Techniques of Propaganda used in the Madeleine McCann case

Sources:
SourceWatch
Wikipedia-Propaganda

Examples from the Madeleine McCann case
More to follow - suggestions and insights are welcome.

(Please note: I am breaking these up into individual posts and it is taking some time. Thanks for your patience.)

A number of techniques are used to create messages which are persuasive, but false. Many of these same techniques are by definition logical fallacies since propagandists use arguments which, although sometimes convincing, are not necessarily valid.

It is essential to have some knowledge of the following techniques for generating propaganda. (In other words - this knowledge is very helpful when trying to sort the wheat from the chaff.):

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Propaganda - General Information

Types of Propaganda

Excerpts from SourceWatch

Propaganda shares many techniques with advertising or public relations; in fact, advertising and PR can be said to be propaganda promoting a commercial product. ...  In a narrower and more common use of the term, propaganda refers to deliberately false or misleading information that supports a political cause or the interests of those in power.

The propagandist seeks to change the way people understand an issue or situation, for the purpose of changing their actions and expectations in ways that are desirable to the interest group. In this sense, propaganda serves as a corollary to censorship, in which the same purpose is achieved, not by filling people's heads with false information, but by preventing people from knowing true information.

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Appeal to Authority

Appeal to Authority:
Authority is evoked as the last word on an issue.
Appeals to authority cite prominent figures to support a position idea, argument, or course of action.

This sort of reasoning is fallacious when the person in question is not an expert. In such cases the reasoning is flawed because the fact that an unqualified person makes a claim does not provide any justification for the claim. The claim could be true, but the fact that an unqualified person made the claim does not provide any rational reason to accept the claim as true. Since people have a tendency to believe authorities, this fallacy is a fairly common one.

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Common Man / Plain Folks

Common man

The "plain folks" or "common man" approach attempts to convince the audience that the propagandist's positions reflect the common sense of the people. It is designed to win the confidence of the audience by communicating in the common manner and style of the target audience.

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Euphemisms

Euphemisms

When propagandists use glittering generalities and name-calling symbols, they are attempting to arouse their audience with vivid, emotionally suggestive words. In certain situations, however, the propagandist attempts to pacify the audience in order to make an unpleasant reality more palatable. This is accomplished by using words that are bland and euphemistic.

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Stereotyping or Labeling

Stereotyping or Labeling:

This technique attempts to arouse prejudices in an audience by labeling the object of the propaganda campaign as something the target audience fears, hates, loathes, or finds undesirable.

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Testimonial

Testimonial:

Testimonials are quotations, in or out of context, especially cited to support or reject a given policy, action, program, or personality. The reputation or the role (expert, respected public figure, etc.) of the individual giving the statement is exploited.

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Scapegoating

Scapegoating

Assigning blame  to an individual or group, thus alleviating feelings of guilt from responsible parties and/or distracting attention  from the need to fix the problem for which blame is being assigned.

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False Comparison or Analogy

False Analogy

In this technique, two things that may or may not really be similar are portrayed as being similar.

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"Either / Or" also called "Black and White"

EITHER / OR

This technique is also called "black-and-white thinking" because only two choices are given. You are either for something or against it; there is no middle ground or shades of gray. It is used to polarize issues, and negates all attempts to find a common ground.

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Transfer

Transfer:

In this technique, an attempt is made to transfer the prestige of a positive symbol to a person or an idea.

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Straw Man

Straw Man

Because it is easier to demolish a man of straw than to beat a live opponent fairly, propagandists sometimes pretend that they are responding to the views of their opponents when they are only setting up a type of artificial opposition which they can easily prove to be wrong.

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Name calling

Name calling:

This techniques consists of attaching a negative label to a person or a thing. People engage in this type of behavior when they are trying to avoid supporting their own opinion with facts. Rather than explain what they believe in, they prefer to try to tear their opponent down.

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Appeal To Fear, Scare Tactics

Appeals to fear
seeks to build support by instilling fear in the general population - for example Joseph Goebbels exploited Theodore Kaufman's Germany Must Perish! to claim that the Allies sought the extermination of the German people.

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Labeling

Labeling

Labeling is the propagandist technique of using a EUPHEMISM to increase the perceived quality, credibility, or credence of a particular ideal. The propagandist uses a DYSPHEMISM to discredit, diminish the perceived quality, or hurt the perceived righteousness of "the Mark". By creating a "label" or "category" or "faction" of a population, it is much easier to make an example of these larger bodies, because the propagandist can uplift or defame "the Mark" without actually incurring legal-defamation.

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Faulty Cause and Effect

Faulty Cause and Effect
(See also: Fallacy: Confusing Cause and Effect)

This technique suggests that because B follows A, A must cause B.

Remember, just because two events or two sets of data are related does not necessarily mean that one caused the other to happen. It is important to evaluate data carefully before jumping to a wrong conclusion.

In order to determine that a fallacy has been committed, it must be shown that the causal conclusion has not been adequately supported and that the person committing the fallacy has confused the actual cause with the effect. Showing that the fallacy has been committed will typically involve determining the actual cause and the actual effect.

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Obfuscation, intentional vagueness, confusion

Obfuscation, intentional vagueness, confusion

Generalities are deliberately vague so that the audience may supply its own interpretations. The intention is to move the audience by use of undefined phrases, without analyzing their validity or attempting to determine their reasonableness or application.

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Ad Hominem

Ad Hominem
Translated from Latin to English, "Ad Hominem" means "against the man" or "against the person."

Attacking the person instead of attacking his argument.
(For an excellent explanation of this technique, see Fallacy: Ad Hominem
A common form is an attack on sincerity.

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Rationalization

Rationalization:

Favorable generalities are used to rationalize questionable acts or beliefs. Vague and pleasant phrases are often used to justify such actions or beliefs.

Examples:

• "like dining in your garden"
• responsible parents
• (More to follow...)

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Glittering Generalities, Euphemisms and Slogans

Glittering Generalities: 
This technique uses important-sounding "glad words" that have little or no real meaning. These words are used in general statements that cannot be proved or disproved. Words like "good," "honest," "fair," and "best" are examples of "glad" words.

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