1. The Art of Propaganda American Government Mr. Bentley

2. The Intent 1)Propaganda is the use of arguments to convince someone of something a)Whether it is to vote for them (campaign sings), buy their product (advertisements), or convince us that their point of view is right (Public Service Announcements). 2)Propaganda is a way of manipulating people. 3)Regardless of the Propaganda’s intentions—and they can be good— Propaganda is ALWAYS bad: a)It is designed to do your thinking for you. b)It is designed to discourage you from digging deeper.

3. The Intent (cond.) 4) Propaganda clouds reality and gets in the way of clear and honest thinking. 5) Blind acceptance of Propaganda is the objective of those perpetuating it.

4. Ten Commandments of Propaganda 1) Divide and Conquer a)More small groups are easier to pit against each other 2) Tell the people what they want a)Pander to the masses 3) The bigger the lie, the more people will believe it a)Make statements grandiose and loud 4) ALWAYS appeal to the lowest common denominator a) It’s O.K. to “dumb it down”

5. Ten Commandments of Propaganda (cond) 5)Generalize as much as possible a)Paint in broad strokes 6) Use "expert" testimonial a)Have someone known or relatable “pitch” it 7) Refer often to the "authority" of your office a)Remind public of knowledge and power

6. Ten Commandments of Propaganda (cond) 8) Stack the cards with "information" a)Use as much supportive evidence as possible 9) A confused people are easily led a)More informed means more skeptical 10) Get the "plain folks" onto the "bandwagon" a)Appeal to the common man & he will follow

7. Propaganda Techniques The following is a list of Propaganda Techniques that are commonly used in advertising, politics, etc. Techniques can be used in combination, or individually. Here are the most common methods:

8. Propaganda Techniques 1.Association: uses positive feelings for something and applies them to something else. a. Use of patriotic symbols around July 4 to sell grills

9. Propaganda Techniques 2. Testimonial: people endorsing certain idea or belief a. Tiger Woods & Nike

10. Propaganda Techniques 3. Fancy Words: use of extravagant language a. Sanitary engineer = garbage collector

11. Propaganda Techniques 4. Word Magic: emotional words a. Car ads that use words like “sleek”, “powerful”, “aggressive”, etc.

12. Propaganda Techniques 5. Misery: portraying a sympathetic scene a. Showing starving children to encourage people to donate money

13. Propaganda Techniques 6. Simplicity & Repetition: using basic language and common symbols a. McDonald’s “I’m lovin’ it!”

14. Propaganda Techniques 7. Plain Folks: use of ordinary people to portray “common man” a. Every Wrangler Jeans commercial EVER made

15. Propaganda Techniques 8. Bandwagon: encourages immediate support a. “don’t be left out”, “for 2 days only”

16. Propaganda Techniques 9. Name Calling: attacks someone’s reputation, actions or record a. See most any “negative” campaign commercial

17. Propaganda Techniques 10. Strawman: phony issue, exaggerates argument a. Pro-military means you support men dying in war

18. Propaganda Techniques 11. Hasty Generalization: jumping to conclusions a. “women can’t drive”

19. Propaganda Techniques 12 Oversimplification: too simple to account for a complex reality a. “I don’t do well in school because I’m too stupid.”

20. Propaganda Techniques 13. Black or White: only two choices; no in-betweens a. “You’re either with us or against us.”

21. Propaganda Techniques 14. Snow Job: bury people under a mound of meaningless words a. “Nine out of ten dentist would recommend this toothpaste if they were stuck on a desert island w/ a pet chimpanzee, and three blocks of cheese.”

22. Propaganda Techniques 15. False Opposites: misuse of opposites a. Twisting meaning of data to fit the conclusion you want

23. Propaganda Techniques 16. Out of Context: ignore unfavorable content and use only a part of information that supports claim a. “One of the worst movies ever, despite the performance of...”

24. Propaganda Techniques 17. Contradictory Assumptions: two things that both cannot be true a. Cutting taxes, increasing defense spending and not cutting programs

25. Propaganda Techniques 18. Unproven Assumption: stated as if fact, but cannot support it a. “I will never need to know history. Why should I have to study it?”

26. Propaganda Techniques 19. Circular Reasoning: assumption based on another assumption a. Need to work to get a car, but need a car to get to work

27. Propaganda Techniques 20. Irrelevant Issue: a shift to secondary issue that is less important or controversial a. Politicians whose answers to questions have nothing to do w/ the question that was asked (just watch a political debate!).

28. Propaganda Techniques 21. Direct Order: a command to do something a. “Just Do It.”

29. Propaganda Techniques 22. Scapegoating: blaming someone or something to make oneself look good a. “The Democratic Congress is to blame”, “The Republican Administration’s policies created this mess.”