--- title: Propaganda techniques and how they work url: https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/ description: 'The named types of propaganda technique, from the 1937 classic devices to automated influence campaigns: definitions, tells and sourced examples.' section: Techniques --- ![Illustration: a Cold War intelligence-briefing collage with the Kremlin, Eastern Bloc architecture and a reconnaissance map of Europe.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/hero-techniques.jpg) Techniques # Propaganda techniques and how they work 28 named techniques in four families, from the 1937 Institute for Propaganda Analysis devices to the methods of automated influence campaigns. Each page gives a definition, the tell to look for, and what it is not. [See which techniques travel together](https://propagandaarchive.org/map/) ## Classical Institute for Propaganda Analysis (1937) seven devices and close descendants. Work on emotion, identity, and selective evidence. [![Illustration: a torn adhesive label with jagged crimson edges slapped onto a plain gray silhouette shape.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/name-calling.jpg)Name-callingAttach a loaded label so the audience rejects the target without checking the claim.116 objects · 25 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/) [![Illustration: an ornate empty seal glowing with sparkling rays around a blank redacted center.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/glittering-generalities.jpg)Glittering generalitiesVirtue words (freedom, security, the people, science) used as substitutes for a testable claim.90 objects · 20 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/glittering-generalities/) [![Illustration: a strong ornate seal pressing its emblem through paper onto a plain blank seal beneath it.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/transfer.jpg)TransferBorrow prestige or stigma from a respected or hated symbol and paste it onto the message.169 objects · 63 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/) [![Illustration: a speech-bubble shape stamped with an official seal of approval, resting on a blank redacted page.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/testimonial.jpg)TestimonialA named person or institution vouches; the vouch is meant to end checking.22 objects · 11 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/testimonial/) [![Illustration: a rolled-up sleeve and a plain work glove on a wooden table, set against blurred ornate institutional seals.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/plain-folks.jpg)Plain folksThe speaker performs ordinary-person identity to make the message feel homegrown.11 objects · 26 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/plain-folks/) [![Illustration: a leaning stack of playing-card-like redacted panels, most face-down, with only a favorable few turned face-up on top.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/card-stacking.jpg)Card stackingSelect, omit, or order facts so the remaining pile can only be read one way.49 objects · 135 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/card-stacking/) [![Illustration: a crowd of identical silhouette arrows all pivoting to point the same direction, one holdout arrow left facing the other way.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/bandwagon.jpg)BandwagonTreat popularity, momentum, or 'everyone knows' as proof.32 objects · 3 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/bandwagon/) [![Illustration: a stark alarm bell under a harsh spotlight, casting a long jagged shadow across a redacted page.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/fear-appeal.jpg)Fear appealImminent harm is staged so the audience accepts the offered protection without comparing base rates or alternatives.92 objects · 25 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/fear-appeal/) [![Illustration: a single dark silhouette figure singled out by a spotlight while a crowd of identical pale silhouettes recedes into shadow.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/scapegoating.jpg)ScapegoatingPark blame for a complex harm on a bounded out-group so the in-group stays clean.33 objects · 11 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/scapegoating/) ## Rhetorical Argument-form tricks that survive even when the speaker is named. [![Illustration: two redacted documents pointing accusing arrows at each other, each deflecting attention from itself onto the other.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/whataboutism.jpg)WhataboutismAnswer an accusation with a different accusation so the original claim is never tried.2 objects · 3 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/whataboutism/) [![Illustration: a bold abstract letterform on a card, stretched and pulled out of shape by two opposing arrows.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/semantic-hijack.jpg)Semantic hijackingCapture a high-prestige or high-stigma word and stretch it until it covers the speaker's preferred set.7 objects · 27 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/semantic-hijack/) [![Illustration: a schematic fortress diagram with a small fortified tower beside a much larger, loosely defended courtyard.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/motte-and-bailey.jpg)Motte and baileyAdvance a bold claim; when pressed, retreat to a modest claim; then reoccupy the bold one.](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/motte-and-bailey/) [![Illustration: a balance scale holding two identical stacks of redacted paper, one pan quietly pressed down by a hidden thumb.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/bothsidesism.jpg)BothsidesismForce symmetry between unequal evidence piles so the audience treats the question as a tie.1 object · 2 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/bothsidesism/) [![Illustration: a label peeling off a plain jar to reveal a starkly different label underneath.