Transcript Slide 1

Mr. Thomas
PROPAGANDA AND
CENSORSHIP
Propaganda
 Information, ideas, or rumors
deliberately spread widely to help or
harm a person, group, movement,
institution, nation, etc.
(Dictionary.com)
 Edward Filene helped establish the
Institue of Propaganda Analysis in
1937 to educate the American public
about the nature of propaganda and
how to recognize these techniques.
There are seven common techniques
that the IPA identified, although
there are more. Let’s start with
these…
1. Bandwagon
 An appeal to the subject
to follow the crowd, to
join in because others are
doing so as well.
 Often used in wartime
and modern advertising.
2. Card Stacking
 Selective omission.
It involves only
presenting
information that is
positive to an idea
or proposal and
omitting
information
contrary to it.
3. Glittering Generalities
 Words that have
different positive
meaning for individual
subjects, but are linked
to highly valued
concepts. They include
words with distinct
(usually positive)
connotations (“in
defense of democracy”).
 Often in political
propaganda.
4. Name Calling
 The use of
derogatory language
or words that carry a
negative connotation
when describing an
enemy
 Often in political
cartoons or writings.
5. Transfer
 An attempt to make
the subject view a
certain item in the
same way as they
view another item,
to link the two in the
subject’s mind.
 Often used in
politics and
wartime.
6. Testimonial
 Quotations or
endorsements, in or
out of context, which
attempt to connect a
famous or respectable
person with a product
or item.
 Often used in
advertising and
political campaigns.
7. Plain Folks
 An attempt by the
propagandist to
convince the public
that his/her views
reflect those of the
common person and
he/she is also
working for the
benefit of the
common person
(accents, idioms,
jokes, etc. are used).
More Techniques of Propaganda
8. Assertion
 An enthusiastic or
energetic statement
presented as a fact,
although not
necessarily true
 Commonly used in
advertising and modern
propaganda. They often
imply that the
statement requires no
explanation for back up,
but that it should
merely be accepted
without question.
9. Lesser of Two Evils
 This technique tries to
convince us of an idea
or proposal by
presenting it as the
least offensive option.
 This is often
implemented during
wartime to convince
people of the need for
sacrifices or to justify
decision.
10. Pinpointing the Enemy
 This is an attempt to
simplify a complex
situation by
presenting one
specific group or
person as the
enemy.
 This is often used
during wartime, in
political campaigns
and debates.
11. Simplification (Stereotyping)
 This is similar to
pinpointing the
enemy, in that it
often reduces a
complex
situation to a
clear-cut choice
involving good
and evil.