Eleanor Finch
Political campaigns use propaganda to influence political debates and, ultimately, voting behaviour. Campaign advertising is a form of propaganda that disseminates information about political forces and candidates. It draws on techniques from commercial advertising, entertainment, and public relations, a mixture sometimes called politainment. Campaigns may use a variety of media, including newspapers, radio, television, and the internet, to spread their message, depending on local laws and available resources. The use of broadcast media for political messaging is restricted in many countries, such as in the European Union, where paid-for TV or radio advertising is not permitted to prevent wealthy groups from gaining control of airtime.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type of media used | Paid media or earned media |
| Regulation of campaign advertising | Varies by country; e.g., forbidden in the UK and Ireland, restricted in Turkey, and unrestricted in the US |
| Techniques used | Commercial advertising, propaganda, entertainment, and public relations (politainment) |
| Targeting specific groups | Using names that project shared values or interests to target certain people and win them over |
| Message strategy | Creating a lasting impression with voters by frequently repeating talking points about policy issues, while keeping the message broad to attract the most potential voters |
| Campaign activities | Canvassing door-to-door, making phone calls, news releases, newspaper interviews, organizing polls, etc. |
| Use of image | Focus on the candidate's image, personal details, appearance, voice, style, photo-ops, and soundbites |
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What You'll Learn
Campaign advertising
Political campaigns can use propaganda in advertising in a variety of ways, including the use of symbols, slogans, emotional appeals, and manipulation of information.
One common technique is to use symbols and slogans to represent and summarize ideas or concepts. For example, a political campaign might use a symbol that represents strength and power to promote their candidate as a strong and powerful leader. Similarly, campaigns might use catchy slogans that stick in people's minds and summarize their key messages.
Propaganda in campaign advertising often relies on emotional appeals to influence people's opinions. For instance, a campaign might incite fear by warning people about the negative consequences of not supporting their candidate or cause. This is a form of scare tactic, which is commonly used in advertising to convince people that they need a particular product or service to avoid an undesirable outcome.
Another technique is bandwagoning, which uses peer pressure to convince people to follow a particular candidate or cause. For example, a campaign slogan might be, "Everyone is voting for me; you should too." This type of appeal leverages the idea that if others are doing something, individuals should do it too.
Manipulating information is also a common tactic, where facts are distorted or misrepresented to influence public opinion. False claims or statistics may be used to make an opponent or their policies seem less favourable.
Political campaigns may also use endorsements or testimonials from average citizens, celebrities, or respected figures to promote their candidate or cause. This technique, known as the plain folks appeal, leverages the idea that if regular people support something, it must be good.
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Media management
Political campaigns use various techniques to spread their message and influence public opinion. Propaganda, for example, is a common tool used to shape people's opinions and behaviours. This can include the use of emotional appeals, such as inciting fear or creating anger, bandwagoning, which uses peer pressure, and scare tactics to influence people's choices. Propaganda also involves manipulating information, using false statistics, and name-calling to discredit opponents. Symbols, slogans, and endorsements from ordinary citizens or celebrities are also employed to create positive associations with a candidate or cause.
To effectively manage their media presence, political campaigns collect and utilize vast amounts of data about potential voters. This data includes personal information, such as browser cookies, web beacons, mobile phone data, and social media activity, which is then used to target individuals with tailored political advertisements. Additionally, campaigns employ fundraising techniques, such as direct mail pleas to small donors and courting interest groups who have significant financial resources.
The media also plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion during political campaigns. News coverage can disproportionately focus on certain candidates or policy issues, influencing voters' perceptions. "Horse-race" coverage, which focuses on who is ahead or behind in the polls, can foster public cynicism and mistrust of the political process. However, it is important to note that media outlets striving for objectivity aim to inform citizens rather than manipulate their voting choices.
In conclusion, media management in political campaigns involves a combination of paid and earned media strategies, the use of propaganda techniques, data-driven targeting of voters, and effective fundraising methods. The media's role in covering and elevating certain issues and candidates further influences public opinion and, ultimately, the outcome of elections.
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Activists and volunteers
One of the most effective ways to use activists and volunteers in a political campaign is through ground campaigning and direct voter contact. Knocking on doors and having personal conversations with potential voters can increase turnout and leave a lasting impression, as seen in the case of the Francois Hollande campaign in the 2012 French presidential election. Volunteers making phone calls can also be highly effective, with studies showing that volunteer phone calls can increase voter turnout by about 1.9 percentage points, compared to 1.0 points for calls from commercial phone banks.
