Flood the zone

An Explainer by Team FP

What does it mean to ‘flood the zone’?

‘Flooding the zone’ is a political strategy where a politician or party rapidly produces a large number of media outputs to gain attention and disorient opponents. It aims to overload the media with content to drown out criticism, shorten the lifespan of a scandal, and exhaust the public’s attention.

Where did the whole concept of ‘flooding the zone’ come from?

In an interview with journalist and author Michale Lewis back in 2018, right wing media commentator and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon shared that ‘The Democrats don’t matter. The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit.’

He has unpacked this further in a number of interviews and presentations, ‘We have like two or three things every day, right it’s a misdirection play. Hell, now we’ve got 12 to 15 things everyday now.’

Why is this strategy adopted?

This strategy is adopted in an attempt to gain attention and control the narrative. If stories are constantly being pitched and these are misleading, extreme or outrageous, then they will be covered by the media. This means that the politician or political party is constantly in the party, increasing their recognition.

This also detracts from other stories or narratives as the media and other political parties constantly spend time responding to the stories. This can include taking away coverage from scandals that relate to the politician or party engaging in this strategy.

What are some examples of ‘flooding the zone’?

Donald Trump has led with this strategy both times that he has been in the Presidential office. For example, on his first day in office for his second term he signed almost 50 executive orders. These covered everything from freedom of speech, pardons for January 6 crimes, Tik Tok, Renaming the Gulf of Mexico, working from home and gender. This set off a flurry of media activity and commentary from opposing political parties and advocates that largely provide a further platform for Trump’s narrative.

We’ve also seen this strategy used in Australia in recent years by the ‘No’ campaign in the referendum on the Voice to Parliament and One Nation.

How do we respond as advocates?

The first important this is not to respond to every announcement. Responding to every announcement, particularly when using the language of the politician or party using this strategy, can often contribute to increased awareness and popularity of the politician or their party.

It’s also important that advocates are clear on their key messages and amplify these consistently, rather than those of the political party of politician.

A further strategy is to consistently produce outputs, including media that reinforces helpful narratives, rather than messaging that is harmful.

23 June 2026

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