Dog death, driving and emails: The strange history of the 'October surprise'

The term - directed at Trump-backed Pennsylvania Senate hopeful Dr Mehmet Oz - followed a report by the US news website Jezebel that said research led by Dr Oz had killed at least 329 dogs as well as dozens of pigs and hundreds of rabbits and rodents.

While a spokesman for Dr Oz denied the claim and said "only an idiot" would believe it, the celebrity doctor's political opponents were quick to pounce. His election rival, Democrat John Fetterman, branded him "sick" and began selling "Dog Lovers for Fetterman" campaign stickers.

His wife, Gisele Fetterman, also piled on the pressure. "We know what the stakes are in this election... add one more: PUPPIES," she tweeted.

The allegations against Dr Oz came as he was closing the distance in the polls against Mr Fetterman with just one month to go until the 8 November midterm elections.

"When you frame someone as a puppy killer, it's controversial. It's attention-grabbing," Syracuse University Professor Jennifer Stromer Galley, who researches the political impact of social media, told the BBC.

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