A political scandal is an incident that exposes unethical or illegal behavior by a politician or government institution. It can also cause damage to the overall trust in a political system. Scandals are often highly publicized events, which can lead to dramatic political change, such as resignations or a loss of power. They may also spark a political debate about the need for reforms, such as campaign finance reforms or stronger oversight mechanisms.
These events can have long-lasting impacts, including in influencing the tone of conversations about ethical behavior in politics and shaping how people evaluate politicians. Historical examples of major political scandals, such as Watergate and the Panama Papers, have resulted in significant changes to governance and policy-making. Moreover, the ubiquity of changing media platforms has increased the speed and scope of these scandals.
Researchers are exploring political scandal from a variety of perspectives, including political communication, political sociology, and journalism. The articles in this special issue share a common theme: the ways in which scandal is mediated can have profound consequences for the perception of a politician’s morality and integrity, as well as on the public’s trust in government institutions.
One important finding from this research is that the way a scandal is framed and presented can have strong incentives for the aligned party to hide or downplay evidence of misconduct, while the opposing party has an incentive to make false accusations in order to convince voters to demand the politician’s removal from office. As a result, voters are exposed to mixed messages and learn little about the true nature of politicians’ misbehavior.