Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Apply for Membership

Categories

Please refrain from copy and pasting messages over and over and over, or you will be removed from the forum. We all have input to make so let's keep this at a discussion and not a text block of commercials. Here are some helpful guidelines for good discussion and debate recommended by one of our members:

  • * Stay on topic
  • * Be clear
  • * Build upon your points and address those of other people
  • * Refrain from making assumptions about others' unstated views
  • * If you disagree with somebody, do so politely
  • * Clarify your terms and seek to understand others' (but avoid semantic derails)
Note: The opinions expressed by the moderators and members of this discussion board do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Occupy Together or Occupy Wall St. In the spirit of free information, open discussion, and the freedom of expression, members are able to speak about issues relating and directly pertaining to the Occupy movement. You will be banned for hate speech or intentional misinformation and please refrain from any violent rhetoric; this is a peaceful movement. Thank you.
Media Propaganda Techniques to Be Aware Of!!!
  • oppositefearoppositefear October 2011 +1 -1

    Managing the news
    According to Adolf Hitler "The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over."[12][13] This idea is consistent with the principle of classical conditioning as well as the idea of "Staying on Message."

    Milieu control
    An attempt to control the social environment and ideas through the use of social pressure

    Name-calling
    Propagandists use the name-calling technique to start fears and arouse prejudices in their hearers in the intent that the bad names will cause hearers to construct a negative opinion about a group or set of beliefs or ideas that the propagandist wants hearers to denounce. The method is intended to provoke conclusions about a matter apart from impartial examinations of facts. Name-calling is thus a substitute for rational, fact-based arguments against the an idea or belief on its own merits.[14]

    Obfuscation, intentional vagueness, confusion
    Generalities are deliberately vague so that the audience may supply its own interpretations. The intention is to move the audience by use of undefined phrases, without analyzing their validity or attempting to determine their reasonableness or application. The intent is to cause people to draw their own interpretations rather than simply being presented with an explicit idea. In trying to "figure out" the propaganda, the audience forgoes judgment of the ideas presented. Their validity, reasonableness and application may still be considered.

    Obtain disapproval or Reductio ad Hitlerum
    This technique is used to persuade a target audience to disapprove of an action or idea by suggesting that the idea is popular with groups hated, feared, or held in contempt by the target audience. Thus if a group that supports a certain policy is led to believe that undesirable, subversive, or contemptible people support the same policy, then the members of the group may decide to change their original position. This is a form of bad logic, where a is said to include X, and b is said to include X, therefore, a = b.

    Operant conditioning
    Operant conditioning involves learning through imitation. For example, watching an appealing person buy products or endorse positions teaches a person to buy the product or endorse the position. Operant conditioning is the underlying principle behind the Ad Nauseam, Slogan and other repetition public relations campaigns.

    Oversimplification
    Favorable generalities are used to provide simple answers to complex social, political, economic, or military problems.

    Illustration by Rev. Branford Clarke from Heroes of the Fiery Cross by Bishop Alma Bridwell White published by the Pillar of Fire Church 1928 in Zarephath, New Jersey

    Pensée unique
    Enforced reduction of discussion by use of overly simplistic phrases or arguments (e.g., "There is no alternative to war.")

    Quotes out of context
    Selectively editing quotes to change meanings—political documentaries designed to discredit an opponent or an opposing political viewpoint often make use of this technique.

    Rationalization (making excuses)
    Individuals or groups may use favorable generalities to rationalize questionable acts or beliefs. Vague and pleasant phrases are often used to justify such actions or beliefs.

    Red herring
    Presenting data or issues that, while compelling, are irrelevant to the argument at hand, and then claiming that it validates the argument.

    Repetition
    This is the repeating of a certain symbol or slogan so that the audience remembers it. This could be in the form of a jingle or an image placed on nearly everything in the picture/scene.

    Scapegoating
    Assigning blame to an individual or group, thus alleviating feelings of guilt from responsible parties and/or distracting attention from the need to fix the problem for which blame is being assigned.

    Nationalist slogan "Brazil, love it or leave it", often used during the Brazilian military dictatorship

    Slogans
    A slogan is a brief, striking phrase that may include labeling and stereotyping. Although slogans may be enlisted to support reasoned ideas, in practice they tend to act only as emotional appeals. Opponents of the US's invasion and occupation of Iraq use the slogan "blood for oil" to suggest that the invasion and its human losses was done to access Iraq's oil riches. On the other hand, supporters who argue that the U.S. should continue to fight in Iraq use the slogan "cut and run" to suggest withdrawal is cowardly or weak.

    Stereotyping
    This technique attempts to arouse prejudices in an audience by labeling the object of the propaganda campaign as something the target audience fears, hates, loathes, or finds undesirable. For instance, reporting on a foreign country or social group may focus on the stereotypical traits that the reader expects, even though they are far from being representative of the whole country or group; such reporting often focuses on the anecdotal. In graphic propaganda, including war posters, this might include portraying enemies with stereotyped racial features.

    link for more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda
  • adminadmin October 2011 +1 -1
    Great post! Very informative, thank you.
  • oppositefearoppositefear October 2011 +1 -1
    @admin thank you very much :)
  • marchelomarchelo October 2011 +1 -1
    Informative and non-opinionated. *applauds*
  • marrand October 2011 +1 -1
    Excellent summary of the techniques used to deceive and sway. Glad to see none of the above in this forum (so far). Hope everyone reads and understands.
  • lbmr58 October 2011 +1 -1
    Excellent!
  • gavemehope October 2011 +1 -1
    Great research, I too share the idea this is where these tactics come from. Just didn't want to say right now. It gets to many crazies the half of degree to Hitler fever, and it's contagious. Can't underscore the importance of that info. History shows it caused a few problems we don't want repeated. It was and is very effective.
  • oppositefearoppositefear October 2011 +1 -1
    @marchelo i appreciate your thoughts
  • oppositefearoppositefear October 2011 +1 -1
    @lbmr58 cool @marrand very well said @gavemehope your very informed i can tell you have to say things with timing towards certain people or they blow up on you..understanding will save us all and unity with protest.. i like very much what you said cool
  • johniewaddelljohniewaddell October 2011 +1 -1
    well done, thank you
  • whitefeather October 2011 +1 -1
    Thanks for the info.