Propaganda Techniques Modern World History, by Dan McDowell. Teaching Point, ©2004

What is propaganda? A way of manipulating people using images and words to achieve a desired effect or outcome. Propaganda clouds reality and gets in the way of clear and honest thinking.

Bandwagon Hop on the bandwagon or else you don’t fit in. Everyone is doing it, so you should too. This technique is contrived peer pressure – no one wants to be left out or behind.

Bandwagon

Testimonial A celebrity or expert who endorses a product, candidate, or idea. Think about all of the commercials with celebrities. The celebrity may not always be qualified to speak on the subject.

Testimonial

Plain Folks This technique has a person or cause being associated with regular people. Candidates who are just like you – they put their pants on one leg at a time, too.

Plain Folks "We are for Adolf Hitler!"

Plain Folks

Glittering Generalities Use of words and images that generally carry a favorable meaning to everyone; including liberty, democracy, freedom, and civilization. It hopes to associate a person, idea, or group with a positive feeling, but no direct evidence. The largest problem with this technique is that all of these words mean different things to different people.

Glittering Generalities "Open the door to freedom! Put a strong man at the helm! Out of the swamp! Forward with the powers of renewal!”

Glittering Generalities

“Happiness” means different things to different people.

Glittering Generalities

Name-Calling This technique links a person or idea to a negative image. It is hoped that association with this negative symbol will cause the viewer to reject it outright. A derivative of this technique involves carefully selecting descriptive words. This is the opposite of glittering generalities.

Name Calling

Name-Calling "The Jew: The inciter of war, the prolonger of war."

Fear-Based Propaganda Fear-based propaganda involves warning people that disaster will result if they do not follow a particular course of action.

Fear Based Propaganda

Fear Propaganda, Hitler style "The streets of our country are in turmoil. The universities are filled with students rebelling and rioting. Communists are seeking to destroy our country. Russia is threatening us with her might, and the Republic is in danger. Yes - danger from within and without. We need law and order! Without it our nation cannot survive." - Adolf Hitler, 1932

FEAR PROPAGANDA: HOMELAND SECURITY VIDEO ersist_safety_mode=1

Fear-Based jold people ad

Black & White Black and White - Presents an issue as having only two choices. If you don’t like one choice, you must choose the other. Also known as the “lesser of two evils” or “compare & contrast.”

Black & White

Assertion Assertion is commonly used in advertising and modern propaganda. An assertion is a statement presented as a fact, although it is not necessarily true.

Card Stacking Card stacking is leaving out what you don’t want people to know. It is dangerous because it leaves out important information.

Card Stacking

Other Techniques * Misery - Appeals to pity or sympathy to gain support. Fancy Words - Use of elegant or technical sounding words to persuade and camouflage the truth. Word Magic - Uses emotional or catchy words to create a positive feeling and makes it easier to remember the product or idea.

Other Techniques * Simplicity and Repetition - Keep it simple and say it often enough so people will remember it and believe it

Credits American Propaganda Posters courtesy of Northwestern University Library ( wwii-posters/index.html) wwii-posters/index.html German Propaganda Posters courtesy of German Propaganda Archive ( * Techniques courtesy of Bryan Ross, West Hills High School.Bryan Ross