Persuasion vs Propaganda: Some Overlap, but Not the Same

We know that propaganda can be persuasive, so are propaganda and persuasion the same thing?

 Both are tools that attempt to influence an audience’s thinking, and it’s true that cult leaders and dictators are among the best persuaders because they use words and slogans to play on people’s fears. But there are differences between persuasion, propaganda, and manipulation.

Here is what social scientists agree distinguishes propaganda:

• follows a strong ideological agenda
• is practiced by large groups (cults, governments, terrorist organizations)
• is disseminated through the mass media, and often has evil motives
• accepts no questioning. The audience is fearful and is obsessively devoted to the leader.

Persuasion, in contrast, has these characteristics:

• tends to be more personal. It can be practiced in a face-to-face encounter, not always to a mass audience.
• allows the audience to respond and use its own persuasive tactics to influence the communicator
• must be conducted in an atmosphere of free choice. You cannot coerce anyone by threatening harmful consequences if they don’t comply.

 Manipulation is when someone presents you with a deceptive message and hopes you will believe it because it is disguising her true intent. Phony compliments are one example. She wants you to believe the flattery, but her real motive might be something else. Another is a scam artist who calls you on the phone and says you were chosen to win a free trip to Disneyworld, but first, you have to send in a deposit. The overt message is that you won a contest; the real intent is to steal your money.