Propaganda techniques Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 Whose voice guides your choice?

Propaganda is … … form of communication … aimed at swaying or influencing your attitude … toward or away from some cause or position.

Influence of Propaganda  If you watch 30 hours of TV per week, you will… –View roughly 37,822 commercials per year That’s about 100 TV ads per day  You will see another 100 to 300 ads per day through other mass media If companies did not think you could be influenced, they would not spend billions of $ on it!

So … if everyone is trying to influence you how do you ….

How do you decide who is the best candidate… Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

or which is the best toothpaste ? Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

Who uses Propaganda? Military Politicians Governments You and I Media & Advertising: Television Radio Billboards Bumper stickers Magazines, Newspapers

What are Propaganda techniques? Designed to persuade and to influence your Opinions Emotions Attitudes Behavior Propaganda techniques seek to “guide your choice.”

What are some of the methods or techniques used to persuade us? Bandwagon Name-calling Testimonial Glittering Generality Plain-folks appeal Transfer Emotional words Faulty Reasoning Fear

Bandwagon o Everybody is doing this. Join the crowd! You must JOIN in to FIT in! o If you want to fit in, you need to “jump on the bandwagon” and do it too. Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

Bandwagon examples:

Name-calling A negative word or feeling is attached to an idea, product, or person implying that we should not be interested.

Name calling example : Do we want a leader to keep their word while in office?

Name calling example: In a campaign speech to a logging company, the Congressman referred to his environmentally conscious opponent as a "tree hugger."

Emotional words Words that leave us with positive feelings are used to describe a product, person, or idea. We associate those words and, therefore, those positive feelings with the product.

Emotional words example: luxury, beautiful, paradise, economical Used to evoke positive feelings Happiness Low price Fun Flag (patriotism)

Emotional words example: What feelings are inspired by the picture of this puppy?

 The origin of the term slogan is “a war cry or rally cry” (and is often used in political or patriot context), but it is commonly used to describe “a brief attention- getting phrase used in advertising promotion.” Slogan  A phrase that “rhymes or sounds in a catchy manner,” which emphasizes its musicality, as being associated with a song or a tune. Jingle

Evidence Claims  Facts and Figures – statistics to prove superiority.  Magic Ingredients – suggests some miraculous discovery makes product exceptionally effective.  Hidden Fears – suggests that user is safe from some danger.

Evidence Claims: Will this help you reduce your cholesterol?  Trident: Four out of Five Dentists

Evidence Claims: The viewer is led to believe one product is better than another, although no real proof is offered. Take the Pepsi Challenge

How do we make sure that we are making informed choices, instead of allowing others to sway us in our decision-making? Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

We make our own choices when … we read and listen to reliable sources, we watch for combinations of truths and lies, we check for hidden messages, we watch for use of propaganda techniques, We think critically

and, most importantly, educationservice WHEN WE LISTEN TO OUR OWN VOICES !

 Be a conscientious consumer  Know what devices are trying to influence you  Then… Make an informed decision

Critical thinking questions  Who created/paid for the message?  For what purpose was it made?  Who is the ‘target audience’?  What techniques are used to attract my attention & increase believability ?  Who or what might be omitted and why?  What do they want me to think or do?  How do I know what it means?  Where might I go to get more information?

Critical thinking questions  Who produced and/or paid for the message?  What is the purpose of the message?  Who is the ‘target audience’ ?  What techniques are used to both attract attention and increase believability?  What lifestyles are promoted and why?  Does the message contain bias or stereotypes?

Critical thinking questions  Why is this message being sent?  Who stands to benefit from the message?  Who or what might be omitted and why?  How might different people interpret the message differently from me?  What can I do with the information I obtain from the message?  What do you know; not know; like to know?

Look for facts to back up your choice. Find out who is presenting those facts. Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

Are they facts at all, or is the advertiser using propaganda techniques to persuade you? Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002