Webster’s defines propaganda as ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring and institution, cause or person.

By stigmatizing the word propaganda we are further able to distance ourselves from the idea that it affects us or that we affect it. It’s a two way street that relies heavily on audience participation. The creator has to be able to tap into reader emotions.

First you gotta crack a few eggs.

So stop thinking of propaganda as evil and start thinking of it as a tool. Like all tools it can be used for good or evil. All successful propaganda taps into common themes or narratives based on shared experiences. One of companies I love the most, Apple, produces brilliant and beautiful propaganda. It does this with phenomenal testimonials, design, artwork, photography and copy.

Propaganda requires establishing a credibility level that most small business owners ever reach. Yet, a good propagandist can do it in an email in only a few minutes. Today I’ll teach you how to create your own effective white propaganda by analyzing a piece of black propaganda.

Getting to the meat of the elements of propaganda:
Use the points illustrated below sparingly.

We will examine how that propaganda comes together to produce a believable narrative for users. The best kind of propaganda for the influencer is the kind that leaves his reader feeling that they have come to a conclusion completely devoid of the propaganda or outside influence.

The most common techniques used in propaganda are

• Plain Folks – The author of the piece is given more credibility when he/she is a “regular” person. In our case the person will be an ordinary citizen of the United States.
• Transfer- the usage of symbols or famous quotes to get a point across. The reason the propagandist does this is that it takes less time to build trust. By using an instantly recognizable symbol you can decide whether credibility or the argument is good, bad, or neutral. Propaganda has a heavy basis in common human emotion.
• Glittering generalities- Speaking in generalities or painting with a broad brush in positive tones to invoke a common feeling, idea, or theme. “Everyone knows that Americans have the best country on Earth.” Is red-meat political propaganda.
• Bandwagon- Apple is actually one of the best I’ve ever seen at this. President Obama’s campaign was incredibly good at harnessing this as well. The idea that everyone is doing it, so you don’t want to miss it. It plays on the fear that few of us want to be left out. Bandwagon often works best with products that use the concept of newness.

Astroturfing (paying people to appear in places and espouse a view for or against a thing) is the form of bandwagoning that proponents of health insurance reform are accused of partaking in.

Astroturfing is basically seeding the bandwagon. Once the real audience jumps on the bandwagon the astroturfing is unnecessary because it will grow on its own (unless you want to control the message, then astroturfing is needed).

• Testimonial – The testimonial is very similar to the transfer. By telling you what a famous/infamous person said about a product or idea, we’re able to establish a baseline of trust.
• Fear – The use of the emotion fear to yield actionable results. When fear is used people spend much of their time trying to thwart that fear or make themselves safe again. Fear appeals are great for calls to action. Here’s how the propaganda critic breaks down fear appeals:

  In summary, there are four elements to a successful fear appeal:
  1) a threat
  2) a specific recommendation about how the audience should behave
  3) audience perception that the recommendation will be effective in addressing the threat
  4) audience perception that they are capable of performing the recommended behavior.

Logical Fallacy- I actually find the logical fallacy to be one of the best ways to convince people of something’s credibility. The logical fallacy is an error in reasoning. You can create logical fallacies by helping people draw conclusions based on pieces of information which may or may not be true. The best way to do this is to establish a factual baseline whether it is true or not.

Ex:

1. Chickens hatch from eggs.
2. Reptiles hatch from eggs.

Conclusion:
Reptiles are chickens.

• Authoritative Fact- Generally the representation of information such as statistics, statements, etc, as being factually based.

Things can easily get out of hands when trying to write good copy.
Now, let's take a look at our black propaganda letter. Don't lose control of the message by trying to include too many ideas.Of all the important things that you need to remember, this one is key: keep a singular focus even if you make several different points:

The actress Natasha Richardson died after falling skiing in Canada. It took eight hours to drive her to a hospital. If Canada had our healthcare she might be alive today. We now have helicopters that would have gotten her to the hospital in 30 minutes. Obama wants to have our healthcare like Canada's and England's.

In England anyone over 59 cannot receive heart repairs or stents or bypass because it is not covered as being too expensive and not needed.

I got this today and am sending it on. If Obama's plans in other areas don't scare you, this should.

Please do not let Obama sign senior death warrants. Everybody that is on this mailing list is either a senior citizen, is getting close or knows somebody that is.

Most of you know by now that the Senate version (at least) of the "stimulus" bill includes provisions for extensive rationing of health care for senior citizens. The author of this part of the bill, former senator and tax evader, Tom Daschle was credited today by Bloomberg with the following statement:

Bloomberg: Daschle says "health-care reform will not be pain free. Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them."

If this does not sufficiently raise your ire, just remember that Senators and Congressmen have their own healthcare plan that is first dollar or very low co-pay which they are guaranteed the remainder of their lives and are not subject to this new law if it passes.

Please use the power of the Internet to get this message out. Talk it up at the grassroots level.... We have an election coming up in one year and nine months. We have the ability to address and reverse the dangerous direction the Obama administration and its allies have begun and in the interim, we can make their lives miserable. Let’s do it! If you disagree, don't do anything.

You have to establish the baseline of credibility in order to build trust.
Despite the fact that everything written in this email is false or disinformation (the letter was debunked by Snopes) and was likely written by a copywriter, it comes off as high credible for its target audience. A testimonial and plain language is an instant way to gain credibility, especially if an email has been forwarded to you by someone you trust. Let's look at how they do it:

• The writer establishes the baseline of credibility through plain folks dialogue. This is easily done by using a casual writing tone with words with an easy readability level.
• transfer ( a popular celebrity, health care in other countries, nazi imagery of death panels)
• logical fallacy (that the health care of these countries is what America is aiming for)
• fear (possible impending death and healthcare rationing)
• glittering generalities & name calling (members of the congress)
• bandwagoning (do something about this)
• testimonial (misquoted quotes from Tom Daschle)
• authoritative fact (through the usage of the phrase, as you know)

Notice the length of the sentences, good propaganda should be short and easily readable.

The opposite of the positive glittering generality is the technique of name-calling (ex. liar, killer, crook, criminal, queer, limp-wristed, etc). Once someone is established as something undesirable or bad, the writer and the audience are positioned as the opposite. This kind of positive reinforcement helps with establishing trust and credibility of the author.

The writer uses the trust built in the first few paragraphs to use the bandwagon technique in the second half. By including readers in something that is assumed widely known, the writer maintains trust, builds equality, community and mutual respect for intelligence. This is a nod to the reader that they are as intelligent as the writer. Positivity in this kind of propaganda is needed, it helps cut down on questioning motives.

Providing positive reinforcement for the audience through inclusion makes it easier for the audience to act. It reassures them that their assumptions and values are correct and that they are as intelligent as the writer.

The purpose of this piece of propaganda is to inform and to mobilize anger into action. In order to create action after the fear appeal, anger has to be created. In our culture anger often functions as a motivator.

The last paragraph focuses heavily on the call to action. Readers should always feel like they have the choice of action or inaction. Remember that fear based appeals rely very heavily on those 4 critical criteria to be effective.

Don't push the reader, present it and see who bites.

If the reader feels as if they are being pushed in that direction, they may resist. If the reader feels that he or she has arrived at this direction of his/her own volition the piece of propaganda is much more powerful. When the reader actually feels empowered, they are more likely to purchase, share the view with others, or actively participate in a community.

Now you know how to write an effective piece of propaganda that will be widely circulated. Go forth and write beautiful marketing materials that others will propagate on your behalf.