Propaganda and Fallacies
Propaganda is the use of arguments to convince someone of something. Propaganda
comes from the Latin phrase "Congregatio de Propaganda Fide" (Congregation for the
Propagation of the Faith), referencing a committee formed early in the history of the Roman
Catholic Church for the purpose of propagating, or spreading, the Church doctrine throughout
the world.
Today's media messages have the same purpose as early church propaganda, only now
we have political candidates who want us to vote for them and product manufacturers who want
us to buy their products. Propaganda sells everything from toothpaste to war. Propagandists
include authors, politicians, advertisers, salesmen, ministers, teachers, parents, and friends.
You might use propaganda techniques to convince your parents that you should be
allowed to do whatever it is you want to do: But all my friends’ parents are letting them go to
the concert! Propaganda is a way of manipulating people. Propaganda works because it
capitalizes on the basic characteristics human beings share, such as language; emotions like love,
fear, and hate; and a feeling of superiority. (Remind students of their study of advertising and
basic human desires.) The more aware you are of the types of propaganda, the more easily you
can spot these fallacies in reasoning and the less likely you will be deceived by others or even
yourself
Generally, fallacies are divided into two groups: formal and informal. A formal fallacy
can be identified by inspecting the form of the argument, such as the following syllogism: All A
are B, All C are B, Therefore, all A are C. The form alone makes the argument invalid, as we
know that the valid form for syllogisms is All A are B, all B are C, therefore, all A are C.
Informal fallacies can be detected only through analysis of the content of the argument.
An informal fallacy makes a bad argument appear to be good.
Extension during election season: Analyze a television commercial about a candidate by
answering these questions: What is one issue of this spot? What is the candidate’s stand on this
issue? How does the commercial make you feel about the candidate? Why? What doesn’t the
commercial say? Why? What propaganda techniques can you identify in this ad? Will this ad
persuade people to vote for the candidate? Why or why not?
The following pages explain and give examples of techniques of deception.
Techniques of Self-Deception
Prejudice – prejudging because of indoctrination, conditioning, or prior experience (Two
members of the Nerd family are crooks and not too bright, either. Along comes Emily Nerd.
Because some people will make the generalization that all Nerds are thieves and stupid, poor
Emily will be treated unfairly even if she is honest and smart.)
Academic detachment - seeing both sides of an argument and refusing to commit to a decision,
(I've heard speeches from both candidates and probably they would both be okay. So, I'm going
to stay home and not vote for either.).
Drawing the line or the black or white fallacy - an argument presents two alternatives as if no
other alternative is possible (From a parent: Either you have a fever and you stay home or your
temperature is normal and you go to school today. From a teenager: You’re going out with
Homer? Either you have very bad taste or you are really hard up for a date! From a TV ad: If
you do not use Dandruff-be-gone shampoo, your dandruff flakes will embarrass you.
Not drawing the line or argument of the beard – denying the relevance of small differences (If we
can stay out until 1:00 in the morning, why can't we stay out until 2:00? One more hour doesn't
make any difference. Or Let’s have one more drink before we go. One more drink won’t matter.)
Conservatism, Radicalism, Moderatism – political positions; some people believe the old
(conservative) ways are best; others believe the new (radical) ways are better; or that the truth
always lies somewhere in between (This belief is an old one and you know that the old ways are
best or What we need are new ways; the old are simply out of date or Vote for me or My ideas
are not too conservative or too radical.)
Rationalization – to make excuses that are not the real reasons something happened (I failed the
test because the teacher doesn’t like me.)
Wishful thinking - believing something to be true because it is desirable to be true (I worked so
hard on my science fair project that I have to win first place.)
Tabloid thinking - oversimplification of a complex theory or set of circumstances (I learned all
about evolution in science class. You know, it's the ape-man theory.) ; or use of stereotypes (He
can't keep his mouth shut; he's a barber.)
Causal oversimplification - identifying a simple cause of a complex problem (If we did not have
guns, we wouldn't have teen violence or The divorce rate is higher because many women have
jobs outside of the home or The reason there are so many wars is greed; someone always wants
what someone else has or The solution to the energy problem is to use solar energy.)
Inconceivability - declaring a proposition to be false because it is hard to believe it could be true
(They won't win; they never win or No intergalactic aliens live among us on Earth.)
Techniques of Language
Emotional terms - words that are loaded with emotion so people respond to the feelings the
words arouse as well as their dictionary meanings.
Used cars are now “pre-owned vehicles” and a car is “high performance” instead of “gas
guzzler,” although the net result may be the same. Undertakers are funeral directors; employees
at Target are “team members” and Target customers are “guests,” although they still have to pay.
