4 Ways to Manufacture a Controversy

Negative attention is better than no attention, right?  Sometimes a controversy has to be manufactured in order to draw more attention to something else.  It’s better to have everyone talking bad about you than no one talking about you at all.  Nobody buys news full of good things.  It’s pretty darn easy to manufacture a controversy, with some resources and cleverness.  Without further ado, let’s go ahead and get this hype train up and running.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon

1.  Be Unoriginal

The safest way to be controversial is to look at controversial events in the past and rip them off.  People love to get up in arms, even if it’s over nothing important at all.  The thrill of getting mad is addicting for some people.  Look at a controversy you want to emulate, and do that exact thing.  If it helps, repeat a controversy from you own past.  Repeat being offensive and enraging, and watch as people start to talk about your controversial ways.

2.  Be “Unpopular”

If you want to be controversial, just say something “unpopular”.  This kind of unpopular is actually a popular opinion that’s fallen out of fashion and become impolite to say in mixed company.  This way, whatever controversial thing you spout off will resonate on both sides of an issue, and get more people arguing and talking.  Love and hate are so closely related, you can easily stir them up to get a delightful chemical reaction.

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-kanyes-imma-let-you-finish-attack-on-taylor-swift-saved-the-recording-industry-2010-11

3.  Be Topical

Makes sure that whatever you’re trying to be controversial about is relevant to the times.  What would have passed for a controversy two years ago may no longer be an issue that people are invested in.  Read over some headlines and newsfeeds, see what people are talking about, and go nuts with controversial opinions.  You’ll find people will echo what you say or rally against it, and then you can just turn that on them to keep the scandal going.

4.  Be Catchy

It’s easy to be controversial if you keep it short and simple.  In fact, the more you can simplify a major complex issue, the better.  No one cares if you have fundamental opposition to certain financial policies, but people will lose their minds if you go around calling a countries leader a swine, or insulting a progressive minority.  Social media thrives on short phrases that share well, so you need to tailor your controversy to the audience you’re trying to reach.