Disinformation by Donald A. Barclay

Author:Donald A. Barclay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2022-02-03T00:00:00+00:00

Oversimplification

Oversimplification, in some ways the yin to exaggeration’s yang, greatly eases the propagandist’s burden of achieving a desired response. One form oversimplification takes is presenting issues as clear-cut, good-versus-bad, hero-versus-villain dichotomies. No troubling gray areas to complicate the simple picture. All the players are cleanly divided into either the camp or the good/intelligent/realistic people or that of the bad/stupid/deluded people. As contrary as it seems, simplistically portraying an enemy as both dangerous and ridiculously incompetent is a common propaganda technique. During the Second World War, for example, American propaganda simultaneously portrayed Japanese people as “fiercely aggressive” yet also as “dull-witted, and physically weak, often with poor eyesight using thick ‘coke bottle’ glasses.”10

Propaganda solutions to complex problems also tend to be oversimplified for ease of consumption:

“The only permanent solution to homelessness is rent control.”

“The only permanent solution to homelessness is zero-tolerance enforcement of vagrancy laws.”

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