Instructions

1

Act fast. One of the keys to fighting a smear campaign is to act quickly and decisively in response to the accusations. Even if the accusations are insinuated and indirect, you still need to identify what they are, formulate a plan and alert others that there is a smear campaign being conducted against you. Time is not on your side so the faster you act the better.
2

Respond with a circumspect defense. One of the worst things you can do is respond with righteous indignation. Instead, take a defense that makes the accuser seem stupid for even thinking what they are accusing. Stay calm and confident in your defense and be sure to show that the charges are laughable, if not borderline insane.
3

Recruit and intimidate. This is where you start to play hardball. You first need to recruit allies onto your side. Use friends, people who owe you and other contacts who can help you get information about your accuser and get the information into parts of the news media. Then, go to other people involved with the accuser and threaten legal action if they do not recant and distance themselves from those conducting the smear campaign.
4

Make the accuser into the accused. Once you are primed to go to battle you need to go on the offensive. Get personal by identifying not just the groups but the individuals who are waging the smear campaign against you. Consider nothing off limits and throw out any idea you have about a statute of limitations on things the accuser might have done in the past. Get as much dirt as you can and start flinging it in a very public way.
5

Continue relentlessly. To effectively fight a smear campaign, you need to erase from people's memory that you were ever even accused. To do so, turn the smear campaign against you into a scandal about your opponent. Continue to attack relentlessly, even when it seems like you've won. Try to stay as anonymous as possible in your attack by tipping off local media anonymously and don't be afraid to sue your accuser for libel or damages.