What can distinguish inoculation theory as it relates to character assassination is, foremost, its timing. Inoculation is a preemptive strategy, a way to prepare for an attack before it occurs. Research into preemptive measures to thwart the attack—the would-be assassination—is an important part of character assassination and reputation management scholarship, and inoculation theory is, I argue here, a particularly promising theory to guide such work. 

Josh Compton

This presentation offers a concentrated look at inoculation theory and character assassination, with special attention to 1) how inoculation messaging might be used to protect against character assassination; and 2) how inoculation messaging might function as character assassination—both implicitly (i.e., source derogation effects of conventional inoculation treatments) and explicitly (i.e., inoculation messages as character attacks). This presentation also considers whether image prepare—a synthesis of image repair and inoculation theories—could be well suited to protect against character assassination, drawing on the proactive timing of inoculation and the argumentation strategies and tactics of image repair. 

Compton, J. (2017, March). Inoculation theory, image repair, image prepare, and character assassination [presentation].Character Assassination & Reputational Politics, Arlington, VA, United States.