State propaganda methods

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

“The better people get to know the nature of mind-affecting technologies, the more likely they will understand their purpose, and the less likely these technologies will be used.” - John D. Marks (author of The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence).

Propaganda - the dissemination of political, philosophical, scientific, artistic and other views and ideas with the aim of introducing them into public consciousness and activating mass practical activities. There are 67 methods collected here.

The word "propaganda" comes from the Latin name for the organization, which included the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, "Congregatio de Propaganda Fide" ("Congregation for the Propaganda of the Faith"). This congregation - known for short as Propaganda - was founded by Pope Gregory XV in 1622 to lead missionary work. Since 1790, the term "propaganda" has been used in secular life. In the middle of the 19th century, after the application of propaganda methods in politics, the term acquired a negative connotation.

Propaganda methods

Anonymous authority - One of the most effective methods of influence is to appeal to authority. The name of the authority was not disclosed. At the same time, citation of documents, expert assessments, testimonial reports and other materials that are necessary for greater persuasiveness can be carried out. Examples: "Scientists have established on the basis of many years of research …", "Doctors recommend …", "A source from the closest presidential entourage, who wished to remain anonymous, reports …". References to non-existent authority give it solidity and weight in the eyes of ordinary people.

The appeal to the majority - "everyone around thinks so, therefore it is true." This also includes an appeal to authority: "This opinion belongs to authority, don't you respect it?" and an appeal to tradition: "This is considered from ancient times, therefore it is true."

Appeal to prejudice - Appeal to the prejudice of a mass audience is used when it is necessary to give credibility to a point of view due to its moral value. The reverse mechanism can also be used - the refutation of the opposition point of view through the statement of its immorality.

Love attack - technology is used when it is necessary to make someone a supporter of an ideology or social movement. As soon as a person becomes a part of this group, and how the other members surround him with attention so tightly that he has no opportunity to meet with his former social circle. It can be expressed in the form of permanent meetings, various other types of activities that completely occupy the leisure of the neophyte, preventing him from returning to his previous positions.

Aphorisms - termination of discussion by using too simplified phrases and arguments (for example, "war has no alternative").

Shiny candy wrapper - this is the term propaganda researchers call words that positively describe an object, but do not say anything in essence. At the same time, the characteristics are so vague that they can be applied to any object, at the same time, they cannot be refuted and called false. The so-called "Barnum effect" arises (the vagueness of the characteristics does not raise doubts about its validity).

Everyday story is used, for example, to adapt a person to information that is clearly negative, causing denial, content. So, if you need to tame people to violence, blood, murder, atrocities of all kinds, then a fine-looking TV presenter with a calm face and an even voice, as if casually, informs you every day about the most serious atrocities. After several weeks of such treatment, the population ceases to react to the most heinous crimes and massacres taking place in society.

Loyalty is the goal of technology to convince to support the desired point of view, so as not to look like traitors and cowards in the eyes of society.

Praising heroes - the purpose of this technique is to show the strength of mind, courage and justice of the actions of the "freedom fighters" to neutral people. Moreover, this technique often assumes that opponents will also begin to doubt the validity of their beliefs, and supporters will become convinced of the correctness of their actions and become filled with pride.

Disinformation - misleading by providing incomplete information or complete, but no longer necessary information, distorting the context, distorting part of the information in order to push the audience to the actions needed by the manipulator.

Demonization of the enemy - the transformation of a representative of another nation, ethnic group or supporter of a different point of view into a "subhuman", immoral, ruthless, etc., using false or unverified accusations. Presentation of the opponent in a deliberately unfavorable light, exaggeration or falsification of shortcomings / misconduct, opposing him and the target audience.

Stop the thief - the purpose of the method is to mix with the persecutors, if you are accused of something, you need to bypass the enemy and begin to repent yourself.

Kind words are words that evoke positive emotions in the viewer in relation to the described object. For example, peace, happiness, security, freedom, truth, stability, “young promising leader”, etc.

Chattering - the method of chattering is used when it is necessary to reduce the relevance or cause a negative reaction to any phenomenon. Using it, you can successfully fight the enemy, continuously praising him to the point and inappropriately talking about his extraordinary abilities. Very quickly everyone gets bored and one name of this person causes irritation. Another method of chattering is often used to create the so-called. "Information noise" when it is necessary to hide some important event or main problem behind the stream of secondary messages.

