[Bulgarian]

Propaganda

As generally understood, propaganda is expression of opinion or action by individuals or groups deliberately designed to influence opinions or actions of other individuals or groups with reference to predetermined ends.

Propaganda differs from scientific analysis, because it just needs to "put something across", no matter if it's right or wrong.

There are seven different types of propaganda:

1. The Name Calling Device
2. The Glittering Generalities Device
3. The Transfer Device
4. The Testimonial Device
5. The Plain Folks Device
6. The Card Stacking Device
7. The Band Wagon Device

Why are we fooled by these devices? Because they appeal to our emotions rather than our reason. They make us believe and do something we would not believe or do if we thought about it calmly, dispassionately.

Name Calling

A device to make us reject something without examining evidence related. The propagandist relies on our hate and fear. He gives bad names to those individuals, groups, nations, races, policies, practices, beliefs, and ideals which he wants us to reject. This could be the most common of all propaganda devices.

Glittering Generalities

A device in which the propagandist describes his program with "virtue words". He relies on our emotions of love, generosity, and brotherhood. Some virtue words are truth, freedom, honor, liberty, social justice, public service, the right to work, loyalty progress, democracy, the American way, Constitution-defender. This device makes us accept and approve without examining evidence.

Transfer

A device in which the propagandist carries over the authority, sanction, and prestige of something we respect and revere too something he would have us accept. For example if a campaign gets approved by a church or nation. If you like this, you'll like that, no evidence.

Testimonial

A device to make us accept anything from a cigarette to a program of national policy, by the support of a celebrity or some official. For example, celebrities advertising products.

Plain Folks

A device used by politicians, labor leaders, businessmen, ministers and educators to win our confidence by appearing to be people like ourselves - just normal people living in a normal neighborhood. For example, Bush tasked in his 9/11 speech about all of us - fellow citizens. They try to win our vote by showing that they are just as common as the rest of us.

Card Stacking

A device in which the propagandists employs all of
deception to win the audience in his favor. He uses under and over-emphasis to dodge issues, evade facts, resort to lies, censorship, and distortion, offers false testimony, raises new problems to erase embarrassing matter. He makes the unreal appear real and the real appear unreal.

The Band Wagon

A device that makes us act as one, and accept the propagandist's program en masse. "Everybody is doing it, you should too!" He makes us follow the crowd, and appears to us by groups held together by common ties of nationality, religion, race, environment, sex, vocation.

In all these devices our emotion is the thing propagandists work with.

I hope I helped you either study for class or taught you how to recognize, analyze, and appraise propaganda.

These are key points from professor Clyde Miller's essay...