Maclin 8, (sox) Fepacanda ond the CtHhies of Persuasion, cop + (184-1) Gap. 5 (MS-205) cap. 8 (283-310) ETHICS AND PROPAGANDA WHAT IS ETHICS? y's world, with its many conflicting attitudes and moral Seepti= n about the posibilty of arriving at universal moral judgments is widesperad Yssyreement on some fundamental issues exist even in seemingly peaceful, har= hatever theoretical scepti rules for living cogether in society. Among other ‘inig which rules and for Propagunda or propa outline of some domi ethics. Secondh been tied by definition to some form of Question of the ethics of lying will be undertake anchor point from which to approach the oth smnmunications that are not lies, but that share lies, will be evaluated from an ethical point of view. wganda-hike alA%D THE EDHICS OF PRRSUASTON ETHICAL THEORIES weory to solve an ethical dilemma requires jus fheory and not another. Also, the language in which nore vers are provided may ee need clarification. theoretically ute, but it is abo sels ion of ethics, a measure of decency and goodwill presupposed, along with a certain openness to the possibility of improv perspective by listening to challenges that others may bring to it features prominently in many people's thinking about ethics, The major ‘come with ethical codes, and some people accept chem in fairly broad wugh the exacr interpretation of the Bible, Koran, or Torah is subject resource, religion of otherwise hical pre= joes the set of prescriptions rough a prophet. sof actions are to be \cs of those actions. arianism—have been ‘ory of Kant combines rationality iciendy influential to have eamed the name Kantinism, theo= wath deontology and is ‘To the theories so far m theories is 4 matter for a book on chapter four » BTHTOS AND FR to suppose that every que answer, We want our discussions of et ‘they can be illuminating and satisfying € “The value of deontological theory i that ‘of “seeing” that something is right or wrong seems to yield contrary and unsatisactory resuls. The idea th under certain conditions, o execute an innocent person—perhaps because that Jence—has seemed to many people utterly abhorrent and morally corrupt. Yet, the situation can be deseribet to require the pure consequential cory in particular is a form of deontology based on rationality. Kant ‘hough that rightness or wrongness was determinable in the light o of rationality, presented in two forms, The first was the principle of univenaliz~ ability: sf you w: the underlying ju y ed {0 steal, you might ask yourself what is implied by telling y steal. One s right co enrich mys the urge to do so.” “maxim” can be univenalized. As a rational being, you must recognize that others are rational beings similar to yourself. If you reason that you have a night «© engich yourself in that way, so may they, because, ansofar as you are claumiing ratio~ others have a right the action of stealing is dee whether our action shows resp ‘A major advantage to arguing front this txjoinder to claims about ethical obligations, “Why should 1 be mEvurcs oF PERSuasIoN sad of others, or grab the langes Ifishness brings the rebuke of others, who a ‘slitarianis ia very popula theory, especially in relation to public planning that the morality of actions is determinable rich to benefit the poor; the lack, re sa seriously ill peson, ¢. Should that person be killed to affirmative answer repay’ should give back a deadh bie relied on always to give the co berween intuitions about a particulas case and principles sound isa common experience in moral thinking We 140 Judging the actions of th pemion who is eadily THE MORALITY OF LYING ‘experience and chat recently, David Nyberg argued that lying spare of everyday exp iCetequealy, and nor jt exceptional, the ight hing todo, Nyberg does no ‘question lying generally, bu cor lies from those thae are harmless anc he thinks, ‘multe res out of those experiences." Thisnor are fictional ar fables of Aesop, “Although narrow in one ts aie 1s broader in another, for he also hot only by words but by any outward manifestation she believes nice puzzle about lies and truth-telling, Suppose road there are bandits, while there are no someone who never believes what you 1 fork where you know there are none, You ‘ou, will ake the safe road and not come ‘ou surely do not do any would end up in great harm. deceive. Now consider the false, even though writes, if we say what is true and portant moral consideration, law of libel, in the existence of privilege” for people toy publicly chins cat at inthe public meres to Know, Cerin defence opunst ‘libel suit are open to those with qualified privilege, but are denied to those who defame merely out of a desire to gossip o chopter four » ETHICS ABD PROPAGANDA axe factors that can seriously Gi amount to lying. One of which there isno evidence. At tion of ignorant and deceptive communications fro ‘Augustine has done a useful service. deceptive communication does not have to in ‘Augustine distinguished different kinds of ‘no good reason ta those that harm no one and have certain be ing harm and injustice. Lying to cause hamn o lying for the lov: being reckless about ensuing hams are both obviously wrong. Pethaps the most influential ethical idea attributed to Augu: would be rash ¢o credit him with complete originalit appeals to Judaic di ‘Augustine implies, hough this compromising atutude to a lie, lms that the teacher will be wrong to teach th spelled out, situations where a lie is called for in the name of some public greater good? 13ROPLGANDS AUD THE EOHICS OF PERSUASION St. Thomas Aquinas rowands out neighbour. Teaching people falschoods ‘moral conduct is injurious to ¢hem, bur telling falsehoods about them is not a serious (mortal) sin.” Immanuel Kant smes through another's act ‘ou, because you are fulfilling the duty to tell the ‘ou le and unexpected misfortune follows, you beat Ihave been prevents captor four» {8 AND PROPAGSUDA Here some belisf in providence—the idea tha happenings in the world and can work things be presuppos ‘We can approach the morality of lying from the point of view of Kant’s exer venion of is categorical amperaive, the imperanve that tls you what Ou to be done categorically. not merely ypotheically—do this iyou want to obtain that” In ths cae, we ak whether respect of others as ends in themselves. Kant