Since truth in the twentieth century has been relative, to say the least, most leaders are really persuading people to worship the god of consumership. Perhaps this is one reason logical fallacies are exploited so ruthlessly, as in courts of law. Cyber rhetoric exists in perpetual time and malleable space with an unpredictable global audience. However rhetoric is still judged in terms of Aristotle's qualities of correctness, clarity, ornamentation and propriety in order to prove, to delight, and to move. Over the years rhetoric has become more complex.
Rhetoric is also more directly connected to the manipulation of language.
In cyberspace we can't rely on the pitch and resonance of our voices, the warmth of our facial expression, the impressives stature of our bodies and the expense of our wardrobe to convince people to believe us. We have to convince with the speed, frequency and prevalence of our messages and the hypnotic, timely and informative nature of our web sites. The following is based on the book With Good Reason by S. Morris Engel. All men are mortal. Socrates is a man.