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/euphemism.jpg)Euphemism / doublespeakReplace a concrete harm or act with a sanitizing or inflating phrase so evaluation never meets the thing.6 objects · 13 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/euphemism/) [![Illustration: two abstract silhouette outlines merging into a single fused contour.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/identity-fusion.jpg)Identity fusionCollapse checking the claim into betraying the tribe, so method-critique feels like treason.11 objects · 9 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/identity-fusion/) ## Operational Campaign architecture: how a message is staged, sourced, or made to look like consensus. [![Illustration: a single small document nearly buried under a toppling stack of identical blank redacted papers.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/flooding-the-zone.jpg)Flooding the zoneSaturate the available attention so a preferred frame, or chaos itself, crowds out slower checking.25 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/flooding-the-zone/) [![Illustration: a murky ink-stained document passing through a filter and emerging clean into a neat labeled folder.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/narrative-laundering.jpg)Narrative launderingPass a state or factional message through a more legitimate-looking surface so origin is hard to see.4 objects · 97 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/narrative-laundering/) [![Illustration: dozens of identical rubber stamps arranged in a ring, each pressing the same checkmark onto blank paper.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/manufactured-consensus.jpg)Manufactured consensusCreate the appearance that independent voices independently arrived at the same conclusion.1 object · 85 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/manufactured-consensus/) [![Illustration: a dark-to-light gradient bar with a small aperture frame sliding steadily along it.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/overton-shift.jpg)Overton window shiftingMove a previously unsayable position into the window of the discussable by repetition, extremes, or institutional blessing.12 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/overton-shift/) [![Illustration: a heavy vault door cracked open just enough to light a few loose papers, while a larger stack stays locked in shadow.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/limited-hangout.jpg)Limited hangoutRelease a partial, survivable truth to block a larger one.1 object · 2 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/limited-hangout/) [![Illustration: an oversized magnifying glass over a blank redacted page, revealing only a tiny sliver of fine print in one corner.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/disclosure-theater.jpg)Disclosure theaterA technically present disclosure that does not travel with the content the audience actually sees.56 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/disclosure-theater/) [![Illustration: a pointed accusing finger reflected in a cracked mirror, the accusation aimed back at its own source.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/accusation-in-a-mirror.jpg)Accusation in a mirrorAccuse the target of the method or crime you are preparing or running, so their warning sounds like a confession.1 object · 15 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/accusation-in-a-mirror/) ## Computational Volume, automation, synthetic production, or poisoning of ranking and retrieval systems. [![Illustration: several fire hoses spraying overlapping streams of illegible ink and text across a page.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/firehosing.jpg)FirehosingHigh-volume, high-velocity, multi-channel output that does not care about internal consistency; the goal is exhaustion, not persuasion of one claim.1 object · 11 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/firehosing/) [![Illustration: plastic astroturf blades pushing up through cracked concrete, with identical rubber stamps scattered among the blades.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/astroturf.jpg)AstroturfingFake or rented grassroots: personas, pages, or crowds that are not what they claim.3 objects · 82 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/astroturf/) [![Illustration: a face-shaped void built from a pixel wireframe mesh, dissolving into digital static at the edges.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/synthetic-media.jpg)Synthetic mediaMachine-made or machine-rewritten content presented as human witness, journalism, or research.3 objects · 102 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/synthetic-media/) [![Illustration: a funnel pouring dark ink into a stylized database block, with corrupted glitch-text bleeding out the other side.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/corpus-poisoning.jpg)Corpus poisoningSeed search indices, encyclopedias, or model-facing text so downstream systems repeat the frame as if it were independent research.9 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/corpus-poisoning/) [![Illustration: a fishing hook baited with a glowing crimson flare, dangling above a sea of grasping abstract hands.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/outrage-bait.jpg)Outrage baitCraft the item so the profitable reaction is fury, which then does the distribution.14 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/outrage-bait/) [![Illustration: a ticking clock face whose source-label corner slowly fades to blank while its hands keep moving.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/technique-cards/sleeper-effect.jpg)Sleeper effectA discounted source is forgotten faster than the claim, so the claim later feels ownerless and true.1 object · 2 briefs](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/sleeper-effect/)