#WhatWouldLincolnDo? A Framework for Responding to Criticism in the Age of Social Media

Abstract

What should military leaders do when they find themselves, or a decision they made, the subject of a criticizing social media post on a unit meme page? Should leaders fight fire with fire, should they remain silent and not engage their critics when called out in social media? Abraham Lincoln was no stranger to the barbs of public criticism throughout his life, although he remains revered among the greatest Presidents in the history of the United States. While Lincoln lived in a different age of media and public discourse, the ways he responded to public criticism reveal some universal principles which can be instructive for today's generation of leaders. With Lincoln we see a measured leader, who knew his media environment and how to use it but did so with malice toward none.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 11, 2023
Accession Number
AD1208455

Entities

People

  • Robert N. Adams

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil War
  • Commerce
  • Covid-19
  • Department Of Defense
  • Environment
  • Freedom Of Speech
  • Illinois
  • Journalism
  • Law
  • Media
  • New York
  • Newspapers
  • Periodicals
  • Social Media
  • United States
  • Universities
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Agent-Based Social Robotics and Mobile-Assisted Learning in Virtual Environments.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.