Rhetorical Strategies, Fallacies, and Propaganda

1. Rhetorical Strategies, Fallacies, and Propaganda

2. Rhetorical Strategies

4. Fallacy A mistaken belief, especially one based on an unsound argument.

5. Propaganda Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political or point of view.

6. Bandwagon • Inviting the public to do what everybody else is doing.

9. Card Stacking Card Stacking omits factual details in order to misrepresent a product, idea, or cause. Card stacking intentionally gives only part of the truth. For example, a commercial for a snack food labels the snack “low in fat,” which suggests that it is healthier and lower in calories than a product that is not low in fat. However, the commercial does not mention that the snack is loaded with sugar and calories.

12. Cause and Effect Using the idea because of one event happens another must also happen. The use of a product is credited for creating a positive result.

15. Circular Reasoning (Begging the Question) Circular Reasoning (also known as begging the question) restates the point of an argument as the support and the conclusion.

18. Comparison & Contrast The audience is led to believe one item or choice is better than another, although no real proof is offered.

21. Deductive Reasoning/False Cause (Post Hoc) “Since that event followed this one, that event must have been caused by this one.” The fallacy lies in coming to a conclusion based solely on the order of events, rather than taking into account other factors that might rule out the connection.

24. Either – Or (Also known as the black-and-white fallacy) Assumes that only two sides of an issue exist. Either-or offers a false dilemma because more than two options are usually available.

26. Exaggerated Situations Using exaggeration to convince.

29. False Comparison (false analogy) Assumes that two things are similar when they are not. This fallacy is also known as a false analogy. An analogy is a point-by-point comparison that is used to explain an unfamiliar concept by comparing it to a more familiar one.

31. Fear/Shock Appeal Presenting a dreaded circumstance then following up with a kind of behavior needed to avoid the horrible event.

35. Flattery Complimenting someone to get what you want.

37. Grass Roots The grass roots or “plain folks appeal” uses irrelevant details to build trust based on commonly shared values. Many people distrust the wealthy and powerful, such as politicians and the heads of large corporations. Many assume that the wealthy and powerful cannot relate to the everyday concerns of plain people. Therefore, the person or organization of power puts forth an image to which everyday people can more easily relate.

40. Loaded/Emotional Words Using words that make the audience feel strongly (positively or negatively) about someone or something

43. Name Calling/Personal Attack Negative words are used to create an unfavorable opinion of the competition in the audience’s mind. Also known as an ad hominem attack, a personal attack attempts to discredit the point by discrediting the person making the point.

44. http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/politics/hartford-name-calling-political-adhttp://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/politics/hartford-name-calling-political-ad

46. Repetition A product name or a keyword/phrase is repeated several time to get the audience’s attention.

49. Rhetorical Question Asking a question to prove a point. The question usually doesn’t require an answer.