Download Shaping Public Opinion

SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION
PROPAGANDA AND MASS MEDIA IN ELECTIONS
PUBLIC OPINION
• Public Opinion- total of opinions held concerning a particular issue
• Really refers to many opinions
• What shapes opinions?
• Family (shared experiences mean we have similar responses/views on issues)
• As we grow older: friends, teachers, other events
INFORMATION AND PUBLIC OPINION
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Information is very important to shaping opinions
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Much of the information we get about public issues comes from the mass media
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Mass media- books, magazines, newspapers, TV, radio, Internet
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Today there are HUGE amounts of information available
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This DOES NOT mean always being well informed- sometimes the information is inaccurate or one-sided
(think FOX News or MSNBC)
Newspapers or news channels might give more favorable coverage to an issue or a political
candidate than others
INFORMATION AND PUBLIC OPINION
• Being well-informed means recognizing the
biases and inaccuracies in mass media
reporting
• Also means you should expose yourself to
information/issues you don’t necessarily agree
with or want to acknowledge
• Important to identify reliable sources of
information (Politico.com for example)
PROPAGANDA AND PUBLIC OPINION
• Propaganda- ideas that are spread to influence
people in a certain way
• Want us to buy, do, or believe in something
• Two reasons why propaganda is very powerful
today:
• Growth of mass media
• Advances in communication technology (social media
for example)
• Propaganda can be both negative and positive,
and sometimes neutral
KINDS OF PROPAGANDA
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You must be alert to propaganda and what
it’s trying to say to you
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Concealed propaganda- propaganda that is
presented as factual but its sources are kept
secret
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Used to fool people without letting them know its
purpose is just to influence them
For example: doctored photographs, political
campaign ads that don’t show a
reference/resources
KINDS OF PROPAGANDA
• Revealed Propaganda- makes
readers or listeners aware someone
is trying to influence them
• Political commercials are clearly
labeled as paid advertisements
PROPAGANDA TECHNIQUES
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Testimonials
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Bandwagon
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Political candidates and advertisers seek endorsements from famous athletes and celebrities to
appeal to the public
Appeals to people desires to do the same thing that their friends and neighbors are doing
“Everybody’s doing it! Jump on the bandwagon!”
Name-Calling
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Using unpleasant labels or descriptions to harm a person, group, or product
“Crooked Hillary”
PROPAGANDA TECHNIQUES
• Glittering Generalities
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Uses words that sound good but have very little real meaning
“Make America Great Again”
• Plain-Folks Appeal
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Politicians will describe themselves as plain, hardworking citizens- they understand the problems of average
Americans
• Card Stacking
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Uses only facts that favor a particular product, idea, or candidate
Opposing or contradicting information is left out
MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION
• How does the government know what citizens want?
• Polls attempt to measure public opinion about politicians and their policies
• ALL POLITICAL POLLS ARE UNREPRESENTATIVE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC AND SHOULD NOT BE
SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED- THE ONLY POLL THAT MATTERS IS THE ACTUAL ELECTION NIGHT
• Who knew about the poll? Who had the time to answer the questions? Were the questions framed fairly or
unbiasedly? Who had access to the poll? Was it online, in person, over the phone? How many people were
actually surveyed? Do 100 opinions represent the American public? How long was the poll open for? Did the
same people take it more than once to skew the results? Are there more accurate polls that were ignored in
favor of this one? Is the reporting of the poll fair and unbiased? Are the numbers/results being reported in a
skewed manner?