does ing, bat one might ange tha, another person is bent ‘peson, and the ie, and only the ls, would defect him tion, then telling the lie would be more respecting ies than would be t “The reson for respect others as ends in themselves when we help o defi fof wickedness and do not contribute anything to help them along such a path Second, we respect the potential vctin 5 an end in herself went her demise all-powerful God governs ish weongdoing—seems 10 Grotius Mowing from absolutiss against lying to those who. sider the Dutch jursprudential thinker, Hugo the Gr fom we speak may expr waive the right. (We sometimes play whic lies are an accepted part.) be waived by ac ‘might be outweighed by ‘of fictions to children or insane persons w they don’t have the same liberty of jud the intended audience in any conversation has a right to the truth, but eavesdroppers do not deceive ding those who have no right to ‘message is sent (0 an ally in order nsidered wrong for the same reason. The enemy not owed the obligation of eruth-telling Grotius also allows for tacit consent to justify pasing on a fae eport chat will help a wavering person win a batde. Afier winning, the person lied-to can be pre~ sumed to approve of this form of deception. Grotius sides with those who place good results above the value of truth in itself He notes, though, that in the case 45AGANDS AND THE BPHICS OP PBR aston and the truth emerges soon after. he joble lie” as set out in the public in such a way rcefully to the view that the morality of lying is grounded in the right of another to the truth. Rights can be waived, but the demands of uth are bj «casy dismisal, the exception of game contexts notwithstand= ig to mankind generaly."* the empirical likelibood of anarchy fulness is an unconditional duty. Here To depart trom truth, for whatever rea reason itself and so cannot be condoned. s, and Augustine view truth as something so firndamental that it for some good. As a constituent of reason, 2 fundamental bbe human, it cannot be treated 2s some bargaining chip sub~ id yet, the outcome of their view, which apparently requires Sf is impossible same effect), seems contrary to decent feeling. Bthical Thought in Late Nineteenth-Century England flying fascinated a circle of thinkers in England during te nineteenth century. The circle included Sir James Fitgjames Stephen, his ward Dicey (older brother of Albert Venn Dicey), and Mark Pattison, ‘Master of Lincols College, Oaord, These were thinkers who combined philo- hhical dunking ava fisly high k yumalistic, legal, and politcal concerns. ‘ofa lie a a criminal falsehood, with “we ate all agreed that as a general ‘artime “salutary lie” the inffingement on liberty of judgment does not ast Wes ofthe state as having rights superior to individuals within ‘one contributes (0 the erosion of trust and chapter four » BIHICS AND PROPAGANDA tule i isan honest man’s duty to rel che truth.” He does not clam siom that brooks no exceptions; indeed, he allows chat we alla anes have suid “dhe thing that is not” with 3 view to deceiving and would do i again un ‘ame circumstances without eompunction. But our code does regard fay 253 thing to be condemned. For whatever re adopted a standard of veracity according to asan olfence against the ordinary standard of {struc of hwyers, who may hold brief for convinced ofthe clients gu, but couns professional knowledge and experience which he knows to be untrue,” Diplomats may make fase statements, but they are not “entitled according to our Beicish standard ro strengthen ce by giving [eheie] personal guarantee of their being made in good games of chance, you can play a filse card to deceive an oppone' allowed to score points you have not got fF refuse to follow frat any rate that Justification for this “does not sanction the employment of the lie direc” (emphasis added). This is a most interesting idea and deserves to be compared with modern-day ‘There are some who claim thatthe public does not mind politicians claim thatthe code in politics 1at the direct lie is unacceptable, Dicey elaborates: Inall other things, a» 17s justly regarded a6 rads to upset the ‘on the one on poli nes expressed its view that ‘William Waldegrave at wlas Lyell, ewo stvs under John Major, should te ing the revelation ately mised Parliament by relax ig atms sales to Iraq, which permitted the sale ted equipmen 1 ise of unliarian philosophy, the absolutst tance has come increasingly , Henry Sidgwick, a late nineteenth-century British philosopher, argued talpable inva viously, truth-tlling is enormously beneficial here are good utiitat ing as something that might be rejected rout Ager treats that slippery slope as obviously abhorrent. Contemporary Discussion: Bok and Nyberg SISSELA BOK 1a Bok has resisted the slippery slope, while not position. She might be regarded as hol ive message which red.” She argues that the wrongness of lying comes from the following: fete sa societal need for a minimum of ust. Lies tend to erode this. As she “The aggregate harm from a large number of marginally harmil instances in the end—for lias, those deceived, and honesty and trust more generally us onepter four » BTHICS AND PROPAGANDA to beings which are ends sider how we would ju the benefits they want to achieve. The flaw in such an outlook. ignores or underestimates two additional kinds of har does to the las chemselves and the harm done to the general level of trust and co-operation. Both are cumulative; both are hard to sevens." wg: one volun Lying involves loss of integrity, a kind of double-entry bookkee {or those to whom one lies, another for one’s own accounting, will need, as the Romans observed, a good memory. The loss of integrity is some thing regretable on its own account, because with that loss goes some of our sense of well-being. Those who lose a Sense of integrity are in constant d: revealing this loss (0 others in their speech and actions, Thus, they are in con= stant danger of forfeiting one of life's great assets, the sense others have are trustworthy individuals. 