Play with scale - changing the real scale of events to understate or exaggerate its importance. Types: hyperbole - a kind of trail based on exaggeration (a bloody massacre, but in fact there are two victims), litota - a deliberate understatement (minor election violations), grotesque - depicting people and phenomena in a fantastic, ugly comic form and based on harsh contrasts and exaggerations, gradation - the arrangement of words, expressions in ascending (ascending) or decreasing (descending) significance (ruthless, cruel, bloody).

Selective truth is a propaganda technique in which the manipulator tells the audience the truth, but only that part of it that is beneficial to him, while hushing up the rest. The peculiarity of this method is to select only the facts that the manipulator needs and mix them with what the viewer wants / expects to hear. In this case, the audience does not have the feeling that they have been subjected to propaganda.

Cognitive dissonance - Cognitive dissonance occurs when our knowledge of the world does not match the world itself. The state of cognitive dissonance is unpleasant for the psyche and entails the desire of the individual to change his own attitudes. An example of the use of cognitive dissonance as a manipulative technique is a situation when it is known that a large part of the population does not support a certain candidate in the elections, but very much trusts a certain public leader. It is enough for this leader to speak out “for” the candidate, and many people will change their attitude towards the candidate, since the negative attitude will no longer fit into their picture of the world.

The scapegoat is shifting responsibility onto a person or a certain group, thereby removing the blame from the real culprits and / or switching attention from the need to solve the problem.

Control of verbal designations - an example is such streamlined phrases as "carpet / spot bombing", "clearing the territory", etc., which remove the deadly nature from consciousness. Frequent cases of control over verbal designations are dysphemism and euphemism. Dysphemism is a rude or obscene designation of an initially neutral concept in order to give it a negative semantic load or simply to enhance the expressiveness of speech, for example: to die instead of to die, a muzzle instead of a face. Euphemism is a word or descriptive expression that is neutral in meaning and emotionally charged, usually used in texts and public statements to replace other words and expressions that are considered indecent or inappropriate. In politics, euphemisms are often used to soften certain words and expressions in order to mislead the public and falsify reality. For example, using the expression “harsher interrogation methods” instead of “torture”, etc.

Control over the situation - an attempt by the manipulator to control the social environment and its views through social pressure. Thus, the carriers of popular ideas receive social approval from him, while the rest are exposed in the most unfavorable light.

The cult of personality is the creation of an idealized heroic image in the minds of the audience, sometimes by means of lies and forgery. The object of the cult of personality appears to be able to do everything, to cope with everything as a hero. PR of the personality cult can be carried out in any area, the object will be presented by a successful businessman, an exemplary family man, and a responsible member of civil society.

Linguistic propaganda - the use of various means of artistic expression of speech and tropes in order to distort information and / or emotional impact on the audience. Linguistic propaganda includes: rhetorical questions, exclamations and addresses - the expression of an affirmation in an interrogative form; to attract attention; strengthening the emotional impact (What to do? Americans should talk about the rule of law! Citizens, …), pathos is a rhetorical category corresponding to the style, manner or way of expressing feelings that are characterized by emotional elevation, inspiration, removal of the actor - using passive constructions, the manipulator is silent about subject of action (they were attacked). Dwight Bulinger (1973, pp. 543-546), metaphors and epithets - Figurative meaning of a word based on similarity, occasionalisms - individual author's word formations, oxymoron - a combination of opposite words in meaning (peacekeeping war).

A logical error is a mistake made in logical reasoning. Any argument that contains it cannot be considered true, although for some people, for various reasons, such arguments seem convincing, which their opponents successfully use, making it easier to argue their own point of view.

False dilemma (black and white world) - to present two radically different points of view, omitting the intermediate options - "either with us or against us."

Lies - presenting facts in a distorted form, providing information that does not correspond to reality.

Labeling - This technique is used to make categories easier to read. For example, it is enough to create in the public consciousness the image of a certain “radical” with characteristic characteristics in order to further “drown” any opponent, calling him a radical. Manipulation method helps the audience to think in big blurred categories, without trying to highlight the special characteristics of the object itself. It is, in fact, a generalization and division of diversity into a small number of clearly described groups - "conservative", "liberal", "oppositionist".

Violations of the causal relationship is a logical trick, in which the causal relationship is identified with the chronological, temporal: "a serial killer from childhood was fond of postage stamps, therefore, philately turns people into ruthless killers."

Mockery and irony is an expression of ridicule or slyness through allegory. A word or utterance acquires, in the context of speech, a meaning that is opposite to the literal meaning or denies it, calls into question. This can also include sarcasm - a contemptuous, sarcastic mockery; the highest degree of irony.

