Seven Common Forms of Propaganda Don’t Get Sucked In! Seven Common Forms of Propaganda

Name-Calling Don’t Get Sucked In! Uses names that create fear or hatred Links a person or idea to a negative symbol Occurs often in politics and wartime but not often in advertising Uses words that have a negative connotation Labels the target something that you dislike Use sarcasm and ridicule Don’t Get Sucked In! Think about the person or idea after separating your feelings about the name from your feelings about the actual idea or proposal. Get more information before you decide.

Glittering Generalities Use highly general, abstract statements that can't really be proven Evoke a positive emotional response Occur often in politics and political propaganda Use virtue words Are linked to highly valued concepts Don’t Get Sucked In! Think about the issue after removing the glittering generalities from the actual idea or proposal.

Transfer Don’t Get Sucked In! Attempts to link two objects or proposals Tries to get you to feel the same way about the two things Creates positive or negative links Used often in politics and during wartime Don’t Get Sucked In! Think about the good and bad points of the idea or item separately from your beliefs about other objects or proposals, even if they are similar. Get more information before you decide.

Testimonial Don’t Get Sucked In! Uses quotations or endorsements from famous and/or respected people Attempts to connect a famous or respectable person with a product or item Closely connected to the transfer technique by connecting an agreeable person to another item Used often in advertising and political campaigns Don’t Get Sucked In! Think about the good and bad points of the product or item apart from the person or organization giving the testimonial. Get more information before you decide.

Plain folks Don’t Get Sucked In! Attempts to convince you that his or her views are the same as yours and other “regular people” Appears to be beneficial to you and other “regular people” Uses vocabulary, speech patterns, activities, inside jokes and references to convince you that “we’re the same” Very effective when used with glittering generalities Attempts to convince you that their views are valid because they are similar to yours Used often in political campaigns Don’t Get Sucked In! Think about the proposals and ideas separately from the style they are presented in and the personality of the presenter. Get more information before you decide.

Card stacking Don’t Get Sucked In! Presents only information that is positive to an idea or proposal Omits negative information Used in almost all forms of propaganda Extremely effective Most of the information is true Dangerous because it leaves out important information Don’t Get Sucked In! Get more information before you make a decision.

Bandwagon Don’t Get Sucked In! Encourages you to follow the crowd Tries to convince you that one side will win because it has the most people Used frequently in many forms Extremely effective May try to convince you that you’ll be left out if you don’t participate, since everyone else has joined in Used in advertising, wartime, and peacetime Don’t Get Sucked In! Think about the good points and bad points of joining instead of thinking about the number of people who have already joined. Get more information before you decide.