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Propaganda

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What is Propaganda?
 The manipulation of public
opinion.
 An attempt to change opinions
by persuasively presenting new
ones.
 Can range from Public Service
Announcements to Political
Campaign Ads.

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Common Propaganda Techniques
 Word games
 Name-calling
 Glittering generalities
 Euphemisms
 False connections
 Transfer
 Testimonial
 Special Appeals
 Plain Folks
 Bandwagon
 Fear
 Logical Fallacies
 Bad Logic
 Unwarranted extrapolation

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Word Games: Name Calling
 Words that link a person, or
idea, to a negative symbol.
 Examples include:
 Commie
 Fascist
 Pig
 Yuppie
 Bum
 Queer
 Terrorist
 Traitor

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Word Games: Glittering Generalities
 Words used to make us
approve and accept without
examining the evidence.
 Examples include:
 Civilization
 Christianity
 Proper
 Democracy
 Patriotism
 Motherhood
 Fatherhood

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Word Games: Euphemisms
 Words used to pacify the
audience in order to make an
unpleasant reality more
palatable.
 Examples include:
 Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder
 Collateral Damage
 Certified Pre-Owned

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False Connections: Transfer
 Use the respect we hold for one
authority to sell an idea or
cause.
 This type of propaganda often
uses symbols.
 For example:
 Nazi propaganda used
science and religion to justify
anti-Semitism.

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False Connections: Testimonial
 Using the words of a celebrity
of political figure to sell an idea
or product.
 This technique can be used to
create a well-balanced
argument if the source is
qualified to make judgments
about a particular topic.
 If the source IS NOT qualified
to offer an opinion, the
testimonial becomes
propaganda.

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Special Appeals: Plain Folks
 Used to convince the general
audience the speaker is “one of
them.”
 Examples include:
 Bill Clinton ate at McDonald's
and confessed a fondness for
trashy spy novels.
 George Bush Sr. hated
broccoli, and loved to fish.
 Ronald Reagan was often
photographed chopping wood.
 Jimmy Carter presented
himself as a humble peanut
farmer from Georgia.

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Special Appeals: Bandwagon
 “Everyone else is doing it, and
so should you.”
 Appeals to people as a group,
for example:
 Catholics
 Jews
 Housewives
 Farmers

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Special Appeals: Fear
 A technique used to convince the
audience something bad will
happen if they do not follow a
particular course of action.
 Four elements of a fear appeal:
 a threat
 a specific recommendation
about how the audience should
behave
 audience perception that the
recommendation will be
effective in addressing the
threat
 audience perception that they
are capable of performing the
recommended behavior

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Logical Fallacies: Bad Logic
 Using an argument that makes huge predictions about the
future on the basis of a few small facts.
 Examples include:
 If the United States approves NAFTA, the giant sucking sound that
we hear will be the sound of thousands of jobs and factories
disappearing to Mexico.
 The introduction of communication tools such as the Internet will
lead to a radical decentralization of government, greater political
participation, and a rebirth of community.

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Logical Fallacies: Unwarranted
Extrapolation
 Logic is the process of drawing a
conclusion from one or more
premises.
 Propagandists deliberately manipulate
logic in order to promote their cause.
 Example:
 Premise 1: Hillary Clinton supports
gun-control legislation.
 Premise 2: All fascist regimes of
the twentieth century have passed
gun-control legislation.
 Conclusion: Hillary Clinton is a
fascist.

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10 Commandments of Propaganda
(1937 - Institute for Propaganda Analysis)
 Divide and conquer  Use "expert" testimonial.
 Tell the people what they want.  Always refer to the "authority"
of your sources.
 The bigger the lie, the more
people will believe it.  Stack the cards with
"information."
 Always appeal to the lowest
common denominator.  A confused people are easily
led.
 Generalize as much as
possible.  Get the "plain folks" onto the
"bandwagon."