Propaganda Techniques/Rhetorical Fallacies/Grammar (Mr. Marple semester 1)

slogan

a "catchy" slogan is more easily remembered than a complicated and perhaps more accurate explanation

slogan

4 legs good, 2 legs bad

repetition

when a message is "drummed" into a listener's consciousness, it tends to be remembered. a group can be trained to repeat the slogan so loudly and long that all rational thought becomes impossible

repetition

"our lives are miserable, laborious, and short."

loaded words

certain words that arouse strong emotional responses

loaded words

equality; peace

powerful images

just as there are loaded words, certain images are loaded with powerful emotional associations

powerful images

windmill (from AF); ad to adopt dogs

appeals to our fears

a powerful propaganda technique is to play on a listener's fears. the message says, in effect, that if you don't do a certain things (or if you don't think a certain way), something you fear very much will happen.

appeals to our fears

don't build the windmill because we will starve to death; if you don't do your homework you'll get an F!

appeals to our basic desires and needs

all humans need food, drink, clothing, and shelter in order to survive. we also have emotional needs: to be loved and cared for, to have meaningful work, to have a sense of dignity and self-worth. these can be used to shape a group's opinions.

appeals to our basic desires and needs

windmill will allow animals to work less; buy toothpaste to have white teeth

card stacking

false statements/calculations/information is presented in order to deceive or victimize the listener (only presenting one side of the issue)

card stacking

advertising cereal is made with whole grain, but does not say that it is loaded with sugar

bandwagon

since most people want to be part of the crowd, the protagonist can win over many followers if he can convince his listeners that everyone else is following a certain trend

bandwagon

"if your friend jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?"; other animals on the farm want to rebel

transfer device

a propagandist can create the impression that his cause possesses virtues comparable to the virtues of a symbol, idea, or person that the people already respect and admire. they hope to get the group's feelings about one thing transferred to another.

transfer device

Beyonce voted for Clinton, so you should too

plain folks

a propagandist can convince people that he's one of the common citizens rather than a leader who isn't part of the general group. the people will believe that since he claims to be one of them, he is trustworthy and has their interests at heart.

plain folks

all animals should be equal, milk and apples are for pigs only (brain food); "I empathize with you!"

rhetoric

the art of speaking or writing effectively and persuasively

fallacies

common errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic of your argument. they can be either illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points and are often identified because they lack evidence that supports their claim.

red herring

misleads or distracts from the truth

slippery slope

arguments that one thing will lead to another (often hyperbolic)

either/or choice (false dilemma, false dichotomy, false duality)

reduced nuanced issues to only 2 possible courses of action

false need

arguments that create an unnecessary desire for things

emotional fallacy

arguments that prey on emotions, typically in the absence of factual evidence

ethical fallacy

detract from credibility of speaker/writer

ad hominem

attack a person's character instead of reasoning

false authority

prove a point because someone who may not be fully qualified said it

guilt by association

questioning someone's character by association with a criminal

moral equivalence

compares minor problems with much more serious crimes

logical fallacy

error in reasoning; no logic backing up (sometimes unintentional)

hasty generalization

based on insufficient or biased evidence; "judging a book by its cover"

faulty causality (post ho, ergo propter hoc)

a occurred, then b occurred, therefore a cause b