3. The liar wants to be believed, but lying undermines cy. There is an element of se-contradiction and a vil izability principle. hharms to come from a contemplated lie, Bok gives us the following prac for what is accepeable: ‘The same test can usefully be applied to evaluate the ethies of propaganda 19bility © onganize and shape the world, iat lies are so built into the fabric of ou vveryday dealings w be ehinkit sd to. a boat trip, and she jut Mr. Ramsay sees the baromet ¢ 18 no chance of going,” cnapter four » BCH Mas. Ramsay’ esponse was astonishment ings. Nyberg analyzes th sionshi ‘morality. Fis mind was ranged n palette sway, where "lies bly would agree ddescrpt ‘where most people probi- ‘We are confronted in ray be unclesr and debatable. Marial sats, cfrestlence, state of health, and so on may involve uncertainties, the nature of which dex may not have a right to know or, indeed, any dire n knowing, Ie is understandable that one intelligent approach to form ‘oneself why the information is needed and to provide whatew fal interpretation of one's situation "Here is an analogous example. Suppose your name is misspelled card, and you want to retrieve it fom the athletic lub after you finish playing 4 sistent with an honest assess line-up are geting impatient 1g 10 do 50" fume, Augustine and venience to others and oursel inane would not properly be considered a lie ition called. ing case-by Law. There are many good things ¢0 bei AUD THE STHTCS oF PERSUASION chapter four » ETKIOS AND PRO! and Stephen Toulmin have said them in The Abuse of Casuitry. What brought casi pate was the use of highly contrived distinctions to rationalize some 1n of moral or legal duties, Sometimes the distinctions were and justifiable, but at other times they could be stretched beyond what Idaccept. One useful device was that of mental reservation com= sd with the dilemma of telling the truth and vio~ ‘ras 0 use equivocal much harm to confidence in human assurances, If we cannot interpret meaning the ordinary way words are understood, but must constantly be on the look~ ‘out for hidden meanings, communication will become too complicated. David Hume combated 1 5 Treatise of ‘which he insisted thatthe obligation ofa promise depended on the conventional meaning of word, not on some unorthodox interpretation placed on them by 2 hidden intention: “The expression the principal pa tho” he secredy give a himself both from 3 re is present according to ave money for you at this time, Mental reservation may be dif tions must be maintained. Nyberg rel id quartered. The Dean of Durham wrote about the testimony. of a certain Father Ward toa Jewish family who had _gressively padding herself with layers of clot ‘pregnant, None were surprised when 2 new baby ap was no priest, that sith he (na subsequent explanation), bours to keep them from asking questions about where the baby came fi “The need for invoking mental reservation can be avoided if we accept N\ character and rights of the person addressed. Just as Gr intending assassin has no right co the eruth, Nyberg take “The very ideas of true and false are inappropriate and irrele not enter asa possibility.” the murderer interprets dhe wor is theory) because the second meanin servation opens the door to a bass for widespread distrust, technically provides an escape from lying. It may do asc8 oF PERSUASION ‘The proposal may work well with jokes, irony, and other cases where people know ne blamey. But in the joke seious underwriting of what s staightforwardly ‘course, one can have serious thing to say through jest). By contrast, share with the respondent the sense that a new game is being pled, We expected to be treated 3s true or filse? Quite likely introduces the important dist ultimate ends” and the xtomized by the Semon on the Mount call co imitate Jesus Chast or St. Francis by eschewing violence ing nds through means othe _ responsibility” aces lence of others euthfulness. At 10 publish docu placed blame on ‘without regard t0 an unleashing of the later hyper-inflation which resulted from i paved the way for Hitler's rise. The ethies of conscience reveals the truth pens to posess, without regard for the consequences of doing so. The bel agains injustice inthe world by testifying to pure can have only exemplary v ‘an outcome quite contrary to the good int iis fine to hold an aust fe true and filse apply does not seem convincing, and wwe ae led back to Grotius’s view. Perhaps if the assassin knows in advance that isa Nybergian, then he knows that there is 2 game in progress, he will take no account of the respondent's answer, the context of entertainment Justify uttering falsehoods is lifted com- ly lied if communicator and communicatee are Jp solve crime or deter murderers and robbers for a ‘magistrate to announce that victims or thei relatives and friends should tu ‘other cheek and only do good by forgiving their enemy." By contrast, the ethics of responsibilty allows one to exercise power with effective consequences for law and order. Party politics in modem democratic soci- pandering to a wie vay of ten groups and ympthinng wh says, the politician “lets himself for the diabolic Having sid that and having recognized that poli the heart, Weber cautions against “windbags” who a a strongly Christian era, when attention focused on eternal life, it was appalling to think that some souls would be led In the light of that chought, executing a few ro be a small price to pay, especially ince the 10 has his admiration and suppo: need for taking acco: ssup THE BTEICS OF PERSUASTON luke; such 2 person retains some vision of what is right, which has motivated him or her fom the beginning. 