Easily understood without further explanation.
- Your message must be at least as clear as the initial propaganda or it will not be remembered.
- Use understandable words to clearly convey easily understood messages that need no further explanation. Avoid words or concepts not universally understood. [1]
- Counterpropaganda is carefully prepared answers to false propaganda with the purpose of refuting the disinformation and undermining the propagandist. -- Herbert Romerstein [2]
- First nullify the enemy’s propaganda, then destroy their credibility. [3]
- Keep it simple, stupid.
- When it comes to rapid response, you can't be too fast, but you can certainly be too hysterical.-- Dan Schnur, GOP political strategist [4]
- Enemy slogans that sound good to them may spur your side to fight harder. -- Herbert Romerstein [5]
- And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. -- John 8:32 --
World War II: Roosevelt’s slogan "Unconditional Surrender*,” terrified the enemy and probably prolonged the war. [6]
During World War II, President Roosevelt began using the slogan “Unconditional Surrender.” This sounded wonderful to American and British people, war-weary yet wary of treaties which promised quick surrender but likely to leave lingering problems. “Unconditional surrender” terrified the Germans and Japanese, both citizens and soldiers, who envisioned slavery or extermination.
After the war Robert E. Sherwood in his 1948 book Roosevelt and Hopkins, wrote, “There were many propaganda experts, both British and American, who believed that the utterance of these words would put the iron of desperate resistance into the Germans, Japanese and Italians and thereby needlessly prolong the war and increase its cost; there are some who still believe that it did so. These critics were not necessarily opposed to the principle of total defeat – but they considered it a disastrous mistake for the president to announce it publicly.”
The Americans took to dropping leaflets over Germany. One, dropped over German Citizens during October 1944, explained that Roosevelt had also said, “The enslavement of the German people stands in opposition to the war goals for which the United Nations are fighting.” A similar leaflet from the British, dropped in January 1945 and signed by Winston Churchill explained, “We demand unconditional surrender, but you are aware that we have set ourselves narrow, morale limits we will not exceed. We do not exterminate nations. We do not slaughter whole peoples.” The soldiers and citizens of Germany and Japan had nothing to worry about from the Western powers.
A propaganda slogan that has to be explained does more harm than good.
[*Note: An unconditional surrender is a surrender in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party. In modern times, unconditional surrenders most often include guarantees provided by international law. [7]]
This is the third installment in our series on counterpropaganda.
Other reports and items of interest:
The Nine Principles of Propaganda begins HERE.
Trump - Our Psychopathic President begins HERE.
For a double-sided PDF copy of the principles of propaganda and counterpropaganda go HERE.
For a double-sided PDF copy of the twelve criteria of psychopathy go HERE.
THE NINE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF COUNTERPROPAGANDA
Propaganda is the backdoor hack into your mind
#1 Truth — Honest opposition is practical, moral, and unbiased.
#2 Focus — Address only one or at most two points.
#3 Clarity — Easily understood without further explanation.
#4 Resonate — Identify audience’s existing sentiments, opinions, and stereotypes that influence their perspectives, beliefs, and actions.
#5 Respond — Lies not immediately refuted become the audience’s truth.
#6 Investigate — Collect and analyze their propaganda to understand their message, target audience & objectives.
#7 Source — Expose covert sources of false propaganda.
#8 Reason – Expose their logical fallacies. Human cognitive biases for rapid thought response make us vulnerable to faulty reasoning.
#9 Disseminate — Share exposed propaganda with audiences not targeted; they can then recognize the lies and reciprocate.
Citations
1.Based on Wikipedia – Counterpropaganda. Retrieved 12-8-18 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterpropaganda#Clarity
2. Romerstein, Herbert (2009). "Counterpropaganda: We Can’t Win Without It", in Strategic influence : public diplomacy, counterpropaganda, and political warfare (PDF). Washington, DC: Institute of World Politics Press. pg. 137.
Cited by: Wikipedia – Counterpropaganda. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterpropaganda#%22Unconditional_surrender%22_in_World_War_II
3. Based on Wikipedia – Counterpropaganda. Retrieved 12-8-18 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterpropaganda#Definition
4. Schnur, Dan. Quoted by Kurtz, Howard. (2007 November 24). “Clinton team is quick to bat down rumors.” The Washington Post. Entire quote is: "One of the greatest strengths of the Clinton campaign is they've internalized and updated the lessons of 1992 for the new media era," said Dan Schnur, a Republican campaign veteran. "When it comes to rapid response, you can't be too fast, but you can certainly be too hysterical. It's important to get information into reporters' hands as quickly as possible, but you don't want to be the deputy press secretary who cried wolf. . . . You want to save Defcon 5 for when you really need it." Retrieved 12-8-18 from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/23/AR2007112301659.html?noredirect=on
5. Romerstein, Herbert (2009). "Counterpropaganda: We Can’t Win Without It", in Strategic influence : public diplomacy, counterpropaganda, and political warfare (PDF). Washington, DC: Institute of World Politics Press. pg. 144. Retrieved 12-8-18 from: https://jmw.typepad.com/files/strategicinfluenceclass_copy.pdf
6. Romerstein, Herbert (2009). "Counterpropaganda: We Can’t Win Without It", in Strategic influence : public diplomacy, counterpropaganda, and political warfare (PDF). Washington, DC: Institute of World Politics Press. pg. 144-145. Retrieved 12-8-18 from: https://jmw.typepad.com/files/strategicinfluenceclass_copy.pdf
Cited by Wikipedia – Counterpropaganda: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterpropaganda#Definition
7. Wikipedia – Unconditional Surrender. Retrieved 12-8-18 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconditional_surrender