Spin-doctoring was first used by Reagan’s 80’s advisors during the ‘Star Wars’ Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) which manipulated opinion in a desired direction.
The origin of the term is to be found in baseball where the spin put on the ball by a pitcher was designed to disguise the true direction of the ball and confuse the batter.
In copywriting we talk about the advertising ‘pitch’ (also analogous with baseball terminology) and ‘putting a new spin’ on an old idea.
Grandiose claims made in marketing material about unique selling points – in the hope of winning new customers – are also referred to as ‘puffing’. The tactic is legal and can subtly persuade, if not entertain, an informed audience.
Spin has traditionally been most effective in convincing an audience to adopt a particular consumer behaviour or swop brand loyalty.
Yet social media is proving to be the perfect watchdog. Twitter, in particular, dilutes the effectiveness of spin-doctored assertions in real time, with different and countering viewpoints, thereby reducing its ‘spinfluence’ (i.e. the power and influence which spin exerts over a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour towards a product or service).
Like the graphic artist’s tool of photo-shopping, there’s a fine moral line as to when the wordsmith uses spin-doctoring or not. Puffing (which is seen as tongue-in-cheek) is fine, but blatant lies won’t stand the scrutiny of a wary public.
