Presented by David Wegener Michael Sofie

Propaganda “It refers solely to the control of opinion by significant symbols, or, to speak more concretely and less accurately, by stories, rumors, reports, pictures, and other forms of social communication” – Harold Lasswell 1927

Glittering Generality Propaganda Devices Name Calling Glittering Generality Transfer Testimonial Plain Folks Card Stacking Bandwagon

Name Calling Giving an idea a bad label—used to make us reject or condemn the idea without examining the evidence” (Severin &Tankard, p. 111).

Glittering Generality “…associating something with a ‘virtue word’— used to make us accept and approve the thing without examining the evidence” Severin &Tankard (p. 113) Bernays “Torches of Freedom”

Transfer “carries the authority, sanction, and prestige of something respected and revered over to something else in order to make the latter more acceptable” Severin &Tankard (p. 116)

Testimonial “consists in having some respected or hated person say that a given idea or program or product is a good or bad.” Severin &Tankard (p. 118) Michael Jordan Air Jordan athletic shoes

Plain Folks “a method by which the speaker attempts to convince his audience that he and his ideas are good because they are ‘of the people, ’ the ‘plain folks’” Severin &Tankard (p. 118) Sarah Palin’s Alaska Show

Card Stacking “the selection and use of facts or falsehoods, illustrations or distractions, and logical or illogical statements in order to give the best or worst possible case for an idea, program, person, or product” Severin &Tankard (p. 118) Congress on March 27, 2003, Iraq oil revenues able to finance war and reconstruction false statement

Bandwagon “its theme, ‘Everybody--at least all of us—is doing it’; with it, the propagandist attempts to convince us that all members of a group to which we belong are accepting his program and that we must therefore follow our crowd and ‘jump on the bandwagon’” Severin &Tankard (p. 118)

SUMMARY a mass communication message does not have the same effect on everyone characteristics like education level and initial attitude toward the topic lead to different results the message will be more effective if backed up by violence

Important Studies / Events Increased use of propaganda WWI Walter Lippmann (1922) Public Opinion Edward Bernays (1923) Crystallizing Public Opinion Harold Lasswell (1927) Propaganda Techniques in the World War Edward Bernays (1928) Propaganda The Rise of Nazism (1933) Joseph Goebbels- Germany Mock and Larson (1939) Words That Won the War World War II Begins (1939) High propaganda usage The Cold War Begins (1945) Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann (1973) The Spiral of Silence and Cumulative Effects theories

Conclusions Propaganda and persuasion permeates our lives and world Ask the questions “Who says What to Whom in What Channel with What Effect ?” People must evaluate the information they receive as to its validity and truth Actively participate in your community and nation Be informed