AP LANG propaganda terms

Bandwagon

Joining a cause merely because of the # of people who are already participating (peer pressure)

Card Stacking

leaves all possible negative info out of a story so all cards line up to favor one side (leaves out details that could sway someone against or away from the central goal of the propaganda)

Glittering Generalities

general statements that appeal to the emotions in order to sway a person’s thinking – usually catch phrases to move audience (specific words)

Lesser of 2 Evils

uses 2 “bad” choices, one of them being not AS bad as the other, to convince a group of people that are more hesitant to accept something (more efficient to talk about what could be worse – there are several options but they don’t want you to know that)

Name Calling

brands the opposition to be evil to compel people to join something to subscribe to something (an idea, person, war, etc.)

Pinpointing the enemy

broaden problem by explaining it as black and white, aims to make the problem as clear as possible to make listener not ask questions causing people to choose “the obvious” side

Plain Folks

paints the deliverer as casual, down-home person who is just like everyone in his audience; will use simpler language, even the accent of the local population and an informal way of speaking to gain their confidence – make them believe he had their best interest at heart.

Stereotyping/simplification

an oversimplified and often incorrect assumption that all members of a certain group share the same characteristics, stereotypes can be positive or negative but don’t account for personal differences

Testimonial

a person of high popularity endorsing a product or idea

Transfer

Applying this technique involves causing the audience to associate their own strong feelings about one thing with a separate thing.