the character of others. The attack reminds me of the mind games played by some of the best defenders in the NBA. Most recently I heard NBA All-Defensive Player, Shane Battier, share that for him, guarding Kobe Bryant wasn’t about besting him physically, but allowing Kobe’s ego to beat himself. Shane would try to contest his shot by putting his hand directly in front of Kobe’s face instead of aiming to block the ball. Shane’s reason for this was to try to feed Kobe’s ego, knowing Kobe liked to think of himself as a difficult shot maker, so the tougher the shot looked, the more Kobe wanted to prove to himself he could make it. Shane allowed Kobe to attack in what could be seen as a reactionary way, inviting Kobe to strengthen his notoriety, but more often than not, Kobe smeared his own MVP campaigns.
On the Stay Spiritual Channel, James and Justin react to Rupert Spira’s New Year’s Message about freedom1. Justin pauses the video to reveal what he calls a gold nugget, the ability to recognize freedom in times of perceived restriction, such as incarceration or imprisonment2. Justin continues, this is not some inherent wisdom that everyone has to do, and lists out examples of those who might give out disclosed information or if some had the ability to physically break out of prison, they are completely valid in their desire to be free in that way3. Justin elaborates further, how his point can be seen as noble and James points out it can also be seen as crazy, who would want to stay in prison if they could get out4. Justin believes that interpretation is huge in these instances, and understanding a person’s thought process with any decision in this scenario is important before casting judgement5. Justin believes it is possible to interpret an individual who allows life to pass them by and die as a version of martyrdom6. Justin points out there is another side to this as well, and advocates for the ability to fight is just as righteous and honorable as martyrdom, someone that is immovable on any end of the spectrum is quite literally an unstoppable force7. James and Justin go back and forth sharing stories in film where people accept a place meant to punish them, or accept the idea that no matter how much the other physically hurts them, they have no power over them8.
Justin kind of dominates the first conversation in the video, and sometimes the duo talks about drugs in a way I don’t feel is beneficial for this blog. I might not recommend this video. However, an insightful conversation from Justin and James inspired by Rupert Spira. Stories of justice fill our common media, justice being taken into the hands of individuals to acquire their own freedom or to help others achieve their own freedom. Heroes hungry on a defensive attack, not to conquer and gain, but to stand again and keep rights they believe should go to themselves or other individuals. Other heroes work in other arenas, instead of using their brawn, they use their brain to apologize, to defend, to argue with reason, justifying and explaining why they believe their passion is right. The strategy in the smear campaign isn’t necessarily a brutal all out attack to bolster one’s own appearance, but a ritualistic, methodical planned crawl to dislodge the narrative and let the narrative be the destroyer.
Strategy as Metaphor
“I’m sorry I didn’t see you there, I was too busy blocking out the haters”. This is one of many quotes that have come out in the past decade in correlation to the increased accessibility to social media. After the past 10 years of humanity, there are more stories being shared more and more everyday, as storytelling mediums are becoming more and more accessible to individuals, both as viewers and producers. Videos are becoming more effective in grabbing a viewers attention and algorithms are doing their part in finding a video’s targeted audience. Though this sounds wonderful on the surface, this also means with the cheers these creators hope for, also allows the possibility for others to boo or dislike their content, remixing and rewriting one story to convey a new story for the viewer. I am hopeful that one day, we as a society can move farther away from judgement and come more from a lens of curiosity, but until then, it may recommend some shades to block out the haters, the supporters, and everything in between, never getting to high and never getting too low based on other people’s engagement with your creation.
On the CULTURAL TV channel, the creators released a video with Renato Pinheiro, the Hose Rider, interviewing him about Esports News9. The video opens up with a professional car driver performing donuts in a parking lot10. We get an introduction from someone who appears to be the host of the video, getting the audience hype for Renato Pinheiro’s interview11. We then see Renato opening up the hood of his car, showing us what goes into his car to give him the smoothest ride possible for his incredible speeds and stunts12. He continues speaking as we get b-roll of seeing his pit crew work on his car and he explains the functions of different parts of the car13. Later on, we see highlights of some of the competitions, a donut spectacle creating a smoke show full of entertainment for the audience14. We get a full scene of him beginning a competition, doing some sort of ritual with his hands before prayer and drifting around the track with what looks like a very limited amount of visibility15. The exhibition ends and Renato Pinheiro gives his thumbs up to the camera and shows off his trophy with the interviewer16.
