By Megan Kuntz

“Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident they are acting on their own free will.” -Joseph Goebbels (Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933-1945).

Through the power of propaganda the true face of Nazi tyranny wasn’t the face of Hitler alone, but also the faces of regular civilians – well-meaning moms and dads, aunts and uncles – who were manipulated by the media to the point that they genuinely believed the “Reich thing to do” was, indeed, the right thing to do.

In 1935 concerned citizens Kirtley Mather, Edward A. Filene, and Clyde R. Miller, recognized the threat that propaganda posed to social behavior and critical thinking and formed the Institute for Propaganda Analysis (1935-1942, USA). Composed of social scientists, opinion leaders, historians, educators, and journalists, the IPA set out “To teach people how to think rather than what to think.”, educating the public on the techniques the media was using to sway public opinion and manipulate the masses:

Bandwagon, Card Stacking, Testimonials, Name Calling, Plain Folk, Glittering Generalities, Transfer

Since the time of WWII, propaganda studies have advanced, and propaganda techniques have evolved, but those 7 basic principles of propaganda are still being used today in marketing schemes, political campaigns, and public health crusades.

Not for the purpose of comparing the COVID-19 erosion of rights to Nazi Germany, but for the purpose of awareness only – “To teach people how to think, not what to think.” – the following paragraphs will explore the definitions of the above mentioned techniques and point out some examples of their current applications within the COVID-19 narrative.

Bandwagon

Definition: The tendency of an individual to acquire a particular style, behaviour or attitude because everyone else is doing it.

In 1951 social psychologist Solomon Asch devised a social conformity experiment. The experimenter told participants they were taking part in a study to measure people’s visual judgments. The experimenter placed a card in front of a group of 8-10 people (Only one subject in each group was an actual participant. The other subjects were actors and gave staged answers – some correct, others incorrect). The card had one bar drawn to the left and three bars drawn to the right. The length of only one bar to the right matched the length of the bar on the left. The participants were then asked to answer one at a time and out loud which bar on the right matched the length of the bar on the left. The real participant was always placed second to last in each group, so he would hear the other incorrect answers before giving his own. This was repeated for 18 different sets of bars per group of subjects. In total, about one third of the subjects who were placed in this situation went along with the clearly erroneous majority.

Upon reviewing the experiment results Asch stated,

“The tendency to conformity in our society is so strong that reasonably intelligent and well-meaning young people are willing to call white black. This is a matter of concern.”

Humans are easily influenced, social creatures. Scientists know this. Governments know this. If they can just get the bandwagon rolling, people will then not have to be forced onto the wagon, but will jump on willingly. In the context of COVID, being “In it together” for “Two weeks to flatten the curve” was a brilliant bandwagon strategy to which the subconscious human mind responded: “Everyone else accepts lockdowns, masks, travel restrictions, social restrictions, work restrictions as the ‘new normal’, so I do too. It must be for a good reason.”

Card Stacking

Definition: A technique that aims to sway the viewer’s perception of an issue by highlighting one side and suppressing the other side

Example #1: 

• What the public is told – Hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, Vit D are bad/useless.
• What the public is not told – c19study.com is a website that compiles the results of studies done on these drugs/treatments. Each of these treatments shows promising results when used at the appropriate time and in the appropriate dosage.

Example #2:

• What the public is told- Masks help stop/limit the transmission of COVID-19.
• What the public is not told – Starting in 2015, the Ontario Nurses Association (ONA) took legal action against the controversial vaccinate or mask (VOM) policy and won. The conclusions drawn from the extensive pool of scientific evidence presented was that masking as a means of source control to reduce transmission of aerosol-spread viruses was “scant, anecdotal, and, in the overall, lacking.” (https://www.ona.org/news-posts/ona-wins-vaccinate-or-mask-flupolicy/)

Testimonials

Definition: Using an expert or celebrity testimony to sell or support Cancel culture ensures supportive COVID-19 testimonies from prominent figures (medical, political, religious, and celebrity)- either support the narrative or lose your job and/or social standing.

Name Calling

Definition: A form of verbal abuse in which insulting or demeaning labels are directed at an individual or group

“Covidiots”, “conspiracy theorists”, “anti-maskers”, “anti-science” – no explanation needed.

Plain Folk

Definition: When a speaker presents themself as a common person who can understand and empathize with a listener’s concerns

Examples: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talking about the struggles of lockdowns, sharing the story of how they only have one printer, so sometimes his kids interrupt him when they need to print something for school. He states that while adjusting to new routines is not always easy they find a way to “make it work”.

Another, confusing, “plain folk” example is Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s cheesecake tutorials or his injured coyote story during an official briefing. Cute, relatable, quirky? Yes. Relevant to COVID? No. (Someone should tell the Premier that he is supposed to be both relatable and relevant when he “plain folks.” But, nonetheless, he earns a solid B minus for effort)

Glittering Generalities

Definition: Employ vague, sweeping statements (often slogans or simple catchphrases) using language associated with values and beliefs deeply held by the audience without providing supporting information or reason

Example: “Stay home, stay safe, save lives”, “My mask protects you, your mask protects me”, #vaccinessavelives. How many men, women, and children would be able to quote all of these catchy slogans but not be able to quote one scientific fact to back them? Is then the general public truly informed or thoroughly indoctrinated?

Transfer (also known as “Association”)

Definition: Association refers to a mental connection between concepts, events, or mental states that usually stems from specific experiences. Often evokes an emotional response. It can either be a positive or negative association/transfer.

One example of political transfer/association would be superimposing the image of a country’s Prime Minister or President in front of that country’s flag. This transfers the freedom and values that the flag represents onto the leader.

With COVID-19 marketing some examples include articles such as “Toronto Cases Spiking” with a picture of the Toronto freedom rally below the headline. Transferring blame onto “anti-maskers” with no proof.

Another example are the radio ads (playing in Ontario). The ad begins with someone saying “It’s just a few friends over. We’re all wearing masks. It’s not a big deal.” The ad then fades into the sound of sirens and a dying patient gasping for breath. Associating human contact with death.

One final, simple example is the slogan “Stay home, Stay safe”. Associating isolation with safety (or transferring the idea of safety onto staying home).

Additional Propaganda Techniques Being Used

• Fear mongering
• Repetition
• Censorship and fact-checking • Bots, “sock puppets”, hashtags etc on social media
• Black and white fallacy

In closing, let’s explore some common questions and objections surrounding this topic:

“It sounds like you just described a well-organized public health education campaign to me!”

The difference between education and propaganda is that education always searches for objectivity while propaganda is very subjective and discourages objectivity.

“But what motive would governments have in exploiting a worldwide ‘pandemic?’”

“’Emergencies’ have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded” –Friedrich Hayek

“But wouldn’t that mean that mainstream media outlets would have to be bought?”

Yes.

“But I am a healthcare professional, and I agree with the COVID narrative”

And many healthcare professionals disagree: Prof Dolores Cahill, Dr Sucharit Bhakdi, Dr Ari Joffe, Dr Roger Hodkinson, Dr Richard Schabas, Dr Neil Rau, Dr Beda Stadler, Dr Carl Heneghan to name only a very small few.

“I am not being manipulated”

“Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident they are acting on their own free will.” •Joseph Goebbels

“But the fact that this is happening worldwide proves that it is true”

“The bigger the lie, the more it will be believed” •Joseph Goebbels

Be aware. Read both sides. Think for yourself.