Swift boating

The term "swift boating" refers to a smear campaign or an attack made on a political figure that they feel is unfair or not true. It comes from a group called the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth". The group disapproved of 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry. The group used anti-war statements made by their members and John Kerry from 1971, the Vietnam war, to discredit his campaign through television ads and a best selling book. The term is now used as a synonym for smear campaign.