Namecalling Examples:

Karen

Stuttering Biden

For the first example, the term “Karen” was used to describe middle-aged white women who take advantage of their white privilege and their “weaker” demeanor to pin exaggerated accusations against POC (especially towards black individuals) and call the police on these said individuals. However, the term has quickly devolved as a general way of shunning any woman who voices their concern. I think people might use this strategy to find a way to be misogynistic toward women under the guise of activism. The second is about President Biden. During his presidential campaign, many of those in opposition highlighted Biden’s speech impediment in order to discredit him as a potential president. This strategy is effective because in an ableist country, highlighting his stutter effectively undermines his cognitive and intellectual abilities, making the conclusion that he is not fit for the presidency.

Bandwagoning Examples:

“Would you vote for (insert candidate), 60% say yes!”

“Viral Tiktok (Insert Makeup Product)”

For the first example, many political ads or posts on social media contain some sort of survey stating that these individuals (usually the majority) will vote for so and so, and you should be voting for them too. This can be very effective if someone does not know who to vote for but believes that if the majority of America is voting for them, they must be good. The second example is the phenomenon that any makeup product that is TikTok famous immediately gets sold out. Since TikTok is a pretty interactive platform that needs to know your preference to be effective at its purpose, that product not only is suitable for everyone using TikTok but probably suitable for you as well.