4 of the character of those making decisions as wel effects of these decisions on others. There is no simple ethical formula, ‘he welitaian for example, which can operate co lighten che conscience ofthe politi there both etlucs are pertinent gives us politicians with ‘obuined afer the police did n his sister was trying to reach rogation was planned. ee fs ‘one lose one’ ‘would prevent guiley suspects from confessing. rules will allow evildoers to escape punishment them morally in ee ing so would likely encourage furure rights-vio~ ® authorities, As Walzer notes, this makes the general public, which Prosecution of well-intentioned public officab, a party to diry- and kills, and we must make sure loss of principled people from government service following. this theory, with more eynical people aking their places, resulting public "Imacher, an Australian psychology professor, deals with the diny- na way that resembles in one respect Nyberg’s treatment ». he demarcates an area where the ordinary rules governing not just lying but ect of morality do not apply, The rules of morality are only ransacuble within ional ethical rule-holiday is subje ie morality (0 be protected, felmacher’s theory is dangerous because of a humat stable society in which institions can flourish, so the fist priority will increase one’s power. Without m ‘tablish those institutions, and that will require force of soae kind. Here, ity, officials may find it much too conv worm of pacifism is ultimately selidestructive, because absolute pacifism ik : “ on enforcement of the rules establishing the institutions. A key ch more severe measures to keep “law and order.” Eventually injustices may be Knopfelnacher mak ‘the motal norms were always absolutely valid, chey 156 7shapter four « RYWIeS AND 2ROFAGaHD i AND THE ETHICS oF PERSUASTON he theft of the Parti Québécois membership the same as ly lie, A Commi whether the existing onder deserves to rhrow may in some circumstances be preferable. view promotes a certain elitism, allowing. late some people at fentional norms for the good of everyone. Pl “ir eis eee oo | ee stacy aoe tha ee een Wado nd sl oer eo ae ty lume stopr ata nde of ilegalities being commited be unacceptable not 10 volun In answering 2 question ftom the comm unequivocally that the Force had meant ne for by law?"—an assistant commissioner Inall ofthese eases, the holders of power decided that decey ‘was forthe public’s own good. The RMP were ‘glattempes to promote the breakup of Canada and. ideal Republic, Plato also advocates euge keep secret from the people, Only the very best men In order to get the right people to breed, tS to be jealous, breeding takes place during festivals and People are chosen for breeding ostensibly by lottery, but in fict the alleged way people can blame luck rather than the system. Young, have more frequent intercourse with women, Inferior to clandestine euthanasia, while the children of superior communal créche, and parents are kept from knowing those involved in the illegaliies. But, Oliver North ran for public office in his role in the Iran-Contea affair; Margaret ‘Thatch tructive of a state as it is ofa ship. cory is not helped, for modern audiences, by the exam= ‘theory, which parallels his Phoenician parable, has been by its genocidal application by Hitler. However, the ‘of governing people have the ri violations of the rule of law have been strongly cond © view has a substantial body of acceptance, not just among the elite, but am the masses, who perhaps are not always enthusiastic about the responsibilities Nicaragua. The deals were contrary to US policy, ee the deception was justified * The British government ublic over the cicumstances of the 1982 159cama F PERSUASION MISLEADING WITHOUT ACTUALLY LYING nany ways of misleading people already encountered 1 Accuracy in Repor to downplay been accounted for ‘An overvote refers to such things a a voter punching the ‘same and writing in the same candidate's name, “Since lear, these are clearly valid votes under Florida law,” own finding that if her, Hans Cl 7 'n, has observed how important eval nicated by subs is of attention brought about by changes ta decided to modify its te conciliatory gesture wat made n [United States of America,” but co “dhe people ofthe United Sea, whole new entry, speak, always been waiting there, dommant, yearn. aly forthe gad tidings, or “the people of Portugal var regime.” Among Allied nations ceased to exist; Germans were always nut actually lying, We have of equivocal language and the ease of misleading by claiming that he was un- A wealth of recent examples is regularly pro- is such as Jim Naureckas’s 2000 presidential election, Al jews, and women have all been designated at one time as tly foetuses in the womb have been so regarded in le US, and some philosophers would not Photographs of civilian dam Grenada, Irag, and Afghanistan have been. conspic ‘media, as ght control over journalistic activity cam itary in the post-Vietnam era 2. Presupposing. Paul ‘ide a maximum of sional space. This principle, since such viola confidence in it and inthe value of conversation accordingly. We da not sy ‘we presume people know already. Paradoxically, when we do say things people are presumed to know, we can ci example, one ‘nuight begin a fone to make such a ‘ay not co omit, to say things we think people will not know inporant for undestanding what we ate wing to corms The falsely presupposes the existence of the rumour, making people alert to This kind of denial aso stimulates “psychological availability,” described earlier. and so conditions people to be recepave to the relevant rumio\ has provided a fine example hat I have not seen myJANDA AUD THE ETHICS OF FRRSUASION onapter four » BYAICS AND PROPAGANDA chat [have not seen her, drunk THE ETHICS OF COMMUNICATION feel I have misled you.” Jargen Habermas ovards a eargeted individual or group is to asociate the person with negative hap- ppenings oF feaeures, The connection may be a6 tenuous 25 contiguity of picture and unrelated story in a newspaper, which, when repeated, is bound 0 have Jing and fecling. Fred Landis describes convincingly Jorgen Habermas points out how the goal of tuthfal com tured adequately when we focus our concems only upor ‘Austin’s wings, in pas in certain contexts do thing ue by the fac of their uterance. Typically uterance, because it docs not report preessaing insatutes a promise under appropriate ci Habermas posts cert nules 3s undesiying communication.” Allssnoothly anc tioning Language ress on a background consensus, formed trom the nition of a least foue diferent types ‘ed by newspapers opposing left-wing leaders, the Daily Gleaner of Jamaica.” ofthis technique was US Senator Joe McCarthy, whose ‘was asociated in one way oF elling on whether the association was significant o not. The the context of 50 many Communists helped cha dhe target shared the same political persu 4 dick, and astociates with ducks, I assume crc encouraged ile, writen with McCarthyism in mind, drew kind of attack could have. Anyone who spoke found themselves eargeted, and fear worked to a some potential targets became more interested wing damaging associations oF drawing attention to their own possible “ Of course, there are many diferent