He is the first North American pontiff to be elected leader of the Catholic Church
There are a variety of techniques used to spread propaganda. Click on to discover the most common ones.
By knowing these tactics, it's easier to see through the manipulation. It's also important to critically evaluate the information. Take initiative to see if the information provided is actually accurate.
Sources: (Verywell Mind) (Britannica)
See also: How to become a better thinker
This technic uses words to mislead people. For example, someone might say, "I'm not saying X is a bad person, but," which implies that the person is bad without actually saying it.
This technique uses average, everyday people to endorse a product or candidate. The idea is that if an average person likes something, then it must be good.
Card stacking only presents favorable information about the person or thing being promoted. For example, a company might only keep positive reviews visible of their products.
Another common technique, a political candidate might promise to end poverty, even though it isn't possible.
Language is a propaganda tool that shouldn't be underestimated. Loaded language is a technic that uses words that evoke certain emotions or feelings, such as "pro-life."
This technique uses the idea of exclusivity to make something seem more desirable, like a luxury watch or car.
Bandwagoning is essentially peer pressuring people to do something. For example, a political candidate might say, "Everyone is voting for me, so you should too."
A common propaganda technique, a campaign might claim that most people support their candidate, even if it isn't true.
Used to frighten people into supporting a particular cause, a campaign might warn people that if they don't vote, a dangerous criminal will be elected.
Propaganda can be dangerous because it often uses partial truths or biased misinformation. This doesn't provide a complete and accurate picture for people to consider when forming their opinions and behaviors. As a result, this can end up spreading hate, inciting violence, undermining democracy, and impacting people's emotions and mood.
For example, fear tactics are often used to convince people that they need a certain product to avoid a negative outcome.
The goals of propaganda can vary, but it's most commonly used to shape people's opinions, encourage certain behaviors, and to convince people to support a specific cause or political candidate.
Used in a variety of ways, propaganda is typically seen in media, advertising, war, and politics.
Advertisers use persuasive techniques to try to convince people to buy their products.
These short catchphrases are used to summarize an idea or concept. A famous slogan was Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again."
This technique uses positive associations to make an object or person seem more favorable. For example, a political campaign might use the national flag to seem more patriotic.
Testimonials are endorsements from famous or important people. For example, a celebrity might endorse a political candidate.
Symbols are often used to represent an idea or concept. For example, the Nazis used the swastika to represent their belief in racial purity.
Propaganda often relies on emotional appeals to influence people's opinions. Propagandists might incite fear and anger to get people to support a person or cause.
This tactic involves distorting or misrepresenting the facts to influence people's opinions. For example, a political campaign might make false claims about an opponent.
This involves derogatory terms to describe an opponent or enemy.
Propaganda is often used in politics to shape people's opinions about a specific political candidate or issue.
In war, propaganda is often used to make people support the war effort or to discourage them from supporting the enemy.
Mass media is often used to make societies or large groups of people think a certain way. One example of propaganda in media is the film 'Triumph of the Will' (1935), which was made to promote the Nazi regime.
Political propaganda can use many techniques, but it often relies on emotional appeals, name-calling, and scare tactics.
Also made to encourage people to support Adolf Hitler, this film is considered to be one of the most effective propaganda films ever made.
War propaganda often relies on misinformation or the use of derogatory terms. For example, during World War II, the Nazis referred to Jews as "rats."
Stereotyping is a technique that uses oversimplified and often inaccurate ideas or beliefs to describe a person or a group of people.
Click on to discover the goals of a propagandist, how propaganda is used, and what can be done to avoid manipulation.
Propaganda: how does it work, and how can you avoid manipulation?
Do you know the different propaganda techniques?
LIFESTYLE Psychology
Propaganda is a type of communication that often involves sharing biased or misleading information to promote a particular point of view. For most people, war posters probably come to mind when they think about the term. However, there are many forms of propaganda, which are used to influence people's opinions or control their behavior. For this reason, it's important to be aware of the techniques that are used in order to avoid being manipulated.
Click on to discover the goals of a propagandist, how propaganda is used, and what can be done to avoid manipulation.