I know what you mean because my skin crawls every time I see intelligent people studying how to actually get through to stupid people. There has been a movement among science educators to figure this out, sparked by the realization that “just showing people the data doesn’t work.”
Unfortunately, some have really self-flagellated on this, saying it’s an arrogant approach: “the only reason you don’t agree with me is you don’t have enough information.”
I have trouble feeling bad for giving people information.
But I do applaud the effort to figure out what will work here. We can’t be squeamish about tricks and framing devices when the forces of evil are more than willing to firehose the public with emotional propaganda.
I guess the news here isn’t that propaganda works, but that propaganda works for the truth, too.
Yup. I would approach this by not using words like, “vaccine hesitant.” That’s just a euphemism for “stupid people” and we just don’t have the time during an emergency to coddle their feelings.
It isn’t just about making the information understandable though. They can read a pie chart just fine. As the article says, you have to wrap it in the right emotional frame for them to care. “Get your freedom shot.” If you have to dress it up in a bunch of biased language to get them to believe it, well… I can’t say I’m an authority on the definition of “propaganda” but dressing shit up that way seems to qualify to me.
I know what you mean because my skin crawls every time I see intelligent people studying how to actually get through to stupid people. There has been a movement among science educators to figure this out, sparked by the realization that “just showing people the data doesn’t work.”
Unfortunately, some have really self-flagellated on this, saying it’s an arrogant approach: “the only reason you don’t agree with me is you don’t have enough information.”
I have trouble feeling bad for giving people information.
But I do applaud the effort to figure out what will work here. We can’t be squeamish about tricks and framing devices when the forces of evil are more than willing to firehose the public with emotional propaganda.
I guess the news here isn’t that propaganda works, but that propaganda works for the truth, too.
Yup. I would approach this by not using words like, “vaccine hesitant.” That’s just a euphemism for “stupid people” and we just don’t have the time during an emergency to coddle their feelings.
Is this a case of propaganda, or just of speaking to people in a language they understand?
Edit: also, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_deficit_model
You know what they say,never underestimate the power of stupid people in numbers.
I don’t think “explaining things in terms that right wing idiots understand” is propaganda though.
It isn’t just about making the information understandable though. They can read a pie chart just fine. As the article says, you have to wrap it in the right emotional frame for them to care. “Get your freedom shot.” If you have to dress it up in a bunch of biased language to get them to believe it, well… I can’t say I’m an authority on the definition of “propaganda” but dressing shit up that way seems to qualify to me.