How to understand what is propaganda in front of you
Miscellaneous / / June 16, 2022
It is not always obvious, so pay attention to some markers.
What is propaganda
Initially, the word was used to refer to missionary activities carried out by the Catholic Church. The emphasis on the political-ideological function began to be done only later.
The definition of the word "propaganda" in dictionaries will be different depending on the time and in what circumstances the publication was released and what direction it is. (Which, by the way, is quite in the spirit of propaganda.) For example, according to Ozhegov's dictionaryPropaganda / Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary, which was published from 1949 to 1992, is "dissemination in society and the clarification of any views, ideas, knowledge, teachings", which sounds pretty neutral. In the Great Psychological Encyclopedia of 2000 propagandaPropaganda / Great Psychological Encyclopedia is "an attempt to manipulate public consciousness through the use of the media."
For propaganda, they use not only the media in the usual sense, but also any other means of transmitting information. For example, serials, cartoons or memes can also be a means of influencing human minds.
What are the characteristics of propaganda
She speaks to emotions, not facts.
The speech of the propagandist is usually emotionally charged, because it is much easier to appeal to feelings than to reason. Any society (we are talking about its core, society, of course, is not monolithic) has pain points, by clicking on which, you can get a quick effect.
They are associated, for example, with collective injuries some group of people. Then you can be reminded of historical justice and offer to restore it.
There are also universal methods of influence. For example, in any country there are movements that accuse migrants of the fact that it is because of them that crime in the state is growing. We must not let them into the country or expel them, then everything will work out. The consumer of information easily accepts this message. He walks the streets, he is afraid for himself and his loved ones. He willingly connects to the hatred of visitors. Moreover, the solution to the problem is so simple.
The statistic looks like confirmsThe state of crime in Russia in January-April 2022 / Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation this idea: the number of crimes committed by migrants has increased. All that's left for specialty media is to set the right accents.
But let's explore this statistics more carefully. In the first four months of 2022, migrants broke the law 8% more often than from January to April 2021. But even in this case, visitors commit only 4% of all crimes (for January-April 2022 - 13.8 thousand of the registered 653.2 thousand). Moreover, a significant part is a violation of the migration regime.
If you investigate the issue, it turns out that 96% of crimes are committed by locals. This means that we will have to admit that it is not the “bad they” who are mainly to blame, but the “good us”, who in fact are not so good. Sounds unpleasant. If you accept this, you need to do something, change something. But it's easier to get angry and hate. Especially if you are specifically pushed to do so.
Therefore, if you see or hear a lot of emotionally charged words, you should take a closer look at the information. carefully and check whether any facts are hidden under this husk and whether they can be interpreted differently.
Propaganda paints an image of an external threat
Speaking of "good us" and "bad them". Propaganda rarely goes without looking for an enemy. It must be appointed and described in such a way that the audience is frightened (the good old appeal to emotions works here again).
Panic-stricken people give in more easily to manipulationbecause everyone has something precious that is a pity to lose. If they believe that the enemy is at the imaginary gate, a stress response is triggered that prompts hit, run, freezeJ. J. Donahue. Fight‑Flight‑Freeze System / Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. That's just thinking in this situation is much more difficult. And therefore, with the existence of a conditional enemy, all subsequent stories and appeals will fall on fertile ground. After all, there is a threat, we must defend ourselves. And for this you can endure and give anything.
Therefore, sometimes it is worth stopping and reflecting whether the danger is real and whether it is as large-scale as it is painted. And also - what exactly will you have to endure and give. And, importantly, from whom and to whom.
Propaganda gives estimates, not facts
No one says that there should be no personal opinion and conclusions in the text or in the speech. Otherwise, all the analytical materials of the world would lose their meaning. However, it is important to analyze how much of the information is verifiable facts, and how much is the subjective assessment of the speaker. If you hear all kinds of weird ideas based on nothing, it's very much like propaganda. Estimates should go with evidence, not instead of it.
High-quality journalism differs from propaganda in that in the first case, the author collects facts and analyzes them, in the second, he takes the necessary assessments and adjusts the facts to suit them.
Of course, disseminators of information rarely manage to do without evaluations at all, because they people too. Your attitude to what is happening can be reflected even in the news format. Compare: "A car hit a pedestrian who was crossing the road in the wrong place" and "An unemployed BMW driver hit a schoolboy." It seems that the same event, all the facts and phrases do not contradict each other. And the sediment remains different. That's why it's important to keep track of scores.
She divides the world into black and white
People are different, the world is complex, and hasty assessments and conclusions are fraught with error. But not for propaganda. She tends to simplify everything to the elementary. So the work of such specialists is primarily indicated by dubious generalizations and the turning of the particular into the general (also known as pulling an owl on a globe).
They are given out, for example, by phrases like “all of them”, “they always”. Such an approach should be alarming. If only because no matter who these mysterious “they” are, any community is not monolithic and its representatives are not clones of each other. In fact, even all those serving sentences for murder cannot be called murderers, because no one has canceled miscarriages of justice. To hang a label on representatives of, say, one nationality, gender, hair color is generally strange.
