Propaganda Analysis

Propaganda is biased information designed to shape public opinion and behavior.

Politicians understand that emotions override reason, that we make decisions more on feelings than on political issues.
Facts therefore don’t often change people’s minds. Advertising takes advantage of deep assumptions and prejudices an
audience has about their world. We act on survival instincts and seek protection through being part of a crowd.
Propaganda tries to create an emotional experience that messages new meaning about a person or idea.

EXPERIENCE + EMOTION = MESSAGE

Logic is necessary for understanding, but when information is relatable through an experience and builds an emotional
connection, it deepens our views and can shift our beliefs. Political advertisements typically appeal to one of the
following emotions:

Emotions
Hope Anger
If it’s worth fighting for, you have hope. If you’re “losing it” you’re probably angry.
Pride Fear
When you feel approval, you feel a sense of pride When you are fearful, you seek safety.
Various techniques are used to package and reinforce a message. The following advertising techniques help create an
experience in order to convince the audience of a message.

Techniques
Association Confusion/Clarity Contrast

Association links the candidate to
something or someone you emotionally
connect with from personal
experience. The association may be
negative, like putting opposing candidate X
in the same image as bad person Y; or it
may be positive, images of all the young
people who have benefited from Z policy.
Confusion ignores the real concern and
replaces, juxtaposes or makes inferences so
you are distracted from the original
concrete issue. Candidates may confuse
you about their own stands or confuse you
about those of their opponents.
Contrast uses opposing elements to clarify
and drive a point home based on actual or
perceived differences. The contrast can be
real or it can be deceptive, for example,
taking words or photos out of context or
simply comparing non-existing facts.

Omission Repetition Transformation

Omission ignores the key parts of a
story that weaken the candidate’s
case and, sometimes, even adds
unrelated information to strengthen
it.
Repetition is showing and saying the
same thing over and over again so
that it becomes “sticky,” gaining
traction and becoming believable
over time or quickly over the
Internet. Repetition increases impact
and aids memorability.
Transformation uses all the creative tools in
the visual and audio arsenal to alter a
person, situation, comment, or image so
that it is changed to seem like something it
actually is not. This is used sometimes not-
so-subtly by the candidates and to the
outrageous ultimate in political parody ads.

An analysis of propaganda should examine how the context and audience, the emotional appeal, and the packaging
techniques develop message.
1. Ideas: Who is the intended audience? What is the culture and history that influence what is seen?
2. Symbols: What symbols are used? What emotions does the advertisement solicit?
3. Form: What techniques are used to package the ad?
4. Meaning: What is the message of the ad? How do the ideas, symbols and form together create meaning?