Transcript Loaded Language/Questions and Propaganda

Propaganda
information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely
tohelp or harm a person, group, movement, institution,
nation,etc.
"Through clever and constant
application of propaganda,
people can be made to see
paradise as hell, and also the
other way round, to consider
the most wretched sort of life
as paradise."
— Adolf Hitler
LOADED LANGUAGE
language intended to produce
an emotional response in the
mind of the audience, in order
to directly affect their views on
a topic.
LOADED LANGUAGE
1. Fair Language: “You have asked for my views on
the man named Mr. Smithers. He has been a
valued employee here for years. If you can find a
position for him in the management sector of your
company, I will be pleased.”
2. Loaded Language: “You have asked for my views
on that creature named Smithers. He has been a
clinging nuisance here for ages. If you can find a
crevice for him in the woodwork of your
sweatshop, I will be relieved.”
Loaded Words That Play on ENVY
LOADED
WORDS
ALTERNATIVE, MORE
NEUTRAL WORDS
 fat cat
 wealthy
 Favored
 prosperous
 Haughty
 cultured
 Snobbish
 educated
 conceited, stuck-up
 self-confident
 pushy
 Assertive
 Aggressive
 in control
 power mad
 masterful
Loaded Words That Play on FEAR
LOADED
WORDS
ALTERNATIVE, MORE
NEUTRAL WORDS
 bully
 assertive
 aggressive
 self-confident
 sneaky
 Cautious
 underhanded
 circumspect
 secret
 discreet
 out-of-control
 spontaneous
 impulsive
 Free-wheeling
 rash
 instinctive
 reckless
 carefree
Examples of loaded language in
Politics.
 The phrase "No Child Left Behind" emphasizes the
innocence of children, and the feeling of isolation at
being left behind, rather than the same program which
could have been called "Helping students pass
standardized tests succeed in school".
Examples of loaded language in
Politics.
 The "USA PATRIOT Act" is an acronym for Uniting and
Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools
Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, but
due to the title, it implies that those opposed to the Act
are inherently unpatriotic.
Examples of loaded language in
Politics.
 The abortion debate invariably the use of loaded
languge.
 Opponents of abortion describe it as "child murder" or
"infanticide", and describe themselves as "pro-life“.
 Similarly, the pro-choice side loads its position to make
the other side appear as if it is against freedom.
LOADED LANGUAGE
THROUGHOUT HISTORY
 Adolf Hitler and the Nazis routinely invented euphemistic phrases to
disguise what they were doing, like the "Special Handling" that they
gave the Jews, sending them to the "Final Solution." "Guest
workers" were really foreigners who had been kidnapped at
gunpoint and forced into slave labor brigades. Zyklon B, the poison
gas used to kill millions of Jews, was called "material for the
resettlement of Jews.”

Mao Tse Tung sent his enemies to slave labor on remote farms for
"re-education" so that they would learn to "blossom properly.”
 Throughout the entire second half of the twentieth century, various
United States Presidents used the term "police action", rather than
"war", to get around limitations on Presidential powers, and to avoid
having to tell the public that we actually were in yet another war.
 Enron used the term “aggressive accounting practices” to do
things like turn $3 billion of very real losses into $1 billion of phony
paper profits, which made the stock price rise, which was very
convenient for the executives who were happily dumping their
worthless shares of Enron stock on an unsuspecting public.
LOADED QUESTIONS
1. Trick questions force the respondent to either admit to an
opinion or fact they do not share, or deny a factual premise.
2. Leading questions that supply the answer in the question
 Loaded questions often contain assumptions, whereby
the question is directed in a way that a straight answer
needs that the person answering accept that which the
questioner is assuming.
 Where did you hide the gun?
 [assumes that you hid the gun]
 How often do you do that?
 [assumes that you do it at least sometimes]
LOADED QUESTIONS
The Trick Question
 Example of a trick question:
"When did you stop beating your wife?“
Asked in such a way, there is simply no way to answer the
question if you have never beaten your wife.
 Example of forced opinion:
"So, you are going to vote for that lazy substitute the
politician’s name of your choice?"
If one says yes, they admit to the politician being lazy, if they
say no, they are lying about voting.
 Example of forced fact:
"So you are one of those god-denying evolutionists?"
The interrogee may think evolution is a fact, but also could be,
say, a Christian.
LOADED QUESTIONS
The Leading Question
 These questions often invoke arguments of association such
as:
 "Smart people have been shown to like Obama. Do you like
Obama?"
 "It's been proven that good and righteous Christians such as
yourself, like Banana Cream Pie, do you like Banana Cream Pie?"
While these examples are obvious, if the topic is in an area one is
unfamiliar with, and the "associations" use what appear to be
expert opinions, one may well be moved to agree without even
realizing what one has done.
 Amendment 2 in Colorado was a prime example of this. Few
people understood the language of the bill, including many
people in the legal profession.
Polls would say to people "Experts analyzing this bill agree that it
protects workers like yourself from being the victim of special
rights groups. Workers all over the state are saying they feel
threatened by this move, since it means someone can be hired
who isn't qualified simply due to these special rights. Knowing
that, and understanding how hard it is today to find a job, are
you with us in our support of Amendment 2?"