Download Propaganda Definitions

ASSERTION: enthusiastic or energetic statement presented as fact, but not necessarily true; the
statement should be accepted without question
BANDWAGON: an appeal to follow the crowd, to join in because others are doing so well; because so
many people have joined, victory is inevitable and defeat impossible
EXAMPLE: Everyone in Lemmingtown is behind Jim Duffie for Mayor. Shouldn’t you be part of
this winning team?
CATCHY SLOGANS: This tool involves using memorable phrases to foster support for the war
effort.
EXAMPLE: For example, short phrases like "Remember the Maine!" and "Remember the
Alamo!" have been very successful in motivating Americans to strongly support the use of arms against
Spain and Mexico, respectively.
CARD STACKING: selective omission which involves only presenting information that is positive to an
idea or proposal and omitting information contrary to it.
EXAMPLE: The government passes a new bill that will forgive college debt. The proponents fail
to mention that two years of government service will be required before the debt is forgiven.
CHEWBACCA DEFENSE/REASONING: This propaganda technique has varied examples in the modern
world. This technique has been defined as speaking something so completely nonsensical and irrelevant
to the topic on hand that hopefully nobody listens further.
EXAMPLE: In a Defense Department Briefing on February 12, 2003, then Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld made his now famous unknown unknowns statement: “Reports that say that
something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known
knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we
know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't
know we don't know.”
…or
“I believe what I said yesterday. I don't know what I said, but I know what I think... and I assume
it's what I said.” Donald Rumsfeld, February 13, 2003
DEMONIZATION: This tool involves portraying the enemy as purely evil, menacing, murderous, and
aggressive. The propagandist attempts to remove all confusion and ambiguity about whom the public
should hate.
EXAMPLE: The enemy may be portrayed as a hairy beast or the devil himself. This tool becomes
more powerful when the enemy can be blamed for committing atrocities against women, children, or
other noncombatants.
EMOTIONAL APPEALS/FEAR: This tool involves playing on people's emotions to promote the war effort.
Since the strongest emotion is often fear, propagandists create their work based on the premise that the
more frightened a person is by a communication, the more likely he or she is to take action. Thus,
propagandists are careful to explain in detail the action that they want the consumer of the propaganda
to carry out. This technique is very popular among political parties and PACs (Political “Action
Committees) in the U.S. The idea is to present a dreaded circumstance and usually follow it up with the
kind of behavior needed to avoid the at horrible event.
EXAMPLE: The Citizens for Retired Rights present a magazine ad showing an elderly couple living
in poverty because their social security benefits have been drastically cut by the Republicans in
Congress. The solution? The CRR urges you to vote for Democrats.
EUPHEMISMS: The propagandist attempts to pacify the audience in order to make an unpleasant reality
more palatable. This is accomplished by using words that are bland and euphemistic. An example is
during war time, since war is particularly unpleasant, military discourse is full of euphemisms.
EXAMPLE: In the 1940's, America changed the name of the War Department to the Department
of Defense. Soldiers that returned home after war and exhibited signs of mental trauma from the war
were first described as “shell shocked” which became “battle fatigue” which evolved into PTSD after the
more recent war.
EVOCATIVE VISUAL TOOLS: This tool involves using symbols that appeal to people's emotions
EXAMPLE: like flags, statues, mothers and children, and enemy uniforms-to promote the war
effort.
GLITTERING GENERALITIES: words that have different positive meanings for individual subjects, but are
linked to highly valued concepts (honor, glory, love of country); they demand approval without thinking
since such an important concept is involved.
EXAMPLE: An ad by a cigarette manufacturer proclaims to smokers: Don’t let them take your
rights away! (“Rights” is a powerful word, something that stirs the emotions of many, but few on either
side would agree on exactly what the ‘rights’ of smokers are.)
HALF TRUTHS OR LIES: This tool involves deception or twisting the truth. The propagandist may attempt
to include some element of truth in the propaganda to make an argument more persuasive.
