I have knowledge of a few ways that some campaigns and members of the blogosphere are operating in questionable ways. I was going to post this earlier, but now that we just got burned by maccabee I'm afraid to post something without naming my sources. But rather than out people (for now), I'll just provide photographic evidence. I'm certainly not all-seeing and all-knowing, but I've had a few conversations with a few people who are working on campaigns, have worked on campaigns before, or have otherwise been in the know with these activities, and I've heard enough to realize that a lot more is going on in the blogosphere than I was aware of. I'm wondering where the ethical lines are, and whether I should do anything. About the only established rule I'm familiar with is a ban on sockpuppetry.
The faces of evil. Credit: mondopanno
But is it ethical if campaign staffers, volunteers, donors, or other friends run blogs supporting their candidate or attacking opponents without disclosing their ties to the candidate? Would that make them some sort of puppet troupe?
More evil? Credit: carf
What if a campaign uses a private mailing list to feed talking points to said friends with the explicit or implicit understanding that these talking points are to be spread through the blogosphere? Are they turning real people into marionettes? Are they pulling the strings or just directing the play? Does it matter?
More evil? Credit: eugene
What if a group of bloggers are privately coordinating messages, whether connected to a campaign or not? Is this turning an open exchange of ideas into a secretly scripted play?
More evil? Credit: pippin828
Again, where is the ethical line? Disclosure is always better than non-disclosure, but is non-disclosure unethical in all the above situations? Is a generic or one-time "we talk" or "I'm on the campaign" enough, or is a "this came from the campaign in an email" required on every relevant post or comment? Are any of the above situations as bad as sockpuppetry? Would some of these situations be unethical even if the ties and/or coordination were disclosed? And does anyone want to suggest names for any of the above tactics?