Propaganda Techniques

Group Activity

You will be in groups of four

Number a piece of loose leaf 1-32

Each person in your group will receive an advertisement

Determine the type of propaganda being used in the advertisement and record on your sheet

Rotate the picture to the next person in your group

When your group is finished, give your 4 advertisements to the next group

Remember to use “inside voices” and to stay on task

What is propaganda?

Communication that tries to persuade by

appealing to emotion rather than logic

Testimonial

using celebrities, experts or satisfied customers

to endorse a product

Bandwagon

Appeals to the desire to “fit in” –don’t be

left out

Snob Appeal

(opposite of bandwagon) desire to be

special

Plain Folks

(politicians) associates speaker

with everyday people

Glittering Generalities

Uses words that are patriotic, attractive, or

catchy but really don’t say anything

Loaded Language/Emotional

Words

Uses words to appeal to emotions rather

than logic

Slant

One sided (better, best, worst, etc.)

Name Calling

Makes accusations but doesn’t give any facts to support

the claims

Negative words are used to create an unfavorable

opinion of the competition in the viewer’s mind

Begging the Question

Avoid answering the question by skirting

the issue; often used by politicians at

press conferences.

– Interviewer: "Your resume looks impressive

but I need another reference."

Bill: "Jill can give me a good reference."

Interviewer: "Good. But how do I know that Jill

is trustworthy?"

Bill: "Certainly. I can vouch for her."

Comparison

Comparing one

product to another

famous product is

used.

Faulty Cause and Effect

Internal Contradiction

“You don’t have to take the final exam, but

you will fail if you don’t.”

Oversimplification

“Four legs good, two legs bad!”

Scapegoat

Snowball is to blame for everything bad

that happens on the farm:

– Starvation

– Destruction of the windmill

Transfer

A picture of a

famous person is

used to endorse a

product.

Notes on Bias & Loaded Words

Bias - A prejudice, a preference (prefer) or mental inclinations

Author’s bias – “side” the author is on

Loaded Words – words that trigger a strong emotion

Meaning of words

– Denotation – dictionary definition

– Connotation – a feeling or emotion suggested by a word

Connotation & Denotation

Continued

Examples: connotation – plump has a more positive

connotation than fat

Thrifty has a more positive connotation than cheap

Word Positive

Connotation

Negative

Connotation

overweight Plump, chubby Obese, fat

active Athletic,

energetic

Hyper, add,

busy body

underweight Slim, slender,

thin

Skinny,

anorexic, stick