Propaganda techniques

Garth S. Jowett and Victoria O’Donnell define Propaganda as the 'deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist. Harold D. Laswell's definition targets even more precisely the technical aspect: 'Propaganda in the broadest sense is the technique of influencing human action by the manipulation of representations. These representations may take spoken, written, pictorial or musical form.“ Garth S. Jowett and Victoria O’Donnell define Propaganda as the 'deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist. Harold D. Laswell's definition targets even more precisely the technical aspect: Manipulation can be organized or unorganized, conscious or unconscious, politically or socially motivated. The concept reaches from systematic state propaganda to manipulate public opinion (Edward Bernays) to 'sociological propaganda' (propaganda of integration), where the unconscious desire to be manipulated and self manipulation leads the individual to adapt to the socially expected thoughts and behaviours (Jacques Ellul). The transition from non-propaganda to propaganda is fluid. Effective manipulation presupposes non-manipulative embedding in order to unfold its effect, which is why the reference to these contexts is not yet a refutation of the manipulative character of an act of communication. Propaganda is understood as a form of manipulation of public opinion. The semiotic manipulation of signs is the essential characteristic ('Propaganda is a major form of manipulation by symbols' ). Thus, propaganda is a special form of communication, which is studied in communication research, and especially in media impact research, focussing on media manipulation. Propaganda is a particular type of communication characterized by distorting the representation of reality. Common media for transmitting propaganda messages include news reports, government reports, historical revision, junk science, books, leaflets, movies, social media, radio, television, and posters. Less common nowadays are the cow post envelopes, examples of which have survived from the time of the American Civil War. (Connecticut Historical Society; Civil War Collections; Covers.) In the case of radio and television, propaganda can exist on news, current-affairs or talk-show segments, as advertising or public-service announcement 'spots' or as long-running advertorials. Propaganda campaigns often follow a strategic transmission pattern to indoctrinate the target group. This may begin with a simple transmission such as a leaflet dropped from a plane or an advertisement. Generally these messages will contain directions on how to obtain more information, via a web site, hot line, radio program, etc. The strategy intends to initiate the individual from information recipient to information seeker through reinforcement, and then from information seeker to opinion leader through indoctrination. A number of techniques based on social psychological research are used to generate propaganda. Many of these same techniques can be found under logical fallacies, since propagandists use arguments that, while sometimes convincing, are not necessarily valid. Information dissemination strategies only become propaganda strategies when coupled with propagandistic messages. Identifying these messages is a necessary prerequisite to study the methods by which those messages are spread. Some techniques are categorized, analyzed and interpreted psychologically, within Political Psychology, especially Mass Psychology, Social Psychology, and Psychology of Cognition, which analyzes cognitive distortions.