ways in which to make use of itself asociates McCarthyism with early American ‘4 is appropriate forthe speaker to be performing the speech act. Habermas thinks that a speaker i always accountable fo these norm ingfulness, truthfulness, sincerity, and appropriateness. One way of ¥ mn. In Canada when Progressives ‘was challenging Liberal leader Pierre ‘ured on television fumbling a foot single event created the impres- “Truth in the largest sense, Habermas thinks, will be linked with the intention re only a ew of many examples where one can mislead without actue | €© promote the good and tue life. If we want to evaluate the ruth o ally lying. Its ime to examine the ethics of such practices.DA AMD THR ErHICS OF PERSUASION fealty, everyone should very far ons the ideal speech situation. The propa- a case of warranted asentability. Habermas's theory is well cy, because it ultimately favours development of the mode of presentation (perhaps 1 example) might discredit legitimacy. A view might imately according to the test. easonably require constrain could open the door to great Ov e light of the transparency or opaque~ ir discourse and of the opportunity tor rebuttal Richard Whately dons." He recognizes that ns is considered a dishonest device accepting what they would not accept by reason alone, 164 chepter four » BEHICS aND PROPAGANDA tions to persuade people to do thing the will with improper appeals, b says it seems “commonly taken for granted that whenever the feli they are of course over-excited.” Bus, he says, the reverse is at least as often the ‘case. That is, people are ofien dispassionate and disinterested when they should be moved to action: ‘The more generous fein ‘even rational and righty. defective dhan excesive and that. ev Hope, and Fear ae 0 the esiation of the pares selves, i they are well-principed, judicious, reflective, and candi He is surely right in his claim that appeals co emotions are not ‘wrong, and may well be justified in a majority of cases. Along the way Likewise, if we want to feel angry, we can think about some conspicuous injus- tices or stupidties resulting inthe deaths of worthy individuals, perhaps from: une’ cesary contamination of the water supply. [fwe want to feel calm and bei fe might reflect on the lives of people who have borne s Whately’s words: ithe sa sincere Christian, he mediates 0 ager having been himself forgiven, claimed payment with ngid severity his fellow-servant; and on other similar lesions of scripture. ‘Whately understood well, with Quintilian, that people's emotions can be stirred not just by exhortation, but aso by descriptions. [cis one thing to say some~ ‘one was Wounded, but itis much more moving to describe the wound in decal In today’s world, we recognize that television pictures of starving children can be 165IME RDELCS OF FERSUASTOS ng than the miere statement that so many children have been ‘that appeal so emotions can be justified, Whately nevertheless cs a portant ethical problem connected with emogonal appeals people is likely to be some negative fom the humiliation of being 1 presents itself is the apparent necessity for some lack. Jomething wrong with a method of persuasion that nent at having our emotions ut though we agree the job needs to be done. If thats so, lack of candour, even though we thich we are the targets ofthe emo- right for the trafic cop to gave it to ‘we are talking about the case where the emotion is nightly called forth, ‘emotions are manipulated forthe special interests of the orator, o approve, we have good reason to object morally to the metho PARTY FEBLING cnepter four = BTiICS Whately observes that party feeling the kind of feling that we ‘come to take precedence oves ‘come to prefer the power, the leadership, and the glory to finding acceptable solu- can lead to dis vondemuns not party feeling as suc four causes leading to this excess: the di likelihood they might make inaccurate ‘We should femperament and outlook are for that reas of'any question, instead of being exclusively occupied in answering every ‘ib ble chat may be brought forwards. The argumé those who are opponents, or of warning others away +r words, we should be thinking about the likely ampact of what itis likely to accomplish our objective. swe say, and whe hould avoid thinking that we understand some~ ye name is familia. hing merely by the f4 uD THE BIHTCS o PERSUASLON f the argum allows that reaction may son ails are lai atthe door of our opponet in against these evils, in our own cond charitable in interpreting the motives of others, we may find ourselves aggravat- Ing the very errors we oppose,” he wrote iral of violent activ- hheart by politi onvention notwithstanding) and with the goal of peace. We alkeady seen how the atrocity propaganda in World War 1 built up hatreds ste the Punitive provisions of the Treaty of Versailles so hard to re ws the seeds for World War 1 le of the hazards of making use of existing racial or nationalist sterco= i can be found ina description, prior to World War 1, by the noted ar of crowd poychology, Gustav Le Bon, of his own attempts at shaping opi ‘omni. A park in a Paris suburb was threatened with developme re not aware ofthis because the official name of the patk, Villeneuve do not necessarily lead ‘not to sell the park: future. Le Bon succeeded, in a good cause. However, he also ‘The attitudes harnessed in his appeal, and thus reinforced by it, led shortly ¢o total war, and a generation after that to genocide. ‘With hindsight, one can say that Le Bon’s tactic was unethical becaus acting as an early urban environmentalist saving a ‘mating a public good, thus providing a mitiganng ly, while good arguments have been levers in persuasion, there is offen resentment aga ‘mentioned above. These reasons become magnified when propagandist and pro~ pagandee strongly disagree about the morality of the end the propaganda is pounding the wrong, Furthermore, ‘win over a sizable part of the pop side getting an adequate Appropriate style aio makes the fact appear credible: for che mund ofthe hearee is imposed upon under the impression thatthe speaker i speaking the truth, the ease athe speaker puss them; and the hearer always sympathSonera teen cen ererentcrtecetieie| onepter four » ETHICS AND PROPAGABD, worth defending, a le dat disadvantaged individ real