Having gagged on the last Ethics Quiz completely, I have to clear my palate with a second try.

Those canny Democrats tried to trick young voters into watching Kamala Harris’s acceptance speech last night by feeding their propaganda agents (that is, the U.S. news media) a fake rumor that pop super-star Beyoncé was going to show up in Chicago, perform at the convention’s finale, and thus endorse KAmala Harris.

“Beyoncé to perform at Democratic convention: Sources,” stated the headline at The Hill. “Did White House political director just drop major hint about Beyoncé DNC appearance?” coyly insinuated NBC Chicago. “BEYONCÉ PERFORMING AT DNC’S FINAL NIGHT!!!” claimed TMZ. “🚨🚨SHE’S THERE!!!!!!”announced the Twitter/X account @beyoncepress at 7:16 p.m. Central time, alongside a video of a black SUV driving through Chicago’s River North neighborhood escorted by a motorcade.

All false. Harris finished her speech, balloons came down from the ceiling, and no Beyoncé. Figures aren’t in, but I assume that the planted rumor “worked,” making it “good” as the late Harry Reid will confirm if you track him down in the Lake of Fire.

“It’s a bad move to trick people into staying tuned and then denying them what they thought they’d get,” opines Ann Althouse today as she disagrees with Harry, though I don’t know what she means exactly by “bad.” Unethical? Unfair? Likely to backfire (meaning it didn’t “work”)? Columnist Laura Bassett tweeted that “teasing a huge surprise guest and leaking that it’s both Beyonce and Taylor swift just to get people to tune in is actually kind of funny.” Not unethical. Funny. Bassett is a former HuffPo pundit who now hangs out at MSNBC and CNN, so you can guess what her ethics alarms are like.

Your Ethics Alarms Ethics Quiz of the Day is this…

Is using a false rumor as a device to create interest in an event like the Democratic National Convention unethical, or is it sufficiently standard publicity and marketing practice now to give it an ethics pass?

Obviously TMZ’s outright false headline is unethical, as is publishing rumors as facts in general, a common journalism “fake news” ploy now. The quiz is about planting the rumor, however.

Of course the Democrats would include this in their tool box of Machiavellian tactics: cheating is what they do now. I am tempted to give this instance a pass because anyone who would be drawn to a political candidate for a reason so lame as the endorsement of a pop star deserves to be disappointed and might even learn from the experience. Only tempted, though. I also think the whole episode illustrates (again) what a mistake it was to give the vote to 18-year-olds.

Organized whispering campaigns are intrinsically unethical, but is this one by “sources” too trivial to condemn? My inclination is to keep fake rumor-mongering in the absolutely unethical column.