The Art of Propaganda: 7 Common Tactics Used to Influence Behavior

Propaganda is created to influence the minds and actions of people, in order to generate a response that achieves the goal of the propagandist. Politicians and governments often use propaganda to obtain support/compliance for their policies.

Propaganda is similar to marketing/advertising in many ways, particularly in the way messages are selectively formulated to emotionally engage the recipient.

In a way, its quite easy to apply these devices to your promotional campaigns.

This doesn’t mean that you should deceive customers or readers by providing false or misleading facts but rather, that its useful to situate your marketing campaigns within frames which appeal to your audience’s interests.

In 1939, the New York-based Institute for Propaganda Analysis published an article on the seven common propaganda devices with the aim of encouraging critical, rational thinking amongst citizens. Let’s take a look at the list of seven propaganda techniques along with some examples on how they work.

Propaganda and the Problem of Attention

The internet is a tremendous network of information. There is too much to consume and too little time. Web users learn to filter their experience of the internet through the use of search engines, RSS feeds and social media websites. They seek to be entertained/informed by monitoring different channels and message-bearers.

Perhaps you already subscribe to a list of blogs and info feeds on a certain topic. The sheer amount of content available leads to attention clutter. Publishers/marketers and e-businesses need to cut through the problem of information overload:

Although few studies have looked at this topic, it seems fair to suggest that many people respond to this pressure [of information overload] by processing messages more quickly and, when possible, by taking mental short-cuts.

Propagandists love short-cuts — particularly those which short-circuit rational thought. They encourage this by agitating emotions, by exploiting insecurities, by capitalizing on the ambiguity of language, and by bending the rules of logic.

Most of the seven techniques listed below emphasize the use of emotional triggers to provoke immediate action. The aim is to deeply connect the audience to the message by associating it with values and concepts which they care about.

Bernice Fitz-Gibbon, a pioneer in retail advertising once said that “A good ad should be like a good sermon: It must not only comfort the afflicted, it also must afflict the comfortable.”

Seven Common Propaganda Techniques

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The study of propaganda has greatly advanced since the early 20th century. This list of 7 techniques is an early model of propaganda and is by no means comprehensive, although I think it’ll give you a good initial introduction to how propaganda functions in the social sphere.

I’ve written a brief description of each propaganda technique but omitted any information on how you can use them for your marketing/branding campaigns because its fairly easy to pick up these tactics and apply them on your own.

Some methods like name-calling are unsuitable for most marketing purposes, unless your aim is to obtain publicity via controversy. It might also be possible to utilize it (and all other tactics) in a much more subtle form.

Here are the seven common propaganda devices:

1. Name-calling

This involves the use of words to connect a person or idea to a negative concept. The aim is to make a person reject something without examining the evidence because of the negative associations attached to it.

Examples of words include ‘Terrorist‘, ‘Nazi‘ and ‘Queer’.

Name Calling is used as a substitute for arguing the merits of an idea, belief, or proposal. It is often employed using sarcasm and ridicule in political cartoons and writing.

2. Glittering Generalities

The opposite of name-calling, this involves the use of highly valued concepts and beliefs which attract general approval and acclaim. These are vague, emotionally attractive words like ‘freedom‘, ‘honor‘ and ‘love‘.

This method works because these concepts/words mean different things to different people, while still having a positive implication.

When someone talks to us about democracy, we immediately think of our own definite ideas about democracy, the ideas we learned at home, at school, and in church.

Our first and natural reaction is to assume that the speaker is using the word in our sense, that he believes as we do on this important subject. This lowers our ’sales resistance’ and makes us far less suspicious..

3. Transfer

This is a technique used to carry over the authority and approval of something you respect and revere to something the propagandist would have you accept. One does this by projecting the qualities of an entity, person or symbol to another through visual or mental association.

This stimulates the recipient and makes him/her identify with recognized authorities.

In the Transfer device, symbols are constantly used. The cross represents the Christian Church. The flag represents the nation. Cartoons like Uncle Sam represent a consensus of public opinion. Those symbols stir emotions. At their very sight, with the speed of light, is aroused the whole complex of feelings we have with respect to church or nation.

4. Testimonial

The aim of testimonial is to leverage the experience, authority and respect of a person and use it to endorse a product or cause. Testimonials appeal to emotions instead of logic because they generally provide weak justifications for the product or a cause of action.

‘The Times said,’ ‘John L. Lewis said…,’ ‘Herbert Hoover said…’, ‘The President said…’, ‘My doctor said…,’ ‘Our minister said…’ Some of these Testimonials may merely give greater emphasis to a legitimate and accurate idea, a fair use of the device; others, however, may represent the sugar-coating of a distortion, a falsehood, a misunderstood notion, an anti-social suggestion…”

5. Plain Folks

A technique whereby the propagandist positions him or herself as an average person just like the target audience, thereby demonstrating the ability to empathize and understand the concerns/feelings of the masses.

One may perform ordinary actions or use language and mannerisms to reach the audience and cohere with their point of view.

We are all familiar with candidates who campaign as political outsiders, promising to “clean out the barn” and set things straight in Washington. The political landscape is dotted with politicians who challenge a mythical “cultural elite,” presumably aligning themselves with “ordinary Americans.” As baby boomers approach their sixth decade, we are no longer shocked by the sight of politicians in denim who listen to rock n roll.

6. Card Stacking

A way of manipulating audience perceptions by emphasizing one side of an argument which reinforces your position, while repressing/minimizing dissenting opinions. An example of this articles/media events which compare and contrast the best possible scenarios with the worse examples.

Assume a newspaper editor were in favor of the non-enforcement of immigration laws. Should the issue of immigration law enforcement ever be debated among legislators, the editor might publish articles and editorials that ignore all mention of illegal alien criminals, gang members, and prisoners and report only on decent, hard-working foreigners instead. This sort of card stacking could go on for weeks and influence public opinion on the issue.

7. Bandwagon

The basic premise for the bandwagon technique is to suggest that ’since everyone is doing it, you should too’. It’s aim to persuade people to follow a general trend by reinforcing the human need to participate on the winning side. One can suggest to an audience that he or she will lose out by not moving with the rest of the crowd, thus preying on their insecurities and fears.

With the aid of all the other propaganda devices, all of the artifices of flattery are used to harness the fears and hatreds, prejudices and biases, convictions and ideals common to a group. Thus is emotion made to push and pull us as members of a group onto a Band Wagon.

Most of the quotes above come from Propaganda Critic, a site inspired by the Institute for Propaganda Analysis. There you have it. Seven common propaganda techniques you’ve probably experienced many times in the media.

Pay attention to the information you consume because careful observation over time will give you a deeper understanding of both societal relationships and the individual psyche.

Stay tuned for more articles on Propaganda and marketing, a topic I want to explore in greater detail in the next few weeks.

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