Transcript Questions you can ask

PROPAGANDA
Word Games
Name Calling
• Links person or idea to negative symbol
• Seeks to make audience reject and condemn
person or idea based on symbol
• Involves bad names, words or phrases with
negative emotional charge
Examples:
• Fascist, Terrorist, Pig, Lazy, Cowardly, Stingy,
Anarchy
Name Calling
Questions you can ask:
• What does the name really mean?
• Does the idea in question have a legitimate
connection with the real meaning of the name?
• Is an idea that serves my best interests being
dismissed through giving it a name I don’t like?
• Leaving the name out of consideration, what are
the merits of the idea itself?
Glittering Generalities
• People believe in, fight for, and live by “virtue
words” they have deep-set ideas about
• Mean different things to different people and can
be used in different ways
• Seeks to make audience approve and accept
without examining evidence
• Involves vivid, emotionally suggestive words
Examples:
• Civilization, Good, Right, Democracy, Freedom,
Health, Love
Glittering Generalities
Questions you can ask:
• What does the virtue word really mean?
• Does the idea in question have a legitimate
connection with the real meaning of the word?
• Is an idea that does not serve my best interests
being “sold” to me merely through its being
given a name that I like?
• Leaving the virtue word out of consideration,
what are the merits of the idea itself?
Euphemisms
• Attempts to pacify the audience in order to
make an unpleasant reality more palatable
• Involves bland, vague, neutral words
Examples:
• Civilian casualties vs. collateral damage
• Murder vs. liquidation
• Shell shock vs. combat fatigue vs. PTSD
Euphemisms
Questions you can ask:
• What does the euphemism really mean?
• In the simplest terms, what is the speaker’s
proposal?
• Does the information presented seem more
negative or positive when I substitute a noneuphemistic term?
• Replacing the euphemism with more accurate
language, what are the merits of the idea itself?
False Connections
Transfer
• Carries authority, sanction, and prestige of something
audience respects and reveres to something speaker
wants audience to accept
• Involves symbols representing church, country,
community, science
• Makes connections that are not relevant or legitimate
• Can be used for and against causes
Examples:
• Associating racist beliefs with medical science
• Ending a political speech with a prayer
Transfer
Questions you can ask:
• What is the meaning of the thing the
propagandist is using to legitimize their proposal?
• Is there any legitimate connection between the
proposal of and the revered thing, person or
institution?
• Removing the transfer from the argument, what
are the merits of the proposal viewed alone?
Testimonial
• Can be used to construct a fair, well-balanced
argument, however is often misused
• Involves citing individuals who are not qualified
to make judgments about a certain issue
• When testimony is provided by admired celebrity,
audience is much less likely to be critical
Examples:
• Athletes endorsing products (food, hygiene,
clothing)
• Celebrities endorsing political candidates
Testimonial
Questions you can ask:
• Who or what is quoted in the testimonial?
• Why should we regard this person,
organization, or publication as having expert
knowledge or trustworthy information on the
subject in question?
• Removing the testimonial from the argument,
what are the merits of the proposal viewed
alone?
Special Appeals
Plain Folks
• Attempts to convince audience that speaker
and ideas are “of the people”
• Used by advertisers and politicians
• Often involves powerful speaker portraying
self as “ordinary” individual or outsider to
elite group
Examples:
• Wealthy politicians sharing “rags to riches”
stories
Plain Folks
Examples:
• What are the ideas worth when divorced
from the speaker’s personality?
• What could the speaker be trying to cover up
with the plain folks approach?
• What are the facts?
Bandwagon
• Basic theme: “everyone else is doing it; so
should you”
• Appeals to desire to fit in, be part of a group
• Appeals to already cohesive groups (based on
occupation or religion) so audience will follow en
masse
Examples:
• Appeal to people by occupation (farmers, nurses,
students, etc.)
• Appeal to people of a certain religion
Bandwagon
Questions you can ask:
• What is the speaker’s program?
• What is the evidence for and against the
program?
• Regardless of the fact that others support
this program, why I should support it?
• Does the program serve or undermine my
individual and collective interests?
Fear
• Warns members of audience that disaster will result if
they do not follow particular course of action
• Hopes to direct attention away from merits of
particular proposal and toward ways to reduce fear
• Contains threat, specific way to avoid threat,
perception that recommendation will be effective, and
audience belief in ability to perform behavior
Examples:
• Pro-gun group notes rising crime, asks people to
oppose weapons limitations
• Commercial shows a terrible car accident, asks people
to buy insurance
Fear
Questions you can ask:
• Is the speaker exaggerating the fear or threat
in order to obtain my support?
• How legitimate is the fear that the speaker is
provoking?
• Will performing the recommended action
actually reduce the supposed threat?
• When viewed dispassionately, what are the
merits of the speaker’s proposal?
Identifying Propaganda Techniques
• With your group, look over the following
propaganda posters and identify which
technique(s) the propagandist uses.
Homework
• Read chapters four and five of Animal Farm.