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Category: Assertion

The first story is the one that is remembered, even if wrong

The first story is the one that is remembered, even if wrong

TL;DR Summary A media outlet ran a story with the headline “”Ben Carson admits fabricating West Point Scholarship“, based in part on muddled comments from Ben Carson that were not clear. The false version of the story was picked up by media and spread rapidly on social media. The story was eventually shown as incorrect and prominent media called the story a “lie”. But the damage was done. Propagandists know that the first message received by the target, even if…

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Effective propaganda posters that do not actually mean much

Effective propaganda posters that do not actually mean much

TL;DR Summary President Obama selected as the most admired man in the world, per Gallup Poll of U.S. residents. Analysis: True! And it is good that the US President is selected for this, in this poll. Almost every year since 1946, the current sitting President has been identified by this Gallup poll as the most admired man in the world. Doesn’t matter who is in office (except for Gerald Ford – it sucks to be Gerald Ford, apparently). This works…

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“No, it wasn’t always on our money!”

“No, it wasn’t always on our money!”

TL;DR Summary The phrase “In God We Trust wasn’t always on our money” states the propaganda poster. This poster is both true and false, depending on how you define “money”. It has been on some coins since 1909, for example. The goal of the poster was to argue about separation of state and church (we think). It works due to (a) a true assertion, and (b) “What you see is all there is” and the viewer is not aware that…

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False: President Roosevelt on why the minimum wage must be a living wage

False: President Roosevelt on why the minimum wage must be a living wage

TL;DR Summary A true quote but taken out of context – the quote is  referring to something completely different than a modern day “minimum wage”. As a propaganda message, this has  been widely shared, which makes for successful propaganda, even though the message is untrue. Roosevelt did say this quote, but it was not about the minimum wage but about creating opportunities to become skilled, employable and have the ability to earn good wages. The speech was about the need…

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The Fairness Doctrine never applied to cable TV

The Fairness Doctrine never applied to cable TV

TL;DR Summary A long time ago, there was a law known as the Fairness Doctrine that required over the air broadcast stations to give equal time to different perspectives, typically meaning left versus right on political topics. This rule applied only to over the air broadcasters and never applied to cable television “broadcasters” who do not use the over the air spectrum. This propaganda poster asserts that Fox News came about because Reagan vetoed a bill to re-instate the already…

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Did the Washington Post publish a fake news report about fake news? The Intercept says yes.

Did the Washington Post publish a fake news report about fake news? The Intercept says yes.

With the help of uncritical journalists, a story about “fake news” ended up disseminating far more than it exposed. Source: Washington Post Disgracefully Promotes a McCarthyite Blacklist From a New, Hidden, and Very Shady Group The Intercept (and others) allege the Washington Post published a fake news story based on anonymous sources and lobbyists, making assertions and allegations without supporting evidence. The WaPo story reads like fake news stories prevalent on social media, typically based on allegations sourced from flimsy…

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Excessively complex, too much detail for effective propaganda

Excessively complex, too much detail for effective propaganda

TL;DR Summary This is an example of a poorly designed social media propaganda poster In terms of design, it is complex and no one is making eye contact with the viewer. It takes too much time to understand what it is about and what it is trying to say. .There are enough details that it likely engages (Kahneman’s) System 2 thinking rather than the quick, intuitive, gut-level response of System 1. Propaganda works best when quickly invoking a System 1…

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False assertion and False choice: Tesla versus Edison poster

False assertion and False choice: Tesla versus Edison poster

The following poster has appeared many times in my social media feed. The conclusion you are intended to draw is also false. Source   Another variation: TL; DR Summary These posters imply that Tesla cared about people more than making money versus Thomas Edison, who he once worked for as an employee (or another version of the poster, the evil person is George Westinghhouse) who only cared about making money. In reality, Tesla’s nearly 300 patents made him a very rich…

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Leaving out details to make a story more dramatic

Leaving out details to make a story more dramatic

TL;DR Summary ‘Milwaukee police “accidentally” shot a 13 year old girl at an elementary school after she became “combative”.’ By placing the word “accidentally” in quotes, followed by the word “combative”, this propaganda poster sets the viewer up to believe the police intentionally shot a 13 year old “combative” girl. The poster leaves out that the officer’s gun was in the holster and that the MPD weapons do not have holster safeties. This information negates the attempted spin on the…

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Bernie Sanders is not a millionaire?

Bernie Sanders is not a millionaire?

TL; DR Summary A shared social media poster asserts that Bernie Sanders would have been the first president who wasn’t  a millionaire, since 1945. On the surface, this statement sounds plausible. His Senate disclosure forms list less than $1 million in assets. But it leaves out the value of his retirement savings and his government provided pension. A private sector worker would need at least $1 million in assets to have a pension payout similar to what Sanders will receive…

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