Disney employees are “cast members.” These doublespeak terms are said to be image builders.
The medical world now calls an operation a “procedure,” maybe to ease the pain of
HMOs sending home patients on the same day the procedure took place. Communism, helpless
infants, Mom, murder, freedom, big business, and shifty eyes are other examples of loaded
language. Name-calling is applying a loaded label to discredit an individual, organization, or
idea: right wing, liberal, warmonger, fascist, illegal aliens. In a recent story in the Arizona
Daily Star, the news writer showed disapproval of a Pima County event for public defenders by
choosing words like “posh retreat” and “$7300 price tag.”
Ambiguity – words or phrases that have multiple meanings and the appropriate meaning is not
clarified (Caron likes ice cream better than her mother. The tour guide said that standing in
Greenwich Village, the Empire State building could easily be seen. Professor Johnson said he
will give a lecture about heart failure in the biology lecture hall. The Great Western Cookbook
recommends that we serve the oysters when thoroughly stewed. If the word stewed refers to the
oysters, it means cooked. But if stewed refers to the diners, it means intoxicated.
Quotation out of context - distorting the meaning by leaving out the context or part of the phrase
( . . . money is the root of all evil leaves out the preceding words "The love of . . . or The teacher
says, “You may skip Chapter 2 if you understand the material.” The student who flunked the test
says, “But you said we could skip that chapter.”)
Emphasis - quoting what a speaker said but changing the intonation to change the meaning (We
should not speak ill of our friends vs We should not speak ill of our friends.)
Abstract terms - using a term without concrete distinctions (e.g., the poor, disadvantaged
children, dysfunctional families)
Vagueness - using a term that is not defined enough to know exactly what is meant (A student
who had six Ds and one F on his report card was told by his parents that he must improve his
grades or he would be grounded. At the end of the next quarter, the student earned all Ds. His
parents grounded him. He argued that because he had no Fs, he had improved his grades.
"Improve your grades" was vague.
Shift of meaning - a word appears two or more times in an argument but has a different meaning
in those times (Since any law can be repealed by legislative authority, the law of gravity can be
repealed by legislative authority. Two definitions for law, a government decree and a scientific
principle, were used interchangeably. Some triangles are obtuse. Obtuse is a synonym for
stupid. So some triangles are stupid.
Techniques of Irrelevance
Appearance - appearance is used to sway opinion (A woman demonstrating a bathroom cleaner
on TV ads is shown gently wiping a deep blue sink, smiling, then exiting a very shiny bathroom.
The viewer may not consider how many people precleaned the bathroom, how hard they
scrubbed, or that glossy blue appears shinier than beige on TV.)
Manner – behavior is used to sway opinion (He seemed so nice and had such a sincere, beautiful
smile that I could tell he was trustworthy; so I gave him all my savings to invest.)
Appeal to authority and Degrees and titles – automatic respect for a testimonial even when the
speaker or publication may not be a relevant authority. (Note: Michael Jordan’s opinions on
athletic shoes may be more valid than his opinion on underwear.) Consumers are likely to take
the advice of a druggist or a person with a string of letters after her name.
Numbers - people tend to believe in numbers, statistics and polls when used for persuasion (Four
out of five dentists recommend that their patients should chew sugarless gum.); Mark Twain
stated, "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics."
Status - people have a need to feel superior; everyone is inclined to believe that he is a member
of the best country club, the best religion, at the best school, living under the best form of
government in the best country. People will often buy products that are expensive or rare
because they feel the prestige of the product supports their status.
Transfer is associating a product or idea with something people like or believe in. An ad might
show a bottle of a new perfume with a Rolls Royce, suggesting the high quality and
exclusiveness of the perfume. An insurance company’s symbol is “The Rock of Gibraltar,”
which suggests strength and permanency. Or I know one of the directors of the American
Medical Association, and he feels the same way I do about this nutritional program.
Repetition - a technique that encourages people to believe or buy something merely because they
have heard it so often (The Aleve commercial about the charity walk, Make 7 Up Yours, the
Dodge ad for almost everything is on sale, except the Viper.)
Slogans - using a short, catchy phrase to influence an audience (Wheaties, the breakfast of
champions, Did somebody say McDonald's?, Make 7 up yours)
Technical jargon - technical language used to impress, like special names given to gasoline
additives, because people tend to rely on the words of "experts" in fields with which they are not
familiar,. A testimonial is a propaganda practice that fits under this category.
