And in 2016, the scandalmonger doesn’t even need candid video and secret recordings; all it takes to stir folks into a political frenzy is a screenshot of an email and an online highlighter tool. With an assist by WikiLeaks — which has published the Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s illegally hacked campaign correspondence in an easy-to-search database — amateur muckrakers can easily rifle through the files and isolate any tidbit that seems a little juicy. The highlighter flourish screams scandal even if the content is stultifyingly mundane, or just plain wrong. One Trump supporter highlighted and tweeted an email from the WikiLeaks dump and claimed it proved that “John Podesta says Islam is a threat to our future.” Except the email wasn’t even written by Mr. Podesta. It was sent to him. Whatever: The original tweet spread further than another exposing it as a lie.

Now that one of the most simple and accessible document forms — an email — has been recast as a blueprint for scandal, we can expect only more hacks, leaks and sinister highlighting down the road. The hackers who exposed the emails of Mr. Podesta and the Democratic National Committee have been rewarded for their risk. And the scandalmongers’ job is a lot easier when all they need to find is an email, no matter what it says.

Debates, Font of a Million Memes

One image from the 2008 election provides a glimmer of what future elections would have in store. Barack Obama and John McCain are walking across the stage during their third debate. Out front is Mr. Obama, walking normally. Behind him is Mr. McCain. He is caught mid-lurch, his hands reaching stiffly out in front of him, his tongue wagging. A meme was born. Its name: Zombie McCain.