In the digital age, social media has become a critical component of political campaigning. Activists and volunteers can utilise platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and other social media tools to spread the campaign's message, engage in dialogue with voters, and even counter rival campaigns. However, it is important to note that the line between propaganda and disinformation can be thin, and activists and volunteers should be aware of ethical boundaries.
Social media manipulation by political actors has become an industrial-scale problem, with governments, public relations firms, and political parties producing misinformation. This includes the use of fake accounts, bots, hacked accounts, and state-sponsored trolls to spread disinformation, manipulate media, and target specific users with political advertisements. Activists and volunteers should be cautious and well-informed to ensure they do not inadvertently spread disinformation or engage in unethical practices.
Additionally, activists and volunteers can also participate in counter-rallies, picketing of rival parties' meetings, and other disruptive tactics to hamper the ability of political competitors to campaign. While most political parties in representative democracies publicly distance themselves from such tactics, some self-identified activist groups may employ these strategies. It is important for activists and volunteers to understand the legal and ethical boundaries of their actions and ensure that their activities align with the values of the campaign they support.
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Political marketing
A key component of political marketing is campaign advertising, which is essentially propaganda disseminated through various media channels. These channels can include television, radio, newspapers, and the internet, with the specific avenues utilised depending on local laws and available resources. In some countries, such as the United Kingdom and Ireland, paid political advertisements are forbidden on television and radio, while others, like the United States, have a very free market for broadcast political messaging. Political advertising often draws on techniques from commercial advertising, entertainment, and public relations, a blend sometimes called "politainment".
The content of these advertisements typically revolves around specific talking points or themes that summarise the main ideas of the campaign. These points are repeated frequently to create a lasting impression on voters. Campaigns may also use media management techniques to control the message they broadcast to the public, aiming for attention and emphasis on what is new, dramatic, or scandalous.
In addition to paid media, political campaigns also utilise "earned media," which refers to media attention gained without direct spending. This can be achieved through organised events, news releases, interviews, and grassroots efforts such as door-to-door canvassing and phone calls by volunteers and activists. These foot soldiers promote the campaign out of loyalty to its cause, and their efforts can be highly effective in reaching and persuading potential voters.
The specific strategies employed by political campaigns vary and are often tailored to target certain groups of citizens. For example, a campaign might focus on broad messages to attract a wider range of voters or use more personalised techniques, such as those employed by Lady Thatcher in the UK in the 1980s, which centred on image-building and the use of soundbites.
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Campaign strategies
Political campaigns are organized efforts that seek to influence the decision-making process within a specific group. In modern politics, the most high-profile political campaigns are focused on general elections and candidates for head of state or government. The campaign message contains the ideas that the candidate wants to share with the voters and is repeated frequently to create a lasting impression.
Political campaigns use propaganda to shape people's opinions and control their behaviors. Propaganda often uses partial truths or biased misinformation to present an incomplete picture, influencing people to adopt certain beliefs or attitudes. It can also target people's emotions and moods, such as inciting fear or creating anger to gain support for a cause.
To develop a successful campaign strategy, it is essential to understand the electorate and divide them into three groups: the candidate's base, the opponent's base, and the undecided. Utilizing data from past elections, registered voter lists, and surveys helps identify these groups. Campaigns should then focus their resources—money, time, and message—on targeting key groups of potential voters.
Traditional ground campaigning and voter contacts remain effective strategies, with door-to-door canvassing and phone calls increasing voter turnout. In the digital age, campaigns must also adapt to engage voters through multiple touchpoints, such as social media platforms and online influencers. Micro-targeting has become crucial in reaching diverse audiences across multiple channels.
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Frequently asked questions
The purpose of using propaganda in political campaigns is to influence a political debate and, ultimately, voting. Political campaigns use propaganda to create a lasting impression with the voters and attract the most potential voters.
Some examples of propaganda in political campaigns include:
- Campaign ads promoting a candidate
- Newspaper clips and sources
- Posters and other publicity tools
- Leafletting
- Commercials
- Photo-opportunities and sound-bites
Political campaign staff and consultants design ads that use techniques from commercial advertising, entertainment, and public relations. These ads are often combined into a formal strategy known as the campaign plan.