CULTURAL TV once again through me for a loop in their video. What I thought would be a video game sports interview turned into a car show type of interview. A fun turn of events where I believe we could still learn from Renato’s experience. Though I couldn’t understand the language spoken by Renato and the interviewer in the video. Renato came out confident in his abilities, his body language exuding confidence in not just his skill, but the knowledge of his car and what he plans to execute in his exhibitions. Though he was portraying confidence prior to being in the car, in the long shot of his performance, we see Renato express what looks like a prayer before he hits the gas, a moment where expressing reliance on something outside of himself is requested. Renato went out there and did his best, putting on a show that won him some sort of trophy. However, what I would like to take away is his ability to perform without guaranteeing himself consensus praise. Some in the audience, or even the judges, may have been disappointed, however one of the final scenes is Renato smiling with what appears to be his family. Renato’s performance could be considered loud and wild, however, what spoke values to me was his humble demeanor at the end, my respect for him increasing at his willingness to let the trophy do the talking. I believe Renato’s strategy to execute the pre game interview, win the exhibition, and accept the reward post game, could be a metaphor for how we navigate life, allowing the unspoken do the talking and expecting the mix of positive and negative commenters to follow.
Strategy as Gesture
“I like your shoes”. Backhanded compliments. Gestures shared to be pondered on. Do they actually like my shoes? They never give me compliments. Is there something in my teeth? Sometimes these comments are made to subtly hurt an individual. Sometimes these comments are made to openly and loudly hurt a person. I never enjoyed these back handed compliments. However, I believe as a collective, humans are getting more and more clever, and the backhands are being served with even more deceptive sleight of hands. I encourage you to open up, examine the words people share with you, especially if you feel they might be out of place. There may be more than what meets the eye, or I guess in this case the enunciation of words.
On the Artistic Journey Channel, the creator shared a short of how to make a hamper as a birthday gift17. The short opens up with a singer singing a song in a different language and an acoustic guitar cruising in the background18. The words “He knows what makes her smile”19. A cardboard box hamper is opened up with HAPPY BIRTHDAY, each letter written on a black flap, connected by a rope on the top part of the hamper20. At the bottom of the hamper is an assortment of cards and gifts, expressing what I am assuming is his love for her on her birthday21. About halfway through, the music continues to play, but we can see an apparent visual cut of the creator reorganizing the materials in the box to highlight all the gifts that are present22.
This was a very cute video by the Artistic Journey and I feel conflicted writing about the strategy of smear campaigns and this birthday gift hamper. Yet, I will continue and accept the challenge. From the video the outside of the box did not seem to be anything special, might as well have been a Nike shoe box or an Amazon order. However, when the box is opened, the magic happens, the barrage of different trinkets and meaningful cards see the light. Some labeled with his love for her, others labeled “Lyrics”, where I imagine he writes down lyrics to their favorite song, or a song he wrote about her. If the creator didn’t take time to open and examine the contents of the hamper, they wouldn’t have been able to appreciate the care behind the gift. Though this is beautiful and I love the authenticity captured by the creator, I believe it’s important to look at the context behind every gift, compliment or gesture of those around us. I am not encouraging you to go into a relationship from a place of distrust, however I would like to highlight that maybe every gesture, compliment or gift needs to be opened. Not every message needs to be seen as read. Sometimes people have harmful intentions and it may be more harmful to comment with gratitude instead of letting the threat pass. I believe it’s important to be cognizant of the strategy in someone who is reaching out after a long time, someone who gives a compliment out of the blue, someone who gestures with intentions that may not be beneficial for you.
Strategy as Synthesis
Don’t let anyone smear your imagination. See the campaign through the noise. Expose the strategies, not for public recognition, but private safety. Control the attacks. Seek the metaphors. Gesture towards the script. Synthesize your response. Express your posture. Understand your silence.
Bibliography
- Stay Spiritual, “I Am Already Free – Rupert Spira’s New Year Message REACTION,” YouTube, January 5, 2026, accessed January 8, 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg6Kf-nQIX0&t=602s. ↩︎
- Stay Spiritual, ↩︎
- Stay Spiritual, ↩︎
- Stay Spiritual, ↩︎
- Stay Spiritual, ↩︎
- Stay Spiritual, ↩︎
- Stay Spiritual, ↩︎
- Stay Spiritual, ↩︎
- CULTURAL TV and Tinto Filmes, “Esporte News – Entrevista com Renato Pinheiro, Piloto de Cavalo de Aço,” YouTube, December 23, 2025, accessed January 8, 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYFvbvgxfIo. ↩︎
- CULTURAL TV and Tinto Filmes, ↩︎
- CULTURAL TV and Tinto Filmes, ↩︎
- CULTURAL TV and Tinto Filmes, ↩︎
- CULTURAL TV and Tinto Filmes, ↩︎
- CULTURAL TV and Tinto Filmes, ↩︎
- CULTURAL TV and Tinto Filmes, ↩︎
- CULTURAL TV and Tinto Filmes, ↩︎
- Birthday Gift Hamper #shorts #art #diy, “Birthday Gift Hamper #shorts #art #diy,” YouTube, January 7, 2026, accessed January 8, 2026, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5ZysMLiEBhM. ↩︎
- Birthday Gift Hamper #shorts #art #diy, ↩︎
- Birthday Gift Hamper #shorts #art #diy, ↩︎
- Birthday Gift Hamper #shorts #art #diy, ↩︎
- Birthday Gift Hamper #shorts #art #diy, ↩︎
- Birthday Gift Hamper #shorts #art #diy, ↩︎
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