Recognizing Propaganda and Logical Fallacies

Propaganda

Band Wagon: “Everybody is doing it, so why don’t you get with it and join the crowd?” Ex. “Nine out of ten people say they preferred CHOO-CHOO over any other kind of gum.”

2. Testimonial: A person famous in sports, acting or any sort of role model is shown using a particular brand of soap, tennis racket etc.

3. Transfer: A candidate chooses a background behind where they speak to transfer those images to him or her. Ex. A person seeking election might choose to give a talk with the Lincoln Memorial or American flags in the background.

4. Plain Folks: The idea is to convince voters that the candidate belongs to the common people.

5. Glittering Generalities:  Words or phrases are used but may not have a specific meaning but sound good. They create favorable impressions in the mind of some listeners.

6. Card Stacking: is a way to manipulate information so that one product or person looks better than another.

7. Name Calling: a label that is not complimentary is used to influence others to dislike a person or organization.

Logical Fallacies

1. Hasty Generalizations: generalizing from inadequate evidence.

2. False Analogy: making a misleading comparison between two situations. Ex, If the United States gets involved in a land war with Iraq, it will turn out like the Vietnam War.

3. Non-sequitur: generalizing from inadequate evidence. Ex 3. Non-sequitur: generalizing from inadequate evidence. Ex. If we can send a spacecraft to Mars, then we can find a cure for cancer.

4. Post-hoc ergo propter hoc: “after this, therefore caused by this”; assuming that because two events related in time, the first caused the second. Ex. We should not rebuild the town docks because every time we do a big hurricane comes along and damages them.

5. Red herring: Sidetracks the issue with an unrelated issue.

6. Ad hominem: “to the man”; attacking a person making the argument rather than the argument it- self.

7: ad Ignorantium: saying something must be true because you can prove that its false. Ex, Aliens exist because you cant prove they don’t.

8. ad populum: ideas are right because they are popular.

9. Slippery Slope: an assumption that one idea should lead to another 9. Slippery Slope: an assumption that one idea should lead to another. Ex. If one thing happens then another negative thing must happen which causes another negative thing to happen.

10. Flattery: persuading people to do something by suggesting they are thoughtful, intelligent, or perceptive enough to agree with the writer.