Techniques

• Ad hominem

A Latin phrase which has come to mean attacking your opponent, as opposed to attacking their arguments.

• Ad nauseam

This argument approach uses tireless repetition of an idea. An
idea, especially a simple slogan, that is repeated enough times, may
begin to be taken as the truth. This approach works best when media
sources are limited and controlled by the propagator.

• Appeal to authority

Appeals to authority cite prominent figures to support a position, idea, argument, or course of action.

• Appeal to fear

Appeals to fear seek to build support by instilling anxieties and panic in the general population, for example, Joseph Goebbels exploited Theodore Kaufman's Germany Must Perish! to claim that the Allies sought the extermination of the German people.

• Appeal to prejudice

Using loaded or emotive terms to attach value or moral goodness to
believing the proposition. For example, the phrase: "Any hard-working
taxpayer would have to agree that those who do not work, and who do not
support the community do not deserve the community's support through
social assistance."

• Bandwagon

Bandwagon and "inevitable-victory" appeals attempt to persuade the
target audience to join in and take the course of action that "everyone
else is taking."

• Inevitable victory:
  invites those not already on the bandwagon to join those already on the
  road to certain victory. Those already or at least partially on the
  bandwagon are reassured that staying aboard is their best course of
  action.


• Join the crowd:
  This technique reinforces people's natural desire to be on the winning
  side. This technique is used to convince the audience that a program is
  an expression of an irresistible mass movement and that it is in their
  best interest to join.

• Black-and-White fallacy

Presenting only two choices, with the product or idea being
propagated as the better choice. (e.g., "You are either with us, or you
are with the enemy")

• Beautiful people

The type of propaganda that deals with famous people or depicts attractive, happy people. This makes other people think that
if they buy a product or follow a certain ideology, they too will be
happy or successful. (This is more used in advertising for products,
instead of political reasons)

• Big Lie

The repeated articulation of a complex of events that justify
subsequent action. The descriptions of these events have elements of
truth, and the "big lie" generalizations merge and eventually supplant
the public's accurate perception of the underlying events. After World
War I the German Stab in the back explanation of the cause of their defeat became a justification for
Nazi re-militarization and revanchist aggression. According to Robert Conquest, Soviet authorities also adopted this Hitler's propaganda technique to deny artificial famines in the Soviet Union and the existence of Gulag labor camp system. ^[4]

• Common man

The "'plain folks'" or "common man" approach attempts
to convince the audience that the propagandist's positions reflect the
common sense of the people. It is designed to win the confidence of the
audience by communicating in the common manner and style of the target
audience. Propagandists use ordinary language and mannerisms (and
clothe their message in face-to-face and audiovisual communications) in
attempting to identify their point of view with that of the average
person. For example, a propaganda leaflet may make an argument on a
macroeconomic issue, such as unemployment insurance benefits, using
everyday terms: "given that the country has little money during this
recession, we should stop paying unemployment benefits to those who do
not work, because that is like maxing out all your credit cards during
a tight period, when you should be tightening your belt."

• Demonizing the enemy

Making individuals from the opposing nation, from a different
ethnic group, or those who support the opposing viewpoint appear to be
subhuman (e.g., the Vietnam War-era term "gooks" for National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam aka Vietcong, (or 'VC') soldiers), worthless, or immoral, through suggestion or false accusations.

• Direct order

This technique hopes to simplify the decision making process by
using images and words to tell the audience exactly what actions to
take, eliminating any other possible choices. Authority figures can be
used to give the order, overlapping it with the Appeal to authority technique, but not necessarily. The Uncle Sam "I want you" image is an example of this technique.

• Euphoria

The use of an event that generates euphoria or happiness, or using
an appealing event to boost morale. Euphoria can be created by
declaring a holiday, making luxury items available, or mounting a
military parade with marching bands and patriotic messages.

• Disinformation

The creation or deletion of information from public records, in the
purpose of making a false record of an event or the actions of a person
or organization, including outright forgery of photographs, motion pictures, broadcasts, and sound recordings as well as printed documents.

• Flag-waving

An attempt to justify an action on the grounds that doing so will
make one more patriotic, or in some way benefit a group, country, or
idea. The feeling of patriotism which this technique attempts to
inspire may not necessarily diminish or entirely omit one's capability
for rational examination of the matter in question.

• Glittering generalities

Glittering generalities are emotionally appealing words applied to
a product or idea, but which present no concrete argument or analysis.
A famous example is the campaign slogan "Ford has a better idea!"

• Half-truth

A half-truth is a deceptive statement which may come in several
forms and includes some element of truth. The statement might be partly
true, the statement may be totally true but only part of the whole
truth, or it may utilize some deceptive element, such as improper
punctuation, or double meaning, especially if the intent is to deceive,
evade blame or misrepresent the truth.

• Intentional vagueness

Generalities are deliberately vague so that the audience may supply
its own interpretations. The intention is to move the audience by use
of undefined phrases, without analyzing their validity or attempting to
determine their reasonableness or application. The intent is to cause
people to draw their own interpretations rather than simply being
presented with an explicit idea. In trying to "figure out" the
propaganda, the audience forgoes judgment of the ideas presented. Their
validity, reasonableness and application may still be considered.

