1 in 7 Americans do not go to bed hungry every night
Every year, Feeding America puts out a fundraising campaigns making misleading, if not outright false, claims.
Context matters – poster from unions4workers deleted a key word to tell a lie
TL;DR Summary The poster conveys that James Madison believed in 1817 that business corporations are inherently evil regarding accumulation of property. The person who created this poster left out one word: “in perpetuity by [ecclesiastical] corporations” which completely changes the meaning. The quote is contained in a paragraph about the power of religious bodies, in a document that is entirely about “Ecclesiastical Bodies” (Churches). Unions4Workers is telling an outright lie.
Pre-propaganda – not all propaganda messaging comes with a "to do" list
TL;RD Summary A positive message, albeit, a “feel good” glittering generality. The message is honest . The design of the poster could be better by suggesting some action to be taken but in some ways, this might be viewed as “pre-propaganda” which is messaging that preps the target for later propaganda that calls for action. The poster was on FB and came from BlueNationReview.com. It uses the methods of “testimonial”, “appeal to authority”, “celebrity endorsement” and a “glittering generality”. The…
Pre-propaganda – not all propaganda messaging comes with a “to do” list
TL;RD Summary A positive message, albeit, a “feel good” glittering generality. The message is honest . The design of the poster could be better by suggesting some action to be taken but in some ways, this might be viewed as “pre-propaganda” which is messaging that preps the target for later propaganda that calls for action. The poster was on FB and came from BlueNationReview.com. It uses the methods of “testimonial”, “appeal to authority”, “celebrity endorsement” and a “glittering generality”. The…
Abraham Lincoln’s false quote used to endorse political meme
A common social media propaganda technique uses quotes from well known historical figures or celebrities to strengthen one’s argument. Not surprisingly, many of the quotes are fiction, some are attributed to the wrong person, and many are taken wildly out of context. TL;DR Summary This quote suggests Abraham Lincoln had a prescient warning about corporations in America’s future. But he never said this. This is a made up quote. The goal, as propaganda, is to rely on the “Appeal to…