Common Propaganda Techniques

Propaganda: (n) 1. a committee of Roman Catholic cardinals, the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, in charge of supervising foreign missions and educating priests to serve in them; 2. Any effort to instruct in doctrines, principles, theories, or beliefs.

Over the years, propaganda has gained a bit of a pejorative meaning, often referring to efforts to brainwash people or otherwise obfuscate the truth using common persuasive techniques and fallacies.  You can consider political & public service messages, wartime messages, advertising, and even a surprising amount of what you learn in school propaganda.  Just keep in mind that it is not necessarily bad; it all depends on what you do with it.

Most of the techniques of propaganda have already been covered in our Errors of Logic and Language study.  However, there are still a few more you need to consider in terms of their use in actual practice.  The lessons and information below cover these concepts.

 

Understanding Propaganda: Use this link to complete an online tutorial on propaganda. Be sure to read everything and then answer the following questions for four of the eight examples at the bottom of the main page: 

1. What propaganda techniques can you identify?

2. What is the message/purpose of each passage?

Key Techniques to Know: Name-Calling, Glittering Generalities, Euphemisms, Transfer, Testimonial, Plain Folks, Bandwagon, Fear, Bad Logic, Unwarranted Extrapolations

*Special thanks to Aaron Delwiche of the University of Washington for his kind permission to use his site.

 

 

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Other Propaganda Techniques

Bait and Switch: This is exactly what it sounds like: the practice of enticing an audience with one attractive offer or idea, and then switching to another offer or idea once the audience is hooked.

Example 1: Consider a cell phone company that offers a free phone with any new sign up.  However, once you get into the store, you find that the free phone really won't do anything you need it to, so you are offered another much more functional phone but at a price.

Example 2: You find an article which seems to support your position, let's say pro-life.  However, upon reading the article, you find that it is also filled with ideas you find offensive like justified killing of abortion nurses and doctors, harassing women outside of abortion clinics, hanging posters of those involved in abortion throughout the community, etc.

Awareness: Beware offers that seem too good to be true; have an idea of exactly what you want before you go into a store with one of these offers; read all your material carefully to be sure you aren't allying yourself with ideas you don't really agree with.

Practice: Generate five different times you have been victim of the Bait and Switch.  If you can't think of five, consider offers you may have seen in advertising you suspect to be Bait and Switch.

 

Red Herring: an argument which distracts the audience from the issue in question through the introduction of some irrelevancy; an intentional effort to take an argument off track.

AKA: Irrelevant thesis; Ignoratio Elenchi

Enrichment: Ignoratio Elenchi is Latin for ignorance of refutation.

Red Herrings: Bandwagon or Snob Appeal, Straw Man Fallacy, Ad Hominem attacks, etc...

Awareness: Know your fallacies!

 

Putting It All Together: Propaganda in Our Lives

Option 1: Advertising

Directions: Compile a collection of advertising that you think make particularly clever or intense use of propaganda techniques.  Submit your collection with a 3 to 5 paragraph critique of the commercials wherein you comment upon the techniques used and what made you think those techniques were so effective or interesting.  You may organize this writing by commercial type or by technique type. 

Think: 1. Control your efforts - stick to maybe 5-10 minutes of material. 2. Do this with a video tape, on disk with links/ads and your writing, on a zip disk or CD with ads from Ad Critic, or as a web page with links to your ads. Power point would work well too.

Grading: by completion, quality of material, and quality of critique

Option 2: Wartime Propaganda

Directions: Compile a collection of wartime propaganda generated by both sides since September 11.  Submit your collection with a 3 to 5 paragraph critique of the propaganda wherein you comment upon the techniques used and how effective you think they have been.  You may organize this writing by side, technique, or message.

Think: 1. Control your efforts - stick to maybe 5-10 minutes of material. 2. There is virtually infinite access to speeches, reports, and interviews on this topic on any of the major news websites in print and video form.  Use these thoroughly by compiling your work on disk with propaganda and your writing, on a zip disk or CD with video from news sites, or as a web page with links to the propaganda.  Power point will work well too.

Grading: by completion, quality of material, and quality of critique

Background Resources

Curtis, Gary, N. "Red Herring." The Fallacy Files. October 15, 2001. http://gncurtis.home.texas.net/

Delwiche, Aaron. "Propaganda Analysis Home Page." Propaganda. March 12, 1995. http://carmen.artsci.washington.edu/propaganda/home.htm

Mesher, David. "Fallacies and Non-Rational Persuasion." Mission: Critical. 1999. http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/graphics/main.html