objection mountable on the basis of auronomy-violation, ‘The reverse side of this picture isthe alltoo-willing acceptance of propaganda under circumstances when it is unworthy to do so. Some people do not want to have the agony of decision-making. They would rather leave the problems of religion, lif, and morality, co institutions such as the politcal saviour. So they give their asent to propaganda, This ‘nant themes: so many people wane life to be simpler, and propaganda in we speak or write in a cert that may demand fom we ignore a1 of passion in order to ne pure, distilled, objective truth, we may fall into a diferent kind of sgainst oneself in forfeiting an as propagandist bec: partly enslave some willing pe and the constant study of challenging © and ifone accepts CONCLUSION: PROPAGANDA AND AUTONOMY *w expression of their autonomic choices. Without suct the argument is sound that wilingnes to be propagundized ot automatically legitimize the propaganda, More will be said 1e context of arguments from John Stuart Mill in the nex Propaganda, in the light of the definition we have adopted, involves manipula . emotional pressure, appes ses the autonomy of individual is infringed, un individuals give approval to this activity. For exan ie may prefer not to know the wh NOTES 1 See for example Leviticus 20-10-18, contd with 1918 and widh Marthe $449 and erson would be deemed to accept. Autonomy in that way iged, ever2 BYuLes of PERSUASION Albert R. Jone and Sten Toul, The Abwe of Camtsry: A Hisiny ‘Weskeley, CA: Univernty of California Pres, 1988) 205 “6 “ " s ” chapter Zour » Br [Nature ed LA. Seby-Bigge (0888; Ondo Chrendow Th At Peon ince Books, 2000) London: Methuen, Frank Knopelmacher, (New South Waler Pergamon P Sphere Books, Commission “Harvard University Pres, 185) Example taken frm Trudy Govier, Slated I CA: Wadowort, 1988) Fred Landi, “1a Paychoogicl Warfe February 1983) mND 8B EIUIOS OF PERSUASTOY ‘Thomas McCarty (Boston: Bescon Pres, 1979). exis. Dec quotes in hit eat ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS ETHICS Propaganda, in the English-speaking world, primanly with ideology or political power. This is n ing world, where the word for advert the early 1980s when I took out a casified advertiser samples of propaganda, Vorldpaper appears as a suppl around the globe and is published in Spas Ei only commercial advertisers responded. Des isa close similarity between ideological, political, and commercial form ‘ st so far as principles of persuasion are conicemed, The same of related ethical issues. Together, advertising, se relative, public rela~ ‘sons, shape public consciousness. While the former is direcly concerned with ‘encouraging purchases, the latter is more diffuse, secking to improve the image of a corporation, to resist government control, encourage investm head off consumer boycotts, and the lke. In both cases questions of ethics in com~ ‘munication arise as important issues. Whether or not we apply the term “propa- study of chem is bound to contribute to our undentanding ‘propaganda, fons god: and Richard Lanham, ey (New Haven, CIN: Yale Univenity Pre, 983) 26 ADVERTISING Advertisements give n stitute paid-for space or time, some worthy charity or othe! there can also be paid-for political or ideological advertising. St “advertorial,” as when the space is used to publ torial, The ex Governme 15SUASIOS 1e subject of Chapter 6, Here, our concem is with ression (0 the dry butts, stale th which are associated more accurately with the product. ¥g to condemn all advertising, since i¢ can perform a ve isa good example of valuable and. ture for sale, and you are looking for our mutual interest. ‘The image is designed to respond to basic needs and fashionable tends in opinion and attitudes. Much research will motivate a taryet audience. Early this century, Walter {basic motivat re to be appreciated by use Freudian theory; by the 19506, yers the opportunity to seek out sellers in a way literally imaginable only a few years ago. Not every business has an equal chance 0 use of for change, but aeady there have been clear wine losers, people with businesses ata tn to be paid for catchy, informative Website ret use search engines, which pic all rele= ave the right name, you have an advantage 103¢ ying t find you. [eis to early to predict vill shape the future world, but itis cle potential is ev- ‘lutonary, and that anything said about advertising today must be qualified by that Currendy, the Intemet is largely unregulated, but the major service have an enormous edge in influencing how people will we it. The fsion vice provider Amica On Line (AOL) with the publishing and enter- a consciously-fostered chapter five » ADVERTISING cxD PUBLIC RRL: ‘ainment colossus Time-Warner isa signal as to how this future may develop: the AOF user is greeted with advertisements crowded onto the home page, at least for ‘hose starting up, and e-mail inducements buy’ oF sign up for some “fee” ser- vice of the en tainmient and publishing branch of the company. Harms from Advertising ‘When an advertised product actually causes predictable harm, the advertiser may responsibility for such harm by virtue of s of the product. TI ‘women; the presentation of a of greed, envy, of by susti light of environmental concerns. The means may also be immediat through noise, visual pollution of the landscape or cityscape, and the like A reasonably comprehensive catalogue of complaints against advertising itcudes the following: . pethaps foremost, in terms of number of compl ies set up to monitor advertising, is that adve often is misleading, benefits come from linking an interested sell sted buyer, by let Potential consumers become aware of what is on offer and for wh ‘Any misleading bit of information is likely to cause frustration, either highs indicated, or from discovering that the product is not what was expecte bly being required, for example), or that the product does not perform as indi~ cated, Su received by dif 2. Women have so often been demeaned in advertising that th in a category of ts own. Among che many offensive ways in 4 portrayed, the following are some recurring themes from fash hho, cigarette, and laundry detergent advertisements: woman bodies, in need of weight-loss, skin-care products, hair conditio1 are acceptable targets of Sexual vio~ treatment of very young gies a sex products asociated with Imagery that encourages the idea t the material goods advertised, ie encourages anti-social behaviour. Automobile televi- inonly irresponsible in this regard, featuring reckles= beyond safe limits. Tobacco adv addictive, polluting, and disfiguring habit by suppress of bonding, friendship, good times, sophisti- we extent to which a gam Particularly offensive are mis- at a person has already won smnation when they are used as purchase objects, The book~ mntifical Council for Social chapter five» ADVERSISING AND PUBLIC Bi ETHICS Cola, after buying Columbia Pictures, give a subtle, or perhaps nor so subde, boost A further unwelcome effect of this form of advertising is the creative process. As Miller writes: “The mie of product placement has, however, damaged movie narrative not filmmaking profesional an purely quanciative universe of the £03. All the scenes, shots, and lines mentioned above rep tion by advertising of those authoral prerogatives once held by director sereeniwriters, at dsectors ad set designers—and by studio heads, who erally cared ab ms were made, whereas the managers now in charge ate thinking only of their annual reports! the wsarpa ‘The Pontifical Council of Pope John Paul pher, took note of the problem at a more lta playwright and philoso- level langor audiences and deliver ther ro adver- ves tempeed—in fct pressured, sub and moral standards and apse squalor. s put more emotional pressure on a targeted promote hygiene or safety are com- but often the objective can be reached by means other than use of the particular product advertised. Iti especially abhorrent when the makers of for~ ‘mula milk suggest to inhabitants of developing countries that their children wall be less healthy if they are breast-fed. The reverse is generally the case, not just because of the natural antibiotic content of the initial breast-feeding and of the 19tudes are shaped, as well as followed, by advertising, Think space taken up by the thousands of messages asaulting lier generations memorized poetry aud so he case of these and other jingles and slogans is that they take in one’s mind in the place of more important and fBct they may have many ig and wonder s. Many advertisements appeal to power and dominatio ‘or women over men. Products are marketed on the basis that ower ofthe purchaser to attract and use another for sexual ion. The socially valuable relationships of love and compassion. the most pemicious rly the Canadian Advertising Foundation /le Conseil shich drew up and enforces a Canadian Code of and Gender Portrayal Guidelines. There is aso a Broadcast to Children, published by the Canadian Association of | Standards Canada (Asc), for use in ivertisement is aired. If an advertisement is found to be various media and companies that par- Prepare or catty it in its objection Report, there are 14 clauses.” For many est frequently complained-about code violations concerned Clause 1 icy and clarity, Under this pro, chopter five » ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS THICS direct or implied, with regard to price, availability, or performance of a product or service.” The focus not the inten information in a manner which, inthe result, is decept learly and understandably stated.” Any disclaimers and foot ‘must not contradict more prominent aspect and should be located and pres advocacy advertiser le generated more c other. This was the newly adopted Depictions and Portrayals,” which deems unacceptable adverts done any form of personal discrimination, appeat to “expl ippear to encourage or be indifferent to conduct oF ati- ndards of public deceney among 4 significant segment of the population.” Of the 1.075 complains received by ASc in 1990, 365 involved Clause 14, Sis ‘complaints, including thee petitions signed by 54 individuals, were lodged against 4 Quebec brewery, Brasede Sto, fora print advertisement identifying a woman a the new sex symbol forthe advertisers product in a campaign directed at men. ‘Complainants said the advertisement was offensive and contemptuous towards Website, che inued. There were 563 complaints based on Clause 14, splints concerning Clause 1 1er upheld complains in 1999 revealedinstead of one complete her was against Volkswagen ‘le. During the chase, the driver was vers, driving under the forks ofa forklift ruck, and, istegard for safety or vurage unsafe or dangerous practices, oF against xia Canada Inc. for 3 commercial Jevision, “two women drivers aggre san be argued that the code provisions presented in the adver- ‘experience that we take behavioural cues n which real bargains are offeted only in allowed unless there code violation to attack com= naking such representations, and about or experience wi not be otherwise deceptive. lowed, and “any scientific, professional or authoritative tothe Canadian context, unless otherwise chapter five » 2OYEROISTN advertisers dency effect” in advertising. Deri Galbraith’ the expression draws attention (0 the propensity of to create wants, rather than to satisfy existing wan, Cres ‘a good example. Many benefits are recognized ment level of the target audience was 10 unit choose. The advertising convinces the audience that they are rather misera ing, ear, ec while their content In the case of eigaretes, addict ated by the nicotine in tobacco. By cre= 183| } fest, this dependency is fraughe with wroblems, which eend to outweigh the pleasure involved. a good case for asserting that the net effect from the advertising is neg- i advertising is a mass phenomenon, it can advertising 2 spurious product gives rise to real wants IFenough people ha ‘or model of ca san indication of status, cular gemstor ssseeker exactly what is desired. scseekers, satus-seeking is sucker trom his money Intersections. The the bricks after a ad many people aking off bit of someone's very dis- posible income fora bit of harmless foolery, on the one hand, and creating serious dependency on the other, Not everyone i immune to social disapproval of others, the disapproval ison spurious grounds. The environmental, ecological, and other damages resuling from excestve consumption of goods area major con- by the kind of advertising that links stars with acqui- © the junking ofthe old. The dea looking at effects of both production and