noun
also roor·bach ˈru̇rˌbak, ˈru̇(ə)ˌ-
( -s )
Etymology: after Baron von Roorback, fictional author of Roorback's Tour through the Western and Southern States, an imaginary book from which an alleged passage was quoted in the Ithaca (N.Y.) Chronicle of 1844 that made scurrilous charges against James K. Polk, then Democratic candidate for president
: a defamatory falsehood published for political effect usually before an election
strategists on both sides on the alert for roorbacks — Newsweek