Inevitable Victory - The trick is to convince the audience to join a certain trend because its victory is inevitable. Often, along with the idea of the inevitability of victory, the idea is imposed that everyone else has done this for a long time, thus the manipulator is trying to play on the self-esteem of the audience, which does not want to be lagging behind. Achieved by overly positive presentation of the results achieved, as well as by creating a crowd effect.

Hate is a powerful weapon for the manipulator, as the evil and ruthless enemy will never gain the empathy of the audience. It is enough to make the enemy hate and the manipulator will receive all the approval.

Implicit Assertion - This technique is used when the promoted idea may not inspire confidence in the audience if it is stated directly. Instead, it is either mentioned several times or is transparently hinted at.

Generalization - the essence of the technique is to present a frequent judgment under the guise of general, thus the audience gets the impression that this phenomenon or judgment is inherent in everyone without exception.

Justification - Individuals or groups may use meaningful general phrases to explain questionable actions or statements. Vague phrases are often used to justify actions.

Distracting maneuver - the use of unimportant data or arguments "for quantity" in a dispute, so that later you can justify your position not by the quality of arguments, but by their quantity.

Defamation - to manipulate public consciousness, the method of defamation is often used, replacing logical arguments against an idea with its irrational perception. Playing on the audience's fears and prejudices, the manipulator offers a universal ready-made recipe for perceiving unwanted ideas from the point of view of their emotional component.

Carrying over is also known as association. This technique uses people, objects, symbols and objects and projects them onto others to create a positive or negative image in the eyes of the audience. Often this technique uses visual means, emblems, symbols (for example, a swastika on the Russian flag).

Transition to personality, appeal to personality - "You are stupid and ugly, therefore your thesis is wrong." Search for circumstances that supposedly force the opponent to put forward this thesis: "You say this because you want to impress the public, so your thesis is wrong."

Agenda - No propaganda technique will succeed without constant repetition. If the same news is repeated day in and day out, it is most likely a method of managing the news or creating an agenda. People who tend to trust television believe that they are first informed about the most important events, while news that is unimportant or entertaining in nature is sent to the very end of the episode.

Repetition - This method consists of repeating a specific symbol or slogan for the best memorization by the audience. The repetition can be in the form of a jingle and / or an image posted almost everywhere. Repetition can also use phrases, images, and other subliminal content. Brief Description - Repetition - A ubiquitous jingle, slogan or image to capture a specific image in the audience's subconscious.

Substitution of a thesis / topic is a logical error in the proof, consisting in the fact that, having started to prove a certain thesis, gradually in the course of the proof they move on to proving another position similar to the thesis. (they said the story about one thing, but talk about another).

Substitution of a fact with an opinion is an attempt by a manipulator to pass off his opinion (often controversial) as a fact, that is, in this way to avoid possible arguments of the opponent, and also to give his point of view additional credibility.

Half-truth - this method consists of several statements, some of which are necessarily well-known or easily verifiable truth. The second part of the truth is either distorted or omitted. An example of a half-truth is the attempt by the authorities to convince the audience, with the next increase in the prices of utilities, that it is necessary to pay for electricity, gas and water at world prices - as they pay in America or Europe. The fact that then the incomes of the population should be increased to the European level is delicately hushed up.

Constant repetition - This technique involves endless repetition of the same idea. Such an idea, especially if it is formulated in the form of a simple slogan, after repeated repetition, begins to be perceived by the masses as true. It is actively used in those countries where freedom of the media is limited or controlled by the state.

Exaggeration of detail - the purpose of the technique is to exaggerate the significance of some small flaws in order to present them as a widescreen phenomenon.

A familiar condition - this technique consists in creating an unconscious logical connection between two objects in the audience, by repeatedly placing two objects side by side. Unconsciously, the viewer will then himself draw an analogy, having seen only one of the objects. This is how, for example, the stereotype “migrant-criminal” works. Every time a person from Central Asia commits a crime, his nationality is mentioned many times. After several such stories, the audience might get the impression that any migrant is a criminal.

Order - the technique is based on the fact that the audience does not always want to make a choice itself, it prefers to be dictated to the necessary actions, thus freeing it from responsibility. The propaganda itself can consist in a simple phrase, an order formulated in a generalized form and representing a universal recommendation.

The principle of contrast is to show the enemy camp as a fragmented community of demagogues and brawlers, in order to boast of their excellent organization against their background.