• Obtain disapproval or Reductio ad Hitlerum

This technique is used to persuade a target audience to disapprove
of an action or idea by suggesting that the idea is popular with groups
hated, feared, or held in contempt by the target audience. Thus if a
group which supports a certain policy is led to believe that
undesirable, subversive, or contemptible people support the same
policy, then the members of the group may decide to change their
original position. This is a form of Bad Logic, where a is said to
equal X, and b is said to equal X, therefore, a = b.

• Oversimplification

Favorable generalities are used to provide simple answers to complex social, political, economic, or military problems.

• Quotes out of Context

Selective editing of quotes which can change meanings. Political
documentaries designed to discredit an opponent or an opposing
political viewpoint often make use of this technique.

• Name-calling

Propagandists use the name-calling technique to incite fears
and arouse prejudices in their hearers in the intent that the bad names
will cause hearers to construct a negative opinion about a group or set
of beliefs or ideas that the propagandist would wish hearers to
denounce. The method is intended to provoke conclusions about a matter
apart from impartial examinations of facts. Name-calling is thus a
substitute for rational, fact-based arguments against the an idea or
belief on its own merits.^[5]

• Rationalization

Individuals or groups may use favorable generalities to rationalize
questionable acts or beliefs. Vague and pleasant phrases are often used
to justify such actions or beliefs.

• Red herring

Presenting data or issues that, while compelling, are irrelevant to
the argument at hand, and then claiming that it validates the argument.

• Labeling

A Euphemism is used when the propagandist attempts to increase the perceived quality, credibility, or creedence of a particular ideal. A Dysphemism is used when the intent of the propagandist is to discredit, diminish
the perceived quality, or hurt the perceived righteousness of the Mark.
By creating a 'label' or 'category' or 'faction' of a population, it is
much easier to make an example of these larger bodies, because they can
uplift or defame the Mark without actually incuring legal-defamation.
Example: "Liberal" is a dysphamsim intended to diminish the perceived
credibility of a particular Mark. By taking a displeasing argument
presented by a Mark, the propagandist can quote that person, and then
attack 'liberals' in an attempt to both (1) create a political
battle-ax of unaccountable aggression and (2) diminish the quality of
the Mark. If the propagandist uses the label on too-many perceivably
credible individuals, muddying up the word can be done by broadcasting
bad-examples of 'liberals' into the media. Labeling can be thought of as a sub-set of Guilt by association, another Logical Fallacy.

• Repetition

This type of propaganda deals with a jingle or word that is
repeated over and over again, thus getting it stuck in someones head,
so they can buy the product. The "Repetition" method has been described
previously.

• Scapegoating

Assigning blame to an individual or group, thus alleviating
feelings of guilt from responsible parties and/or distracting attention
from the need to fix the problem for which blame is being assigned.

• Slogans

A slogan is a brief, striking phrase that may include labeling and
stereotyping. Although slogans may be enlisted to support reasoned
ideas, in practice they tend to act only as emotional appeals.
Opponents of the US's invasion and occupation of Iraq use the slogan
"blood for oil" to suggest that the invasion and its human losses was
done to access Iraq's oil riches. On the other hand, "hawks" who argue
that the US should continue to fight in Iraq use the slogan "cut and
run" to suggest that it would be cowardly or weak to withdraw from
Iraq. Similarly, the names of the military campaigns, such as "enduring
freedom" or "just cause", may also be regarded to be slogans, devised
to influence people.

• Stereotyping or Name Calling or Labeling

This technique attempts to arouse prejudices in an audience by
labeling the object of the propaganda campaign as something the target
audience fears, hates, loathes, or finds undesirable. For instance,
reporting on a foreign country or social group may focus on the
stereotypical traits that the reader expects, even though they are far
from being representative of the whole country or group; such reporting
often focuses on the anecdotal.

• Testimonial

Testimonials are quotations, in or out of context, especially cited
to support or reject a given policy, action, program, or personality.
The reputation or the role (expert, respected public figure, etc.) of
the individual giving the statement is exploited. The testimonial
places the official sanction of a respected person or authority on a
propaganda message. This is done in an effort to cause the target
audience to identify itself with the authority or to accept the
authority's opinions and beliefs as its own. See also, damaging quotation

• Transfer

Also known as Association, this is a technique of projecting
positive or negative qualities (praise or blame) of a person, entity,
object, or value (an individual, group, organization, nation,
patriotism, etc.) to another to make the second more acceptable or to
discredit it. It evokes an emotional response, which stimulates the
target to identify with recognized authorities. Often highly visual,
this technique often utilizes symbols (for example, the Swastika used
in Nazi Germany, originally a symbol for health and prosperity)
superimposed over other visual images. An example of common use of this
technique in America is for the President's image to be overlaid with a
swastika by his opponents.

• Unstated assumption

This technique is used when the propaganda concept that the
propagandist intends to transmit would seem less credible if explicitly
stated. The concept is instead repeatedly assumed or implied.

• Virtue words

These are words in the value system of the target audience which
tend to produce a positive image when attached to a person or issue.
Peace, happiness, security, wise leadership, freedom, "The Truth", etc.
are virtue words. In countries such as the U.S. religiosity is seen as
a virtue, making associations to this quality affectively beneficial.
See ""Transfer"".

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.

—Garth S. Jowett and Victoria O'Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion

See also: doublespeak, cult of personality, spin (politics), demonization, and factoid