But propagandists don't need their audience to think about the nuances. And the system shortcuts works perfect for this.
Propaganda speaks in slogans and cliches
If you watch all the sources of information that are available to you for some time, you will notice that some of them formulate a position in literally the same words. This is necessary so that propaganda hollows out from different guns at the same point. As a result, the audience begins to believe - how not to believe if everyone around says it.
It is usually easy to notice such clichés - they quickly become memes. They are used by those who did not succumb to propaganda, and its victims - but in all seriousness. At the same time, usually the latter, if you try to discuss with them, talk exclusively in slogans. If you ask to explain the situation in your own words or ask questions that cannot be answered with a stamp, the person does not find words. However, it would be optimistic to say that this encourages him to reflect on what is happening. He usually just jumps to insults. This, however, also applies to propagandists themselves.
Propagandists also stigmatize their opponents so that the words receive a negative emotional load. For example, they don’t call someone by their last name, only by a distorted version of it. This dehumanizes the enemy in the eyes of the audience, which is exactly what propaganda needs. Because it’s hard for people to wish death in agony, but for everyone there “tolerant» - easily.
It relies on double standards
Not that propagandists have such a goal - to drown themselves. It’s just that if you create a fictional reality, a situation will arise anyway or later when the “good us” will be noticed doing the same thing as the “bad ones”. And here the propagandist will have to invent something, why the conditional we can do it, but they can't.
She's not ready to admit mistakes
People make mistakes, including those who spread information. It is considered good form to admit that you made a mistake and tell how it really happened. Authoritative media, by the way, do not hesitate to do so.
The propagandist is silent about miscalculations, even if the real development of events can no longer be ignored. He will simply twist the situation even more - what to lose now. Suppose he confidently predicted that in a month the comet would crash into the Earth, but this did not happen. So you just misunderstood, or the brave
Propaganda is looking for an internal enemy
As we have already found out above, answer tricky questions, lead adequate discussions propaganda does not like. Because in disputes different troubles can be born. To do this, you need to undermine the credibility of all who doubt or oppose. The rule “who is not with us is a traitor” works flawlessly here. It literally forbids any attempt to think about information, rather than take it on faith. Otherwise, you will quickly move from the category of “good us” to “bad them”.
In general, the word "traitor" in itself is always an indicator that they are trying to manipulate you. It carries too much emotional load in order to use it just like that. If you hear him, this is an occasion to think twice as carefully about what they say to you - even if it is about intimate relationships, and not about the broadcasting head from the TV.
What else you need to know about propaganda
Propaganda is not equal to pure lies
Sometimes it seems: how can you trust the propagandists, if all they do is lie. But it is not so. The classic way to get the listener to accept any nonsense is to start from the truth. It is used not only by propagandists, but also by distributors. conspiracy theories, various pseudo-coaches and other dubious speakers.
The recipe for a persuasive text or speech is precisely to masterfully intertwine facts (especially well-known ones) with any conclusions. The audience sees reliable information in the data stream and begins to automatically perceive everything else as the truth. Sometimes even if it's absolute nonsense. Because just a minute ago the speaker reasoned adequately, it's hard to believe that he went crazy in a second.
Not everything is propaganda, what is called that
Propaganda is now a stinky word. Although in some cases it continues to be used in a positive way. For example, there is propaganda of a healthy lifestyle, in which, as a phenomenon, there is nothing wrong.
Moreover, the dissemination of some useful ideas is often not even propaganda. Facts, research results, logical arguments work here. This is popularization, informing, agitation, if you like.
At the same time, propaganda often tries to stigmatize the dissemination of values and ideas that a particular person does not like. Suppose the story about the importance of vaccination is called propaganda vaccination. But here again everything is decided by the evidence - it is on them that you need to pay attention, even if something is not close to you.
Propaganda can be used by both sides
We predict the impulse to believe that only some “bad them” spread propaganda, and “good us” do not do this. In fact, it can be used by all parties, because it is easier. People readily respond when the speaker hits on their emotions. Because, examining the facts, one must think. And anger, sadness or jubilation themselves emerge in response to this or that information.
And in general, the spread of propaganda does not in itself make people good or bad. The point is the ideas that they broadcast with its help, and whether the side has something other than propaganda. Therefore, it is important to filter data with a sober head. This will help you make the right decisions and remain a normal person.
Even if the information does not have signs of propaganda, it can still be so.
If a speech or text is not made on the knee, the author does not consider the audience to be idiots and is ready to work hard, propaganda may look quite innocently. It is not necessary to completely refuse specialists in talent.
Only facts matter, isolating them is a lot of work
The flow of information is huge, its consumer is simply not able to double-check every fact himself. This is a huge job. The best thing to do in such a situation is to create your own network of sources that you trust. And one hundred percent do not trust them either.
If something seems strange or impossible, double-check, doubt, ask questions. Keep your ears on the top of your head, otherwise someone will definitely want to hang noodles on them.
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