Inducing disapproval - This technique is used to convince the target audience to oppose a certain idea by informing them that the supporters of this idea are previously unpleasant people. Thus, people do not analyze the idea, but analyze its potential supporters, which cause negative reactions in them.

Confusion, intentional ambiguity - the deliberate use of common phrases so that the audience can come up with their own interpretation. Hearing general phrases, potential listeners do not concentrate on analyzing ideas, but conjecture themselves too much in the way in which they would like to hear this information.

Flag-waving is an attempt to justify actions or judgments based on the fact that they were based on patriotism and concern for the welfare of the nation. And since love for one's country is a virtue in the mass consciousness, actions are perceived in a more positive light.

Evidence - The use of quotes intended to support or refute a given program, policy, action, etc. In this technique, the reputation of the witness is important, often it is a scientist, an expert, a person respected in society. The evidence confirms the truth of the propaganda message. This is done so that the audience accepts the propagated opinion and even more, decides that it is their own.

Your own man - the technique lies in the fact that the level of trust of the audience will increase if you speak with it “in its language”. The manipulator is trying to show that he is a simple person, just like everyone else. On a psychological level, a commonality of problems and interests fosters trust. For example, talking about rusty water that flows from his tap. Or he can use colloquial words and phrases to appear closer to the people.

Sensation - today almost all news blocks in the media begin with the so-called. "Sensational messages": serial murders, plane crashes, terrorist attacks, scandals from the life of politicians or show stars. In fact, the urgency of messages is almost always false, artificial. Sometimes sensationalism serves as a distraction. Usually such a "sensation" is not worth a damn - either the elephant gave birth at the zoo, then the bus collided with a truck in the tunnel, or the teenager raped and killed his grandmother. The next day, everyone forgets about it. Under the guise of a sensation, you can either keep silent about an important event that the public should not know about, or stop the scandal, which is high time to end - but so that no one else remembers it.

Skepticism - This technique is used to question the essence of a discussion. Thus, to convince the public that it is not trustworthy or that it needs to be checked and proven.

Slogans are short, apt phrases that can include stereotypes and labels. In practice, slogans mostly act as emotional appeals.

Equitable Violence - The purpose of this technique is to convince the target audience that violence is the only possible and justifiable response to violent actions of opponents.

Stereotypes - This technique is based on the use of audience prejudice by labeling the propaganda object that arouses fear, hatred, disgust, etc. in the audience. For example, when talking about another country or some social group, the manipulator can focus on the stereotypical features that the reader expects, even if in fact they are not typical for the whole country or social group (often this is something anecdotal, funny). In graphic propaganda (including on military posters), these can be portraits of enemies with some pronounced stereotypical national traits.

Outside technique - the audience is much more willing to believe in the judgments made by an outside, independent observer than by an interested party. Therefore, biased people - scientists, journalists, etc. are often used to express certain opinions that discredit the object or, on the contrary, whitewash it.

Fear, obscurity, doubt is an attempt to influence the beliefs of the audience by spreading negative or controversial / false information about the opponent in order to undermine his reputation or cause distrust in him. Even if this information is refuted later, this technique still has a good effect on public consciousness.

Happy People - This type of propaganda deals with celebrities or simply superficially attractive people. He enforces the idea of "behave like them and you will become like them." Any idea can be presented in such a shell - from a particular clothing brand to lifestyle, attitudes and beliefs.

Simplification is meaningfully general phrases used to provide simple answers to complex social, political, economic, or military problems.

Cynicism is a defiantly dismissive attitude towards the norms of morality and ethics in order to achieve practical interest.

The breadth of perception - if some point of view is difficult for perception (or controversial or radical), then it is enough to find an opponent with an even more extreme point of view in order to look reasonable and moderate against his background. It can also be used if it is necessary to implement an unpopular decision - it is enough to offer a solution that the audience will not like even more, so that the initial one seems quite acceptable to it.

Euphoria is the use of an event that makes people euphoric, or a sense of happiness and togetherness. Euphoria can be created by announcing a holiday or festivities, a military parade, or a patriotic gathering. The resulting feeling of happiness from the event itself can extend to the organizers or the events in honor of which the celebrations are arranged.

Quotes without context - Selectively taken out of context, quotations with altered meaning are often used by politicians to discredit opponents or opposition points of view.

Emotional resonance - an event in the past, which has a certain stable association in the collective memory, is used in order to cause the same reaction to the events of the present.