2. What is propaganda
• “Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to
shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct
behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired
intent of the propagandist.”
• —Jowett & O'Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion
• Any information, ideas, doctrines or special appeals,
disseminated to influence the opinions, emotions,
attitudes or behaviors of any specified group in order to
benefit the sponsor, either directly or indirectly.
• __ NATO Definition
3. Let’s start with the (pre-) conceptions
• Propaganda is about lying or, at best, half-truths
• It is about playing to emotions rather than reason
• It is a ‘dirty trick’ designed to get people to do
something they might not otherwise have done
• It is only done by ‘them’ i.e. dictators who fear
public opinion – ‘we’ tell the truth
• It is only done in wartime by democracies
• It is an abuse of communications processes
4. What it really is
• It is a process of communications/persuasion
between sender and recipient
• As such, it is value-neutral
• It depends for its success upon credibility
• It lies on the spectrum of communication of who
says what, when, how and with what effect.
• To distinguish it from other forms of
communication, it needs to add why
• Therefore the question of intent is critical
5. Main historical campaigns
• ‘the campaign against American neutrality’, 1914-17
• ‘we were hypnotized as a rabbit is by a snake’, 1918
• ‘workers of the world unite’
• ‘the free world vs. the slave world’, 1939 onwards,
1945 onwards
• Free market liberal democratic capitalism vs.
communism and now ‘rogue states’/’axis of evil’/the
global ‘war’ on terrorism
6. Main propaganda theorists/practices
• Vatican invented the word!
• Propagation of cultures/germination of
seeds
• The authoritarian model (Mussolini,
Soviet Union, Nazi Germany)
• The democratic response (‘Strategy of
Truth’)
• Lippmann, Bernays, Hitler, Ellul
7. Five characteristics of propaganda
• Propaganda is in the • Propaganda relies
eye of the beholder. on mass persuasion
– “I’m persuading. – television, radio,
The other guy is Internet,
using billboards
propaganda.” • Propaganda tends
• Propaganda has a to rely on ethically
strong ideological suspect methods of
bent. influence.
– example: PETA, – deception,
Queer Nation, or distortion,
the Army of God misrepresentatio
• Propaganda is n, or
institutional in nature. suppression of
It is practiced by information.
organized groups
– governments,
corporations,
social movements,
special interests
9. Domestic or foreign
• Home propaganda usually plays out under
‘information’ policy – ‘we tell the truth to
our people’, ‘they tell lies about us’
• International propaganda: is it an
interference with the internal affairs of
other nations?
• Censorship and propaganda have been
traditional handmaidens – but is this
possible any more in the ‘information age’
• Blurring of ‘domestic’ and ‘foreign’ within
the context of globalization
10. Main historical campaigns
• ‘the campaign against American neutrality’, 1914-17
• ‘we were hypnotized as a rabbit is by a snake’, 1918
• ‘workers of the world unite’
• ‘the free world vs. the slave world’, 1939 onwards,
1945 onwards
• Free market liberal democratic capitalism vs.
communism and now ‘rogue states’/’axis of evil’/the
global ‘war’ on terrorism
11. Common propaganda techniques
• plain folks appeal (“I’m one of you”)
• testimonials (“I saw the aliens, sure as I’m standing
here”)
• bandwagon effect (everybody’s doing it)
• card-stacking (presenting only one side of the story)
• transfer (positive or negative associations, such as guilt
by association)
• glittering generalities (idealistic or loaded language,
such as “freedom” “empowering,” “family values”)
• name calling (“racist,” “tree hugger,” “femi-nazi”)
12. plain folks appeal
• Based on the “common man,” “person on
the street” or the “little guy”
• A politician calls himself a “populist” or
“man of the people”
• “In this time of change, government must
take the side of working families.” (George
Bush, address at the Republican National
Convention, Sept. 3, 2004.
13. testimonials
• Anecdotal evidence for diet pills, herbal remedies,
new-age crystals, etc.
• Anecdotal evidence of alien abductions, psychic
phenomena
• “I saw what looked to be a hairy human figure,
about 6-6 1/2' tall, running behind my bike. Scared
the crap out of me, so I hit the throttle and did what
I could to get out of there.” (from the Bigfoot Field
Researchers Organizations Website, report #
13424
14. bandwagon effect
• a “herd” mentality, following the crowd, or
“counting heads”
• An employee caught pilfering says,
“everyone else does it.”
• “A majority of Americans - 57% - say they
believe in psychic phenomena such as ESP,
telepathy or experiences that can’t be
explained by normal means.” (CBS poll,
April 28, 2002)
15. transfer
• Projecting good or bad qualities from one person or
group onto another
• The positive or negative association will “rub off” on
the other person or group
• Politicians posing next to the flag, with troops, with
veterans to appear patriotic
• An ad for a dietary supplement features a researcher
in a white lab coat with a clip board to make the
product appear more scientific
16. glittering generalities
• Using virtuous words; democracy, freedom,
justice, patriotism, family values, motherhood,
progress
• Embracing values at a high level of
abstraction
– “change”
– “green”
– “reform”
• “patriotism is always more than just loyalty to
a place on a map or a certain kind of people.
Instead, it is also loyalty to America’s ideals –
ideals for which anyone can sacrifice, or
defend, or give their last full measure of
devotion.” Barack Obama, June 30, 2008
17. name calling
• Ad hominem attacks
• tree-hugging liberals, right-wing zealots, femi-nazis,
bureaucrats
• Barack Obama “palls around with terrorists.”
• “Despite the hysterics of a few pseudo-scientists,
there is no reason to believe in global warming”
Rush Limbaugh, See I told You So (1993)
• “secular progressives made great inroads over the
past five years" and "if you don't believe that ...
you're a moron." Bill O’Reilly, Dec 19, 2005, on his
syndicated radio show, the Radio Factor
