Green Propaganda

"For an agitator who shows himself capable of expounding ideas to the great masses must
always be a psychologist, even though he may be only a demagogue. Therefore he will always be
a much more capable leader than the contemplative theorist who meditates on his ideas, far from
the human throng and the world. For to be a leader means to be able to move the masses. The
gift of formulating ideas has nothing whatsoever to do with the capacity for leadership." (Mein
Kampf, Chapter XI)

(This page is a work in progress.)

What is Green Propaganda?

Green propaganda is any kind of material that is not obviously propaganda but whose origin is
obvious and undoubted. The item is accepted for something other than what it really is. Green is
not a commonly used term for propaganda - we made it up. Demagoguery fits this category. It
isn't black propaganda - there you don't know the source.

Green propaganda is everywhere in political campaigns, although that is certainly not the only
arena where it is used. It is particulary dangerous because the target audience is, just as with
black propaganda, unaware of being influenced by propaganda.

We wil reference the important book How Propaganda Works by Prof. Jason Stanley of Yale. If you
are seriously interested in the subject, this book should be on your reading list.

Definition(s)
Common Ground: Philosophers describe the "common ground," which also can be "common
knowledge." This is a body of little bits of information, factoids, assertions, etc which enter
into your knowledge base unquestioned. Philosophers call this "not at issue content." "Not at
issue" means that the item is not the subject of debate or question; it is simply assimilated
into the common ground, even if it is misleading. One good example (of many) is the "death
panel" working its was into the common ground during the healthcare debate. Read the
Brendan Nyhan paper linked in References at the bottom of this page. A false perception was
deliberately placed in the public mind by one person. That misperception was extremely
difficult to clear. There has been a lot of research on this subject. It will be very worthwhile to
understand something about it.
 Demagogue: A demagogue is someone, usually a politician, who plays on the ideologies,
desires, emotions and fears of the audience. Rational argument is not used. Adolf Hitler, Sen.
Joseph McCarthy, Gov. George Wallace, and lately Donald Trump are examples.
Ideology: The set of ideas and beliefs of a group or political party. (learnersdictionary.com)
These beliefs can strongly influence thinking.
Flawed Ideology: One or more beliefs in an ideology that are not true in the real world. Such
beliefs, strongly embedded, are considered to be disabling, meaning that they prevent the
individual from learning about the real world. They often originate in a flawed social
structure.
Undermining Propaganda: A narrow definition of this, according to Stanley, is "A contribution
to public discourse that is presented as an embodiment of certain ideals, yet is of a kind that
tends to erode those very ideals." Here the action called for does not match the goal given; it
will actually produce effects, possibly damaging, that oppose the goal.able to
Vehicle of Propaganda: Stanley defines this as "An institution that represents itself as defined
by a certain political ideal, yet whose practice tends to undermine the realization of that
ideal." A news organization that biases its coverage of issues by omitting important details
becomes a Vehicle of Propaganda even if they didn't intend to do so.

How Does it work?

Preparation and presentation of this material requires deep knowledge of the ideologies, beliefs,
fears, and education level of the target audience. There is more than one basis for this type of
propaganda.

All of this will affect your thinking and reactions, and you will not be aware of why you think or
react as you do. That's why we called it "unseen;" you react without being aware of it although
you know exactly where the message is coming from.

Ideological Beliefs

This propaganda is based on ideological beliefs embedded in the mind and able to prevent one
from perceiving the real world clearly. These beliefs are almost completely resistant to evidence
or obvious facts. When you see someone who steadfastly refuses to accept clear and solid
evidence for/against something you are likely seeing a manifestation of what Jason Stanley (How
Propaganda Works) has described as "flawed ideologies." Such beliefs may not be rational; they
don't connect with the real world. They, in fact, can prevent one from learning about the real
world; this is described as "epistemologically disabling." This means that such beliefs can literally
prevent one from learning real truths about the real world. The affected person will reject quite
solid evidence that their belief is wrong and will intensify their belief in something which does
not match the real world.
The beliefs may be induced by the subject's social structures and therefore be deeply embedded
in the psyche. Acknowledging that the belief is faulty can involve acknowledging something that
severely challenges the subject's self-image or identity. Keeping the belief, although it is not
representative of the real world, is easier than giving it up.

