Propaganda Techniques: Bandwagon
dhchase
Propaganda Techniques: Bandwagon
Author: dhchase
Email: dhc...@inlink.com
Date: 1997/08/18
Forums: alt.fan.landmark
Brought to you by The Institute of Propaganda Analysis.
COMMON TECHNIQUES
Word Games
Name-Calling
Glittering Generalities
Euphemisms
False Connections
Transfer
Testimonial
Special Appeals
Plain Folks
Bandwagon
Fear
LOGICAL FALLACIES
Bad Logic or Propaganda?
Unwarranted Extrapolations
http://carmen.artsci.washington.edu/propaganda/band.htm
______________________________________________________________________
Propaganda Techniques: Special Appeals
Band Wagon
"The propagandist hires a hall,
[hotel room]
rents radio stations, fills a great stadium, marches a million or
at least a lot of men in a parade.
[No, that's PromiseKeepers]
He employs symbols, colors, music, movement, all the dramatic arts.
[videos, music, diagrams]
He gets us to write letters, to send telegrams, to contribute to his
cause.
[bring 10 people on Tuesday]
He appeals to the desire, common to most of us, to follow the crowd.
Because he wants us to follow the crowd in masses, he directs his appeal
to
groups held together already by common ties, ties of
nationality,religion,
race, sex, vocation.
Thus propagandists campaigning for or against a program will appeal to
us
as Catholics, Protestants, or Jews...as farmers or as school
teachers;as
housewives or as miners.
[Enlightened folk /graduates, those who have done the work]
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."
(Institute for Propaganda Analysis, 1938)
The basic theme of the Band Wagon appeal is that "everyone else is doing
it,
and so should you." Since few of us want to be left behind, this
technique
can be quite successful. However, as the IPA points out, "there is
never
quite as much of a rush to climb onto the Band Wagon as the propagandist
tries to make us think there is." When confronted with this technique,
it
may be helpful to ask ourselves the following questions:
What is this propagandist's program?
What is the evidence for and against the program?
Regardless of the fact that others are supporting this program, should
I support it?
Does the program serve or undermine my individual and collective
interests?
There's more on the website, (of course)
dhchase
>
> Repost
>
> Propaganda Techniques: Bandwagon
>
> Author: dhchase
> Email: dhc...@inlink.com
> Date: 1997/08/18
> Forums: alt.fan.landmark
>
> Brought to you by The Institute of Propaganda Analysis.
>
> COMMON TECHNIQUES
> Word Games
> Name-Calling
> Glittering Generalities
> Euphemisms
> False Connections
> Transfer
> Testimonial
> Special Appeals
> Plain Folks
> Bandwagon
> Fear
>
> LOGICAL FALLACIES
> Bad Logic or Propaganda?
> Unwarranted Extrapolations
>
> http://carmen.artsci.washington.edu/propaganda/band.htm
Propaganda Techniques: False Connections
Transfer
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You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorn. You
shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold! -- William Jennings
Bryan, 1896
"Transfer is a device by which the propagandist carries over the
authority, sanction, and prestige of something we respect and revere to
something he would have us accept. For example, most of us respect and
revere our church and our nation. If the propagandist succeeds in
getting church or nation to approve a
campaign in behalf of some program, he thereby transfers its authority,
sanction, and prestige to that program. Thus, we may accept something
which otherwise we might reject.
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. A cartoonist, by having Uncle Sam
disapprove a budget for unemployment relief, would have us feel that the
whole United States disapproves relief costs. By drawing an Uncle Sam
who approves the same budget, the cartoonist would have us feel that the
American people approve it. Thus, the Transfer device is used both for
and against causes and ideas." (Institute for Propaganda Analysis, 1938)
When a political activist closes her speech with a public prayer, she is
attempting to transfer religious prestige to the ideas that she is
advocating. As with all propaganda devices, the use of this technique is
not limited to one side of the political spectrum. It can be found in
the speeches of liberation theologists on the left, and in the sermons
of religious activists on the right.
In a similar fashion, propagandists may attempt to transfer the
reputation of "Science" or "Medicine" to a particular project or set of
beliefs. A slogan for a popular cough drop encourages audiences to
"Visit the halls of medicine." On TV commercials, actors in white lab
coats tell us that the "Brand X is the most
important pain reliever that can be bought without a prescription." In
both of these examples, the transfer technique is at work.
These techniques can also take a more ominous turn. As Alfred Lee has
argued, "even the most flagrantly anti-sicentific racists are wont to
dress up their arguments at times with terms and carefully selected
illustrations drawn from scientific works and presented out of all
accurate context." The propaganda of
Nazi Germany, for example, rationalized racist policies by appealing to
both science and religion.
This does not mean that religion and science have no place in
discussions about social issues! The point is that an idea or program
should not be accepted or rejected simply because it has been linked to
a symbol such as Medicine, Science, Democracy, or Christianity. The
Institute for Propaganda Analysis has argued that, when confronted with
the transfer device, we should ask ourselves the following questions:
In the most simple and concrete terms, what is the proposal of the
speaker?
What is the meaning of the the thing from which the propagandist is
seeking to transfer authority, sanction, and prestige?
Is there any legitimate connection between the proposal of the
propagandist and the revered thing, person or institution?
Leaving the propagandistic trick out of the picture, what are the merits
of the proposal viewed alone?