Propaganda techniques in the media

1. Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 Whose voice guides your choice? Propaganda techniques in the media

2. Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 How do you decide who is the best candidate…

3. Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 or which is the best toothpaste ?

4. Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 Looking for facts to back up your choice is an excellent idea, but find out who is presenting those facts.

5. Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 Are they facts at all, or is the advertiser using propaganda techniques to persuade you?

6. What are Propaganda techniques? • Propaganda is designed to persuade. • Its purpose is to influence your opinions, emotions, attitudes, or behavior. • It seeks to “guide your choice.”

7. Who uses Propaganda? • Military • Media • Advertisers • Politicians • You and I

8. What are some of the techniques used to persuade us? • Bandwagon • Name-calling • Testimonial • Glittering Generality • Plain-folks appeal • Transfer • Emotional words • Faulty Reasoning • Fear

9. Bandwagon Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 • Everybody is doing this. • If you want to fit in, you need to “jump on the bandwagon” and do it too. • The implication is that you must JOIN in to FIT in.

10. Bank of the World Visa Card- You can use it from Tennessee to Timbuktu- anywhere you travel in whole wide world !! Sign up today at www.bowvisa.com Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 For example: If the whole world uses this VISA card, you must need one too.

11. Name-calling • A negative word or feeling is attached to an idea, product, or person. • If that word or feeling goes along with that person or idea, the implication is that we shouldn’t be interested in it.

12. For example: Do we want a mayor who will leave us in debt? Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 Spending grew 100% under Mayor Moneybags!

13. Testimonial • A famous person endorses an idea, a product, a candidate. • If someone famous uses this product, believes this idea, or supports this candidate, so should we.

14. Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 Milly the Model asks, “Got Milk?” For example: If we drink milk we will all be as famous as Milly the model.

15. Glittering Generality • A commonly admired virtue is used to inspire positive feelings for a person, idea, or product. • Words like truth, democracy, beauty, timeless are examples of those general terms.

16. Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 Look on the bright side! Vote for Bill Brite ! For example: If you want to be brighter, you’ll support Bill Brite.

17. Plain-folks appeal • This idea, product, or person is associated with normal, everyday people and activities.

18. Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 Vote for Smith For Example: We want a Jim Smith, a mayor who supports the regular American worker.

19. Transfer • Symbols, quotes, or images of famous people are used to convey a message. • The message may not necessarily be associated with them.

20. Celebrate the American Way this 4th of July- Eat at Joe’s Joe’s Barbeque Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 For example: Joe uses symbols of America to tie his restaurant to American values for Independence Day.

21. Emotional words • Words that leave us with positive feelings are used to describe a product, person, or idea. • We associate those words and, therefore, those positive feelings with the product.

22. True Love Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 For example: What feelings are inspired by the words “true love”? If you wear this cologne will someone fall in love with you?

23. Faulty Reasoning • Factual supporting details are used though they do not support the conclusion. It works like this: • Christians believe in God. • Muslims believe in God. • Christians are Muslims.

24. More teachers recommend Calm-me to help them make it through the day Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 For example: Does this mean that teachers need medication to keep their cool during the school day ?

25. Fear • Our fears are displayed. • Ideas, candidates, or products are shown to put our fears to rest.

26. Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 Guard against Identity theft Use Safety Ware www.safetyware.com For example: If you use Safety Ware it will people from stealing your identity-or will it?

27. Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 How do we make sure that we are making informed choices, instead of allowing others to sway us in our decision-making?

28. We make our own choices when … • we read and listen to reliable sources, • we watch for combinations of truths and lies, • we check for hidden messages, • we watch for use of propaganda techniques,

29. www.scottish.parliament.uk/ educationservice and, most importantly, WHEN WE LISTEN TO OUR OWN VOICES !