Glittering generalities – unsubstantiated words used to suggest a superior product: new and
improved; 50% more bubbles (From a TV ad: Do you want the romance of Portugal, the
adventure of Spain? Drive a Flamenco, the hottest car in America.)
Sophistical formula - closing off an argument with a proverb or saying (Mrs. A: Mr. Brown
slammed the door when he left the house and drove off, looking awfully angry. I'll bet the
Browns are headed for a divorce. Mrs. B: I don't know, Mrs. A. They have always seemed so
much in love. Mrs. A: Well, all I know is where there's smoke, there's fire.)
Techniques of Exploitation
Appeal to Pity - using sympathy to secure action (Mrs. M, if you don’t give me an “A” my father
will beat me or I know I should have done my project but my father just died and I broke my leg.)
Charities often bid for sympathy, showing pictures of starving or crippled children. Animal
rights organizations show pictures of cute animals being clubbed to death for their fur. This
approach is quite successful with Americans and is sometimes used fraudulently.
Appeal to flattery - using flattery for the purpose of convincing someone to believe or buy
something (At the cosmetics counter: You have the skin of a lady twenty years younger than
you! This product will help you maintain that beautiful skin.)
Appeal to ridicule – using sarcasm to embarrass those who question the speaker's proposition (A
teacher who is challenged by a student responds with, "I don't know what you mean, Sandy. You
are too deep for me." and goes on to the next student.)
Appeal to prejudice – the speaker fits his attitude to that of the listener; an attempt to "bond" by
relating to the prejudiced viewpoint of someone (The talk turns to politics when a young man
chats with his girlfriend's father. Knowing the father is a conservative Republican, the young
man blasts the Democrats. The young man rekindles the father's prejudices and evokes the
father's warm feelings toward him.)
Bargain appeal - an appeal to get the consumer to buy something to save money (Buy one, get
one free or Buy a whole case of canned peaches to save $.60) If the consumer buys the
"bargain," without making product or price comparison, the technique has worked.)
Folksy appeal - the speaker places himself on a neighborly or intimate level with the audience (A
well-to-do political candidate says, "My dad was a laborer, just like you.")
Bandwagon appeal - an attempt to influence action because it is the popular thing to do, because
everyone else is doing it (Vote for a winner, Senator Jackson or All the cool kids buy their
clothes at "The Gap" or Drive the car all America is talking about.)
Appeal to practical consequences - an attempt to persuade by appealing to concern for personal
welfare; if the listener does what she is told, the consequences will be good and if she refuses,
the consequences may be harmful (Taking aspirin to prevent heart attacks, buying a car with
good crash test ratings.)
Passing from the acceptable to the dubious or slippery slope - the arguer claims that a certain
event will set off a chain reaction (The school cafeteria manager: You want a choice between
pepperoni or sausage pizza. Then you’ll want to choose between cheddar or Swiss cheese for
your hamburger. Next you’ll ask for rack of lamb on Thursdays, medium rare, with Bernaise
sauce on the side!)
Appeal to prestige – arguing that a certain action will gain or confer prestige, give a feeling of
superiority (Live in the exclusive Broadmore apartments, the place where the young and
powerful dwell. Reside in deluxe executive apartments furnished in a Regency motif.)
Techniques of Form
Concurrency – claiming that because events exist or appear simultaneously, one is the cause of
the other (Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, was president at the time of World War I; Franklin
Roosevelt, a Democrat, was president at the time of World War II; Truman, a Democrat, was
president during the Korean Conflict. Obviously the Democratic Party is the war party.)
Post hoc - because two events follow one another, it is assumed that the second is the result of
the first; (Bankers are the source of our economic troubles. Notice that every depression is
preceded by bank failures or There was never any trouble at this school until those new kids
transferred in.)
Selected instances or card stacking - supporting a position by carefully choosing examples that
back it and disregarding other examples. Advertisements for weight loss programs and acnes
medications use this technique.
Hasty generalization - jumping to conclusions, usually because too few cases are being
considered. Women are worse drivers than men or GATE kids are uncoordinated dorks who
can’t play sports.
Faulty analogy – things that are alike in one or two respects may not be similar enough for
comparison (Harper’s new car is bright blue, has leather upholstery, and gets great gas mileage.
Jane’s new car is also bright blue and has leather upholstery. Therefore, it probably gets great
gas mileage, too.)
Composition – faulty reasoning that has to do with how things are put together, transferring a
characteristic of the parts to the whole (The atoms in a piece of chalk are invisible. Therefore,
the piece of chalk is invisible or Lisa should go out with Herbie. He’s got good looks, nice
clothes, nice car. He’d be a great boyfriend. Or It has to be a terrific movie. It has all those
great stars in it.)