Fears

Everyone is afraid of something, and these fears make a real basis for propaganda. This is one
manifestation of demagoguery; it is used by some political candidates. It can be described like
this:

1. Candidate stokes the fears of the audience, frightening them with ideas of bad outcomes if
they don't act.
2. Candidate then promotes him/herself as the solution to those fears. "Elect me and I will solve
that problem. I will eliminate the source of your fear." This works. Donald Trump provides an
excellent recent example of this. After winning the Republican nomination, he said in his
speech: "I have joined the political arena so that the powerful can no longer beat up on
people that cannot defend themselves. Nobody knows the system better than me, which is
why I alone can fix it. I have seen firsthand how the system is rigged against our citizens, just
like it was rigged against Bernie Sanders he never had a chance." (transcript on
politico.com) After describing the USA as being in a crisis he promotes himself as the only
solution.
The reaction to this is unconscious and extremely dangerous. Manipulating fear is one effective
method of moving the masses as Hitler wrote. It is possible to "move the masses" in some
desired direction and get yourself into a position of power; Hitler did it.

Fallacies of all Kinds

Forms of Green Materials

Political campaigns are an obvious setting for this sort of material; speeches, debates, and
interviews are good media for it. Apparently extemporaneous remarks may seem unrehearsed
but can carry a large influence. Any speech, campaign ad, public statement, or anything else can
be used. Anti-something campaigns may use such tactics to produce false impressions. The
article in quackwatch by Dr. Paul Lees-Haley referenced below is required reading if you are
interested. We'll draw from it here.

The idea here is to surreptitiously alter your perception of something. Tactics include confusion,
distraction, over-generalization, "everybody knows," misrepresentation of risk, sensational
rhetoric and more. All of these are familiar propaganda techniques. Unless you are familiar with
propaganda techniques, you may not recognize these tactics. If you don't recognize the
propaganda it may influence you, and this stuff will not be recognied by the uninitiated. That's
why it is so manipulative.

Examples

Misleading tweet in Iowa.

Carson looks like he is out. Iowans need to know before they vote. Most will go to Cruz, I
hope. https://t.co/lW5Js50EMA

Steve King (@SteveKingIA) February 2, 2016

This tweet was sent out at 8:20 PM the evening before the Iowa caucuses. Its source was Rep.
Steve King (R). The source was visible. The assertion that Dr. Carson was dropping out was
false. The Ted Cruz campaign ultimately apologized for doing it. The false tweet likely
influenced the outcome in Iowa, which was its purpose.

Hypothetical: Open microphone. Use a pre-election debate as an example. On infrequent

occasions a candidate's microphone is left open after the person has finished speaking. The
audience hears a surprising comment made in an off-guard moment. Suppose this was
actually deliberate; the mic was left open on purpose. The comment would be planned
propaganda, which most listeners would not recognize as such.
Undermining Propaganda

According to Prof. Stanley, this is (as defined above)

"A contribution to public discourse that is presented as an embodiment of certain ideals, yet is of
a kind that tends to erode those very ideals." (p. 53)

One variety of this is seen frequently: A legislative acton is promoted as doing great things
according to public values and ideals but actually erodes those ideals by doing things which run
directly against them.

This kind of thing involves a contradiction - the propaganda says one thing but the action does
the opposite. Interesting note: A disabling ideology can blind you so that you cannot see the
contradiction. Someone who is not ideologically blinded will easily see it.

Conclusions

This type of propaganda is extremely manipulative; that is its purpose. If your beliefs and fears
fall in the target group, the propagandist is likely to play you like a fisherman plays a fish, or a
violinist plays the instrument. You will usually do what the propagandist wants you to do without
being aware of it.

Print
References

How Propaganda Works; Jason Stanley (2015). Excellent reference, but deep.
Manipulation of Perception in Mass Tort Litigation; Paul R. Lees-Haley, Natural Resources and
Environment 12:64-68, 1997.
Why the Death Panel Myth Wouldnt Die: Misinformation in the Health Care Reform
Debate; Brendan Nyhan
Propaganda Techniques Related to Environmental Scares; Paul R. Lees-Haley.
Biased Assimilation and Attitude Polarization: The Effects of Prior Theories on Subsequently
Considered Evidence; Lord, Ross & Lepper
Sugar industry sugar/fat misdirection
o JAMA article
o Story on Medical News Today
o Story in New York Times
o Story in the New Yorker