EXAMPLE: For example, blaming the enemy for complete responsibility for the war and
portraying one's own country as a victim of aggression is a common propaganda tool.
HUMOR OR CARICATURES: This tool involves capturing the viewer's attention through the use of
humor to promote the war effort. The enemy is almost always the butt of the jokes used by
propagandists.
LESSER OF TWO EVILS: tries to convince audience of an idea or proposal by presenting it as the least
offensive option; used to convince people to make sacrifices; adds blame on an enemy country or
political group.
LOGICAL FALLACIES: Applying logic, one can usually draw a conclusion from one or more established
premises. In the type of propaganda known as the logical fallacy, however, the premises may be
accurate but the conclusion is not.
EXAMPLE:
Premise 1: Bill Commonsense supports gun control.
Premise 2: Communist regimes have always supported gun control.
Conclusion: Bill Commonsense is a communist.
We can see in this example that the Conclusion is created by a twisting of logic, and is therefore a
fallacy.
NAME CALLING: use of derogatory language that carries a negative connotation when describing an
enemy; labels the target as something that the public dislikes.
EXAMPLE: In a campaign speech to a logging company, the Congressman referred to his
environmentally conscious opponent as a “tree hugger.”
PINPOINTING THE ENEMY: simplifies a complex situation by presenting one specific group or person as
the enemy; clear-cut right and wrong.
EXAMPLE: A internationally company is caught using child-labor in one of its factories. The CEO
claims it is the foreign government’s fault that children worked at the factory. “If their country paid
them better, they wouldn’t need to work at our factory.”
PATRIOTIC APPEALS: This tool involves using patriotic language or symbols to appeal to people's
national pride.
PLAIN FOLKS: convinces the public that his/her views reflect those of the common person and they are
working for the benefit of the common person.
EXAMPLE: After a morning speech to wealthy Democratic donors, Bill Clinton stops by Mc
Donald’s for a burger, fries, and photo-op.
SIMPLIFICATION (STEREOTYPING): reduces a complex situation to a clear-cut choice involving good and
evil; useful in swaying uneducated audiences
TESTIMONIAL: This is the celebrity endorsement of a philosophy, movement or candidate. In
advertising, for example, athletes are often paid millions of dollars to promote sports shoes, equipment
and fast food. In political circles, movie stars, television stars, rock stars and athletes lend a great deal of
credibility and power to a political cause or candidate. Just a photograph of a movie star at a political
rally can generate more interest in the at issue/candidate or cause thousands, sometimes millions, of
people to become supporters.
EXAMPLE: “Sam Slugger”, a baseball Hall of Famer who led the pros in hitting for years, appears
in a television ad supporting Mike Politico for U.S. Senate. Since Sam is well known and respected in his
home state and nationally, he will likely gain Mr. Politico many votes just by his appearance with the
candidate.
TRANSFER: used in politics and during wartime; often used to transfer negative feelings for one object
to another; transferring blame or bad feelings from one politician to another of his/her friends or party
members.
EXAMPLE: The environmentalist group PEOPLE PROMOTING PLANTS, in its attempt to prevent a
highway from destroying the natural habitat of thousands of plant species, produces a television ad with
a “scientist” in a white lab coat explaining the dramatic consequences of altering the food chain by
destroying this habitat.
SCIENTIFIC APPROACH: Using scientific jargon (i.e. numbers, statistics, data, etc.) to convince your
audience
SNOB APPEAL: Giving the impression that people of wealth and prestige are on board.
SYMPATHY/APOLOGIST REASONING: This technique can be seen in the knee-jerk reactions of
government done in order to right a perceived previous wrong. Reasoning may be totally unrelated to
topic, but is designed to stir up enough emotions/guilt to persuade others to blindly vote for or support
an idea.
EXAMPLE: In 2009, the Democrats in the U.S. Congress was debating the health care overhaul
bill in spite of much public opposition. In trying to keep the bill moving, the phrase “let’s win one for
Teddy” was heard. Senator Ted Kennedy was a longtime advocate for universal health care and passed
away shortly before the Congress voted to overhaul the health care system.