Fake celebrity endorsement and appeal to authority – Dalai Lama did not say this
TL;DR Summary Interesting quote attributed to The Dalai Lama using an “appeal to his authority” propaganda method. But he never said this. The quote is actually from David Orr, the editor of a book on sustainability. Dr. Orr is a professor of environmental studies at Oberlin.
Context matters – poster from unions4workers deleted a key word to tell a lie
TL;DR Summary The poster conveys that James Madison believed in 1817 that business corporations are inherently evil regarding accumulation of property. The person who created this poster left out one word: “in perpetuity by [ecclesiastical] corporations” which completely changes the meaning. The quote is contained in a paragraph about the power of religious bodies, in a document that is entirely about “Ecclesiastical Bodies” (Churches). Unions4Workers is telling an outright lie.
The reality was bad enough, so why lie to make a propaganda poster?
TL;DR Summary This an odd one. This poster about former Republican Presidential candidate Scott Walker asserts 2 untrue facts and 1 true fact. This is odd because the truthful backstory is not so great, so why use lies to get the point across? Once caught, it makes the propagandist look rather bad.
Pre-propaganda – not all propaganda messaging comes with a “to do” list
TL;RD Summary A positive message, albeit, a “feel good” glittering generality. The message is honest . The design of the poster could be better by suggesting some action to be taken but in some ways, this might be viewed as “pre-propaganda” which is messaging that preps the target for later propaganda that calls for action. The poster was on FB and came from BlueNationReview.com. It uses the methods of “testimonial”, “appeal to authority”, “celebrity endorsement” and a “glittering generality”. The…
Pre-propaganda – not all propaganda messaging comes with a "to do" list
TL;RD Summary A positive message, albeit, a “feel good” glittering generality. The message is honest . The design of the poster could be better by suggesting some action to be taken but in some ways, this might be viewed as “pre-propaganda” which is messaging that preps the target for later propaganda that calls for action. The poster was on FB and came from BlueNationReview.com. It uses the methods of “testimonial”, “appeal to authority”, “celebrity endorsement” and a “glittering generality”. The…
How pro sports uses the national anthem for promotional propaganda
TL;DR Summary Why do we play the national anthem at sports events? Why do we have the emotional re-uniting of families with a service member returned from overseas at sports events? These seemingly spontaneous events of joy and patriotism are often paid endorsements from the marketing budget of the the US Department of Defense. In the case of the Superbowl, the symbolism is taken to an extreme to link pro sports with patriotism, military and nationalist pride.
Rare use of data in an effective propaganda poster
This is from Bill Gates. I have not vetted the content of the chart, but I assume it is true and correct. TL;DR Summary The point of this poster is to illustrate R&D spending on 3 categories: Defense, health and energy. It is effective in part due to its simplicity and use of data. Data is not used often in propaganda posters because emotional appeals and pithy quotes are processed quickly by our System 1 thinking.
Abraham Lincoln’s false quote used to endorse political meme
A common social media propaganda technique uses quotes from well known historical figures or celebrities to strengthen one’s argument. Not surprisingly, many of the quotes are fiction, some are attributed to the wrong person, and many are taken wildly out of context. TL;DR Summary This quote suggests Abraham Lincoln had a prescient warning about corporations in America’s future. But he never said this. This is a made up quote. The goal, as propaganda, is to rely on the “Appeal to…
Sanders shows how to tell a lie using only true statements
TL; DR Summary Each sentence is true. But Sanders is intentionally making a straight up, outright lie when he talks about the changing share of corporate taxes. Politifact, the NY Times, the IRS, the Congressional Research Service, the Congressional Budget Office, Factcheck.org and the Center on Budget Priorities all recognize the problem with these statements. Can you spot the problem? Due to the creations of Subchapter S corporations after 1958, much – perhaps most – corporate income now flows through…