This video and news article were released just before the Warwick Student's Union (SU) election campaigns, in which Nick Swain was running again for SU president. Both exaggerate the circumstances in order to portray the
candidate in a negative light, with the purpose of damaging his chances of being
re-elected. Maybe the timing was simply a coincidence, but it seems that
someone (a rival candidate or not) has used the ‘Control the Flow of
Information’ social influence technique to alter public perception of the
candidate’s suitability for the role. In particular the video and news article
are selected leaks and plants of information in the media, in an attempt to
influence the public's perception of the
candidate, particularly potential voters'.
This social influence technique is supported by Annis and Merier’s study in 1934 in which
they found out that planting biased information in college newspapers changed
opinions about a political event.
Overall, this article implies that the individual has a lack of
responsibility and lack of respect for woman, and therefore may well have been
a predominant reason for why the candidate went from gaining a record number of votes in 2012, to coming 4th
out of 5 candidates in 2013.
Annis, A.D., & Meir, N.C., (1934). The induction of
opinion through suggestion by means of “planted content.” Journal of Social Psychology, 5, 65-81
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