Propaganda Techniques

What is propaganda?

• It is designed to persuade.

• Its purpose is to influence your opinions, emotions, attitudes, or behavior.

• It seeks to “guide your choice.”

Who uses Propaganda?

• Military

• Media

• Advertisers

• Politicians

• You and I

Propaganda is used in politics to gain and maintain power.

It is used in advertising to sell lifestyles and images in order to sell products.

The informed citizen must be armed with knowledge about language deception.

Name Calling

Negative words are used to create an unfavorable opinion of the competition.

Characteristics:

No facts.

Simplify ideas.

Portray someone as the enemy.

Name Calling

Plain Folks Making the subject of the advertisement

(or user of the product) seem ordinary, simple, down-to-earth.

Glittering Generality

Telling only positive things about something or someone.No evidence or facts are provided.

A commonly admired virtue is used to inspire positive feelings for a person, idea, or product.

Glittering Generality

Good labels such as democratic, honor, glory, freedom, and beautiful are used to evoke positive feelings.

Long Live the Man of Steel!

BandwagonAn appeal to the subject to follow the crowd; suggests that everyone (or a large group of similar people) is using a specific product, so you should, too.

Tries to convince the subject that one side is the winning side, because more people have joined it.

Testimonial

A famous person endorses an idea, a person, or a product.

Appeal to Emotion:

Fear, Pride, Sympathy

Use of words with emotional connotations to bring about an emotional response in people instead of a critical evaluation of the conclusion offered.

Appeal to Emotion:

Fear, Pride, Sympathy

The Horro

r of F

uture War!

Facts, Figures and ClaimsUsing tests, statistics or information that sounds scientific.

Trying to prove that one idea, product or person is better.

Sometimes there is no real research.

Facts, Figures and Claims

Unfinished Comparisons/ Black and White/

Card Stacking

Comparing an idea, product or person to another, without providing the other half of the comparison.

Unfinished Comparisons Presents an issue as having only

one good/right choice.  If you don’t make the right choice, something bad could happen.

Cossack - Who are you with, them or us?

Slogans and RepetitionBrief, striking phrase that is

appealing and often repeated.

may include labeling and stereotyping

phrase, word, name, song or product

may support reasoned ideas; however, tend to act only as emotional appeals

divert attention

Every day life is getting better

Slogans and Repetition

Assertion

An enthusiastic or energetic statement presented as a fact: may or may not be true.

Assertionno explanation or back up is provided

everyone should merely accept the idea

any time an advertiser states that their product is the best without providing evidence for this, they are using an assertion.

Doublespeak• Euphemisms

• Jargon

• Gobbledygook

• Inflated Language

The Big Lie

Say something often enough and loud enough for a long enough period of time, and people will start to believe it is true.

How do we make sure that we are making informed choices,

instead of allowing others to sway us in our decision-making?

We make our own choices when...

• we read and listen to reliable sources,

• we watch for combinations of truths and lies,

• we check for hidden messages,

• we watch for use of propaganda techniques.

And, most importantly,

WHEN WE LISTEN TO OUR OWN VOICES !

White Army propaganda poster. The caption reads,

"Peace and Liberty in Sovdepiya".

Russian Revolution- Trotsky