Mark Twain said, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
Below are some examples from Wikipedia of common Propaganda Techniques. Review them, then find a headline, post, or story that uses that technique. Explain the “Lie” then describe how it uses one of the techniques below. As a foundation all are examples of Lying and deception including Ad Hominem arguments, Big-Lie, Defamation, Door-in-the-Face, Half-truth, Name-calling or any other technique that is based on dishonesty or deception. For example, many politicians have been found to frequently stretch or break the truth.
Post your answer in the Propaganda Padlet
- Ad hominem
A Latin phrase that has come to mean attacking one’s opponent, as opposed to attacking their arguments. - Big lie
The repeated articulation of a complex of events that justify subsequent action. The descriptions of these events have elements of truth, and the “big lie” generalizations merge and eventually supplant the public’s accurate perception of the underlying events. After World War I the German stab in the back explanation of the cause of their defeat became a justification for Nazi re-militarization and revanchism. - Stereotyping, name calling or labelingThis technique attempts to arouse prejudices in an audience by labeling the object of the propaganda campaign as something the target audience fears, hates, loathes, or finds undesirable.
- Straw man
A straw man argument is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent’s position. To “attack a straw man” is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by substituting a superficially similar proposition (the “straw man”), and refuting it, without ever having actually refuted the original position. - Beautiful people
The type of propaganda that deals with famous people or depicts attractive, happy people. This suggests if people buy a product or follow a certain ideology, they too will be happy or successful. - Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
Sometimes abbreviated as FUD, an attempt to influence public perception by disseminating negative and dubious/false information designed to undermine the credibility of their beliefs.Also known as “appeal to fear,” the fear technique is perhaps the most common form of propaganda and the one described above. By making people afraid of the alternative, they naturally tend to support your position. It’s actually a logical fallacy. The argument propagandists are making is this: “Either A or B is true. B is scary. Therefore, A is true.” - Information overload”
Information overload can have the same effect as secrecy and certainly in the short term and for democracies today it might be considered more effective.”[21] “When information overload occurs, it is likely that a reduction in decision quality will occur.”[22]“The glut of information generated by modern technology […] threatens to make its receivers passive. Overload prompts disengagement.”[23]
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