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    Propaganda and the Internet
    Propaganda and the Internet
    Propaganda and the Internet
    Ebook214 pages2 hours

    Propaganda and the Internet

    By James E. Fischer, Robert Haussmann Ph.D. and Rebecca Hayes

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    This work summarizes research conducted in the type and frequency of propaganda techniques utilized on the Internet. The fundamental baseline from which research underwent operation was in accordance with the "Seven Propaganda Devices" as established by Alfred and Elizabeth Lee. The devices, Names Calling, Glittering Generality, Transfer, Testimonial, Card Stacking, Plain Folk, and Band Wagon, were published in 1937 by the Lees in response to a multitude of propaganda originating out of Europe just prior to World War II. These techniques for the propagation of disinformation are as relevant today, if not more, as they were during the 1930s and 1940s. Employing a print journalist representative sample by way of a survey instrument, data collected disclosed that although all of the propaganda devices were practiced on the Internet, three techniques stood out as the predominant forms, or styles, for disinformation messaging.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateFeb 1, 2005
    ISBN9780996426824
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      Book preview

      Propaganda and the Internet - James E. Fischer

      Propaganda and the Internet

      Copyright © 2005 James E. Fischer All Rights Reserved

      Book and cover design by Rebecca Hayes

      Published in the United States by

      Strategic Inroads

      First printing 2005 by digital xerographic: Pro Quest, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

      UMI Dissertation Services

      From: Pro Quest

      300 North Zeeb Road

      P.O. Box 1346

      Ann Arbor, Michigan

      48106-1346

      UMI Number: 3159672

      Copyright 2005 by James E. Fischer.

      Second printing 2009 by Cedar Hill Publishing

      ISBN-10: 0-9820205-8-9

      ISBN-13: 978-0-9820205-8-6

      eISBN-13: 978-0-9964268-2-4

      Library of Congress Control Number 2009922498

      Abstract

      Location: Prescott, Arizona

      Title of Dissertation: Propaganda and the Internet

      This dissertation summarizes research conducted in the type and frequency of propaganda techniques utilized on the Internet. The fundamental baseline from which research underwent operation was in accordance with the Seven Propaganda Devices as established by Alfred and Elizabeth Lee. The devices, Name Calling, Glittering Generality, Transfer, Testimonial, Card Stacking, Plain Folk, and Band Wagon, were published in 1937 by the Lees in response to a multitude of propaganda originating out of Europe just prior to World War II. These techniques for the propagation of disinformation are as relevant today, if not more, as they were during the 1930s and 1940s. Employing a print journalist representative sample by way of a survey instrument, data collected disclosed that, although all of the propaganda devices were practiced on the Internet, three techniques stood out as the predominant forms, or styles, for disinformation messaging. The preeminent techniques for the perpetuation of disinformation over the Internet, in descending order of dominance are: Glittering Generality, Name Calling, and Testimonial.

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      I would like to thank my wife Cynthia for her love, understanding, and encouragement during the fulfillment of this academic endeavor. I would also like to recognize my sister Jane (Fischer) Messmer, who, over the years, inspired me to move ahead academically. A nurse practitioner, her professionalism, desire to become more knowledgeable in and beyond her profession, and her general goodness toward others is inspirational to her family and friends alike—but especially to me.

      FOREWORD

      I will always remember my first year as a graduate student at Yale, walking into Sterling Memorial Library for the first time. I stood in awe of the cathedral-like building, and spent some time wandering around the stacks—shelf after shelf and floor after floor. From there, it is only a short walk to the Beinecke Rare Book Library (part of the Yale library system), where one will find many rare or one of a kind works. In total, the Yale library system houses over 13 million volumes—only a small fraction of which are available on the Internet in full text form. In my graduate studies I spent countless hours in these buildings, examining thousands of texts. Even with such an outstanding resource available, it was difficult at times to ensure that I had comprehensively reviewed any given topic. What other sources might be out there that I had not stumbled across?

      For most of us today, the term research has become all but synonymous with Internet. Need to quickly check a fact? Use Google. Want to find out more about a certain actor? Use IMDB. Need to brush up on the details of World War II? Go to Wikipedia. There are thousands of new tools at our fingertips today that we couldn’t even dream of 20+ years ago. There’s certainly no argument that these tools are convenient—but at what cost?

      Research can be thought of as an expedition of discovery—we attempt to discover information about the topic in which we are interested. The theoretical ideal would be that we collect all information available about the specific topic. Of course, this is unobtainable. Even with the best facilities available, there’s very little chance that we would have access to all information that is available. But consider those students today to whom research means a Google search: they are starting at a distinct disadvantage in their efforts. The scope of sources available is constrained in many different ways, some obvious and others not. The obvious constraints include: 1) potential targets must exist on today’s Internet, 2) the search engine must have crawled the target page, and 3) the search engine must have categorized the information in such a way that it is compatible with the student’s search. The other non-obvious constraints include the inner workings of the search engine itself: are results filtered in any way? What weighting algorithms are used to determine the ranking of results?

      In short, in the best of cases, the use of the Internet for research purposes is fraught with unseen risks and limitations. Beyond this, one must consider the more nefarious side of the web. The freedom of the Internet provides both a platform and opportunity for anyone to disseminate information. There is a strong tendency to trust the printed word. This trust is easily exploited by those whose agenda includes disseminating disinformation. Dr. James Fischer’s Propaganda and the Internet is an exploration of such trends. Its academic framework provides a unique perspective on just how such disinformation can be spread by exploiting the openness of the Internet. While it is a must read for researchers and academics, it should serve as an eye-opener to the general public as well. Can you trust what you find on the Internet?

