The reference

Propaganda: the techniques of propaganda, cataloged.

One hundred three techniques in seven families, each with the mechanism behind it, how to spot it, the counter-move, and cited examples drawn from a century of posters and advertising.

Try bandwagon transfer euphemism astroturfing

From the archive

1 2 3 4 5

Your country needs you, United Kingdom, 1914. Library of Congress, public domain. 5 techniques annotated.

1
Appeal to authority Not a symbol but the Secretary of State for War himself, the most famous soldier in the em...
2
Camera angle The finger is drawn in foreshortening so that it points at the viewer from any angle, and...
3
Loaded language The pronoun in quotation marks, as if Kitchener had said it to the reader personally. The...
4
Slogan Four words that outlived the poster and were borrowed by every army that saw it. "Your cou...

Open this artifact · All 49 items

Start here What is propaganda?Definition, how it differs from persuasion and advertising, and where the seven-technique list came from. The IPA seven, 1937The original classroom list and why it still holds up. A history in postersFrom Wellington House to the feed, told through the archive.

Techniques103

Families7

Annotated artifacts49

Case studies16

Index of techniques

Every technique belongs to one family. Families color the archive, filter the quiz, and lay out the reference card.

A–Z index

Classic7

Bandwagon Card stacking Glittering generalities Name-calling Plain folks Testimonial Transfer

Appeals14

Appeal to authority Appeal to fear Appeal to outrage Appeal to pity Appeal to tradition Common enemy Cult of personality Dehumanization Flag-waving Guilt by association and 4 more

Language18

Big lie Dog whistle Dysphemism Euphemism False precision Hyperbole Intentional vagueness Labeling Loaded language Minimization and 8 more

Framing and omission18

Agenda-setting Burying the lede Cherry-picking Distraction False balance False dilemma False equivalence Frame control Half-truth Historical revisionism and 8 more

Structural16

Astroturfing Censorship by noise Citation laundering Controlled opposition Divide and rule Front groups Gatekeeping Greenwashing Leak and plant Manufactured consensus and 6 more

Digital-era16

Algorithmic laundering Bot amplification Brigading Cheap fakes Deepfakes Engagement bait Fake reviews Firehose of falsehood Hashtag hijacking Meme warfare and 6 more

Visual14

Camera angle Caricature Chart distortion Color and typography Dehumanizing imagery Heroic scale Idealized figure Juxtaposition Mass spectacle Misleading maps and 4 more

Case studies

Campaign-level analyses. Who ran it, which techniques carried the weight, and what happened.

All 16

1938–1990s · Advertising

A diamond is forever

The diamond engagement ring is described as a tradition. It was invented by an advertising agency for a mining cartel, between 1938 and the 1950s, and exported to Japan in the 1960s. The campaign is the case for a technique that manufactures a custom and then sells the custom back as heritage.

Appeal to traditionSloganTransfer

1920s · Public relations

Bacon and eggs

The American breakfast of bacon and eggs is often described as a tradition. It was a sales campaign. Edward Bernays, working for a bacon packer, asked thousands of doctors a leading question, published the answer as medical advice, and changed what a nation ate in the morning. The case is the model for the manufactured expert survey.

Appeal to authorityLoaded questionMisleading statistics

1917–1919 · The state builds a machine

The Creel Committee

In April 1917 the United States entered a war most of its citizens had voted to stay out of five months earlier. The Committee on Public Information was created a week later to change their minds, and in nineteen months it built the first full-scale propaganda apparatus of a modern democracy.

Flag-wavingCommon enemyDehumanization

Tools

Each one is built from the same technique records as the reference.

Quiz 103 techniques

Identify the technique from an example. By family, the IPA seven, or flashcards.

Reference card print

One page, two layouts: the classic seven or the expanded set. Prints on Letter and A4.

Fallacy ↔ technique map

How each technique relates to the fallacies and biases on logicalfallacies.org.

Printables free educator account

Any poster as a worksheet with an answer key, each lesson plan as a PDF, and the reference card. Sign up, confirm your email, download.