Propaganda & Politics
Political elections are propagandistic pageantry. Where else is the aim of the propagandist clearer than in a political campaign? Obviously, the intention of all election material is to convince a voter to cast a ballot one way. Campaign content is deliberately designed in such a way to sway the electorate to the outcome desired – in other words, to vote a candidate into office. As a result, elections create a highly manipulative environment whereby the widely unsuspecting public becomes increasingly prone to influence. The use of polls, fear, propaganda, and demagoguery are all methods of manipulation, to which we are all vulnerable. How aware are you of the techniques used in modern political campaigning aimed at winning your vote?
Read About Propaganda & Politics:

Warren Has a Plan for Disinformation—What About Everyone Else?
Democracy derives legitimacy from the ability of citizens to make informed and free decisions, particularly during elections, so the public should expect more from candidates vying for the country’s top job.

The Audience is the Amplifier
Propaganda is changing in a Digital Age. What once was a top-down effort to the…

Armed with Ethics: Communicating in an Information Age
This piece draws from a talk delivered at the Canadian Public Relations Society’s annual conference…

Diplomacy in a Digital Age
On 15 February 2019, the Young Transatlantic Initiative and the General Delegation of the Government…

Participatory Propaganda and the 2018 Ontario Election
Two “grassroots” political Facebook pages outstripped official party pages in follower engagement during the 2018…

Cambridge Analytica: Persuasion and Manipulation
Cambridge Analytica has blurred the line between persuasion and manipulation The company identified the psychographics…

Yes, Canada is vulnerable to information cyber attacks
Originally published by CBC Yes, Canada is vulnerable to information cyber attacks. There’s an added…

Polarising Politics in Canada: A Facebook Study
Anyone interested in Canadian politics should keep an eye on Facebook. While the 2019 federal…

Anti-Establishment Blues: 2017 U.K. Election
Anti-establishment views these days seem to be a bit like a common cold – one…

Plugged in and Persuaded: Participatory Propaganda
Are We Prepared for Propaganda in a Digital Age? This is the dawning of the…

Clinton’s Failure to Inspire: Slogans and Gratitude
Understandably, much of the world is trying to make sense of Donald Trump’s presidential victory…

Facebook and the U.S. Elections
Statistics Updated November 12, 2016 Which candidate is talked about most on Facebook? Who has…

Brexit’s Hearts Over Minds: The Tale of Two Campaigns
A week after an historic referendum in Britain, a strategic communications analysis of two campaigns…

Charge of The Facebook Cavalry
This article is part of a series called Facestumping? Presidential Campaigning on Facebook A Charge(!),…

Facestumping: #Hashtags of Ted Cruz
No other candidate uses hashtags quite like Ted Cruz and his campaign– and not in…

Facestumping: A Flash of Hillary Clinton
Nothing says establishment like a perfectly polished Facebook Page. And none of the Pages analysed…

Facestumping: We, The Bernie Sanders Revolutionaries
This is the second post in the series Facestumping: Presidential Campaign on Facebook. Bernie Sanders proudly…

Facestumping? Presidential Campaigning on Facebook
Facebook and other social media sites are transforming our politics. Today, when politicians such as…

Facestumping: Thanks Be From Donald Trump?
At this point in the campaign, you might be wondering what more could be said…

Polls of Persuasion: Beware of the Horse Race
What’s more important in a political race: Who wins the race or what the winner…

You’ve Been Trumped: The Perils of Sociological Propaganda
Mark 3:25 – And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand”.…

Establishment Fibs & Fears
More difficult to discern are those mistruths that are fed from positions of power. Even…

The Astroturf Wars: Fighting For Your Opinion
The Brits are doing it. The Americans want to do it. Everyone says the Russians…

How Fear & Conflict Manipulate You
Fear and conflict are effective behavioural drivers. Conflict increases leader approval ratings, while fear drives…

Putin’s Potential for a Digital Personality Cult
The internet has changed many things including the concept and practice of “cult of personality.”…

5 Ways Political Candidates Influence Your Perception
Election campaigns are a lot like advertising or propaganda – they all aim to make us…

How Propaganda Persuades You & 5 Things You Can Do About It
In a bid to curtail the pollution of my social feeds from hoaxes, slanted messages,…

5 Reasons Sane People Don’t Run For Office
The state of Canadian politics has hit an all-time low. From disgraced Senators to #AskJustin…

The Party is Over
Cliques and direct democracy don’t go together, if for no other reason than a question of allegiance.