      Robert Haussmann, Ph.D.

      Professor of Psychology

      CONTENTS

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      FOREWORD

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      LIST OF TABLES

      LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

      Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

      Overview

      Statement of the Problem

      Definitions of Terms

      Brief Overview of Literature

      Highlights of Methodology

      Limitations of Study

      Research Expectations

      Chapter 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

      Review

      Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

      Restatement of the Problem

      Research Expectations

      Description of Research Design

      Operational Design of Variables

      Materials

      Subjects

      Procedure

      Description of Instrumentation

      Description of Data Processing

      Methodological Assumptions and Limitations

      Assumption

      Limitations

      Ethical Assurances

      Chapter 4: RESEARCH FINDINGS

      Survey Data Analysis and Results

      Responses

      Survey Section A: General Background

      Data Collection

      Data Analysis

      Survey Section B: Computer Background

      Data Collection

      Data Analysis

      Survey Section C: Propaganda Quantification

      Data Collection and Analysis

      Chapter 5: SUMMARY, LIMITATIONS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

      Summary

      Limitations

      Conclusions

      Recommendations for Future Research and Application

      REFERENCES

      APPENDICES

      Appendix A: Sample Survey

      Appendix B: Letter from James Fischer to News Organizations

      Appendix C: Letter from James Fischer to Individual Respondents

      Appendix D: Letter from Northcentral University to News Organizations

      Appendix E: Newspaper Organ. with Respective Survey Control #s

      Appendix F: Responses to Survey Question 26

      Appendix G: Responses to Survey Question 33

      List of Tables

      Table 1: Respondent Gender Demographics

      Table 2: Respondent Age Demographics

      Table 3: Respondent Education Demographics

      Table 4: Respondent Degree-Type Demographics

      Table 5: Respondent Years as Journalist Demographics

      Table 6: Section B—Mean, Mode, Median, and Standard Deviation

      Table 7: Internet Service Preference

      Table 8: Propaganda Consciousness in Personal Life

      Table 9: Propaganda Consciousness in Workplace

      Table 10: Propaganda Knowledge-Base

      Table 11: Stated Future Propaganda Consciousness

      Table 12: Most Employed Propaganda Techniques Reported on Internet

      Table 13: Propaganda Predomination by Web Site or Search Engine

      Table 14: Topic-Peculiar Propaganda Techniques

      Table 15: Propaganda Techniques Attributed to Peculiar to Search Engine or Web Site

      Table 16: Multiple Chi-Square Statistical Analysis for Question 23

      Table 17: Originator Utilization of Particular Propaganda Techniques

      Table 18: Finesse of Internet Propagand

      Table 19: Dominant Propaganda Techniques (throughout media array)

      Table 20: Rankings of Internet as a Vehicle for Propaganda

      Table 21: Preeminent Media Form for Propaganda Dissemination

      Table 22: Prominent Propaganda Sources

      Table 23: All Propaganda Formats Not Perceived as Being Considered in Survey

      List of Illustrations

      Figure 1: Likert Scale Employment

      Figure 2: Ranking Scale Employment

      Figure 3: Most Employed Propaganda Techniques Reported on Internet

      Figure 4: Topic-Peculiar Propaganda Techniques (political)

      Figure 5: Topic-Peculiar Propaganda Techniques (financial)

      Figure 6: Topic-Peculiar Propaganda Techniques (educational)

      Figure 7: Topic-Peculiar Propaganda Techniques (theological)

      Figure 8: Topic-Peculiar Propaganda Techniques (military)

      Figure 9: Topic-Peculiar Propaganda Techniques (business)

      Figure 10: Topic-Peculiar Propaganda Techniques (research)

      Figure 11: Topic-Peculiar Propaganda Techniques (health, consumer, entertainment, e-mail, and sports)

      Figure 12: Originator Utilization of Particular Propaganda Techniques

      Figure 13: Dominant Propaganda Techniques (throughout media array)

      Figure 14: Prominent Propaganda Sources (print media)

      Figure 15: Prominent Propaganda Sources (motion pictures)

      Figure 16: Prominent Propaganda Sources (television)

      Figure 17: Prominent Propaganda Sources (radio)

      Figure 18: Prominent Propaganda Sources (Internet)

      Figure 19: Propaganda Formats Not Considered

      Chapter 1:

      Introduction

      Overview

      Attaining one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the pinnacle of excellence. Subjugating the enemy’s army without fighting is the true pinnacle of excellence.

      (Sun Tzu, 1800 B.C., p. 177)

      Propaganda is ever-present in our lives. Messages designed to motivate, to rally one’s support, or garner donations are an everyday occurrence. Whereas radio, television, motion pictures, and the print media were the principal tools for message delivery in the past, now the Internet, too, assumes at least a perceived equal and powerful role. The primary difference is that, as opposed to the other media, the Internet is an arena of practically unchecked information flow, lacking almost all restraint (Davis, 2002).

      A principal danger facing all viewers and listeners of media, of every kind, is that we are presently confronted by a technological expansion of imagery and words. That is, appearance more than substance constitutes our daily information diet in the form of blurbs, sound bites, and snapshots. Admittedly, the selective messaging and/or imagery transmitted by way of microphone, telephone, motion picture, television, computer, and the Internet appears to satisfy most users. However, with the advent of the Internet certain questions do arise: How is email different from a telephone call or

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