Division - erroneous reasoning that has to do with how things are put together, transferring a
characteristic of the whole to its parts (This jigsaw puzzle, when assembled, is circular in shape.
Therefore, each piece of the puzzle is round in shape. The Royal Society is over 300 years old.
Professor Thompson is a member of the Royal Society. Therefore, Professor Thompson is 300
years old. Since you have a nice car, you might assume that every part of the car is also nice.
But maybe a tire needs to be replaced or the engine needs work.)
Non sequitur - the conclusion does not logically follow the premises, usually because a relevant
premise is ignored (Your children deserve the best peanut butter. Buy Jif. Because murder is
morally wrong, it follows that abortion is morally wrong. The premise "Abortion is a form of
murder" is missing from the argument. If the listener overlooks that missing link, the argument
might be accepted as valid.)
Tricks of Argument
Diversion or red herring - to avoid an unresolved issue by changing the subject (An argument
with a state senator about Arizona inadequately funding education can be sidetracked when the
senator agrees about how hot and uncomfortable classrooms are without air conditioning and
starts talking about his elementary school.) While you are still trying to decide whether to buy a
new car, the salesman might switch the conversation to what color you want.
Disproving a minor point - an opponent attacks and refutes a minor piece of evidence, ignoring
the major points, and acts as though the whole case is now disproved (Teacher: You are failing
this class. You got an “F” on your last three tests. You don’t do your homework. We have to
solve this problem. Student: But I did do my homework once last September.)
Ad hominem - instead of attacking a proposition, the opponent attacks the person making the
argument (Don’t listen to him; he’s just stupid.)
Appeal to ignorance - a proposition is said to be untrue because it has not been proved or said to
be true because it has not been disproved. Arguments relating scientific theory and religion,
such as life after death, evolution, heaven and hell may use this technique.
Leading question - the question suggests an answer or incriminates the answerer (Why is it that
school no longer hold students accountable for their behavior? Or It was very early in the
morning, wasn't it? If a witness says yes, the jury may jump to the idea that it was so early the
witness was not alert. When did you stop drinking? Where did you hide the cookies you stole?
Have you stopped cheating on exams? traps the respondent into acknowledging two situations at
one time.
Complex Question - this is a series of questions (often leading questions) to which separate
answers are not desired or a single question that is actually two or more questions and the single
answer is then applied to both questions (Didn't I tell you to clean up your room? Can't you see
that your room is still a mess? What am I going to do with you? are questions for which the
parent does not desire separate answers. Do you deny you were in the room at the time of the
murder? Do you deny that you always hated the man? Do you deny that if you couldn’t have
killed him yourself you would have been glad to have someone else do the dirty job? Answer me,
“yes” or “no!”
Inconsequent argument - the arguer established something, but not what he wanted to prove (In
closing arguments at a trial, the attorney establishes the defendant's past criminal record in gory
and sickening detail, then asks the jury for a verdict of "guilty" on this case.)
Attacking the straw man – an arguer distorts his opponent’s argument to attack it more easily or
exaggerates the consequences of the argument (Mrs. M: John, you must plan to work on
language arts 30 minutes every night. John: Mrs. M, I can’t do homework every minute of my
free time! Or “I don’t think we should go to the show.” “Awww. You’re a real drag. You hate
movies. You never want to have fun.”)
Victory by definition - a position is defined in such a way as to exclude all negative cases or
adverse evidence (Mr. A: Communism cannot help but work. Mr. B: I disagree. Look at Cuba;
things are really a mess there. Mr. A: Oh sure, but that's not real communism. Mr. B: Look at
China; communism is not working there either. Mr. A: They don't really have communism in
China, either.)
Begging the Question – argument is unproven due to synonymous terms or circular reasoning
Synonymous terms: Capital punishment is justified for the crimes of murder and
kidnapping because it is legitimate for someone to be put to death for having committed such
acts. Changing the word "justified" to "legitimate" creates the illusion that the conclusion
follows the premise, when actually it is merely repetition.
Circular reasoning: Apple produces the finest computers in the United States because
they have the best technological engineers. The reason they have the best technological
engineers is because they can afford to pay them more than other manufacturers. They can
afford to pay them more because they make the finest computers in the United States.
“I need to go to work.”
“Why?”
“So I can get a car.”
“Why do you need a car?”
“So I can get to work.”
In this chain of arguments, the conclusion and premise assert the same thing.