consumption of advertised product, along with the socal repercussion ofthe atuitudes and belief uuraged by the advertising messages. should also be reckoned into the moral equation dhat most of us would be ippy to le ‘our happines is founded on an ils 1g possibility of exposure to the truth and with it che destruction of such hing even more fundamental is at stake here; recall be a dissatistied human than a satisfied pig ith, we cannot be satisfied with In such a case, there okapter five » aDVERIISING AND PUBLIC HELATIOU ‘What we might do, gies on eradicating the dangerous kind PUBLIC RELATIONS ETHICS respond to requests for such identification. Ifthe yrskiled public relations practitioners, this diminution was latest study conducted in 1999 for the US Commis Education and the US National Communication Associ fession developed in the US in the twentieth century largely in response « 1¢ large-scale corporati media, News reports sequent demands for government intervention, created a need for both some kind of “damage control” and, more importantly, some means of heading them off before they happened. From the very beginning, public relations was a me focused and media-conscious activity. Today care [of] virtually ev vious. A public relations advisor will need to know what treated as newsworthy by what vehicles of information dissemination and will need in order to foster personal contact with key'S OF PERSuasion ie truth, might be misinterpreted by the message recipi« iostile message receiver will look for any phase that ean be reat triumph for jouralisin when wed by intrepid reporters, and appropfiate prosecutions ading to better, more honest institutional operations in prefers chat the matter be cleaned have all the bad publicity. From the very beginning, question: “which interests should predominate ‘This question needs some philanthropic institutions, but for-profic institutions ‘much more than a concem for public welfare, and every he greatest need for public relations advice comes when the ‘of the public diverge, nd suet ft aain. Despite che the truth undergoes some shaping and ‘olouring at the hands of skilful pz practitioners. _ To di st the activities to the public state ie founder of public relations. Befor of chapter five » ADVERETSING ay PUBLIC the Practice of Public R. America ‘hat its members will act according co principles reflect dividual and of human right, along with the feeedoms of speech, assem- bly, and the press guaranteed in the US Bill of Rights. According tothe code, men- bbers must conduct their professional lie in accordance with the public i with honesty and integrity, dealing fairly and adhering to che truls mall cases, and avoiding the dissemination of informauon known to be fuse of misleading to the public and which might disrupt or corrupt the media or the government. Moreover, members must be willing to disclose the names of their clien is less elaborate, bur still provides according to the highest professional have called attention to ways in which the oblig~ ations of public relations practitioners to thei clients can be at odds with the pro~ chimed ethic concems for the public good and forthe highest standards of honesty ‘truth, Peter O’Malle ‘the impact. duration and even the elarty of any resulting reporting and ppablic communications. Thi is called crisis avoidance and damage conteol ‘As weall know, it comsiutes large part of what we do fora living. [vial what many cic ain-relieving pill, were victimized by someone fons into bottles on drugstore shelves (this, by the way, led to the applying safery seals to the ids of man oducts). On the other han pability is high, asin the Bhopal disaster—a chemical leak fron that affected thowsands—or the Exvon Valdez sinking —U aground and broke up, causing severe environmental and ecological "damage control almost always means being highlyub 42 BOKTCS OF PERSUASION have knowledgeable people det information gets passed on volun sed in O'Malley's thinking may have affected a change ¢ following provision from a previous code was dropped 1993: "a) A member shall act primarily in the public interest in the prac~ ce others to act in a way which relations, the community, or the resumption of international boy= faccusations that the company once istibuting tree formula to clinics and hos Ogilvy and Mather gave advice to Nes sis have the potential co exacerbate the issue, create much than desced, and continuously fin! negaive in either new Ie che mics ask questions or want 1 judge and respond accordingy-—not inate. This avoids generating sore awareness of the inte ‘The same report alo advised Nestlé to help “inoculate” against bad publicity by ‘engaging in positive "do good” public service campaign to ive Camation (a Nestlé subsidiary that markets infune formula) a good image. For this the report recom- ter care for HIV-infected children and infants). 130 Hydro in 1990, following brownouts that ‘obrained a copy of a report prepared by Goldfirb Consultants and presented to ‘io Hydro officials eaaler that year. Ina newsletter, Norman Rubin, the foun- son's director of nuclear research, detailed some of the advice in the report. The ws there were few oF no brownouts and blackout. Th began to experience brownouts in parts of the pr Rubin, “over 4 period of several months, Hydro denied repeate eport existed, even though Hydro was required by law to divulge which secrecy iments to divul requitements Si hical to sustain the strategy of secrecy under those c= ‘oumstanees, it sets the sage for a public relations disaster if such a strategy were adopted Sound public relations advice, therefore, is against embarking on such a strategy ing the ethics of ying. The same test can be usefully ld it look in the light of which not all decep Iaind of reasoning can apply here as well Ivy Lee and the Ethics of Public Relations Its notable that one relations, Ivy Lee behaviour inthe profess the need to be upfront about the funding source of any camp: sd below. Lee is well-known in American Fx ranked him the most outstanding Px figus ‘century. Called "Poison Ivy” by labour sympathizers for his deceptive use of press releases on behalf of John D. Rockefeller's Colorado coal mine interests and other large corporations, he was a major force in developing of pe. He realized that companies could benetit greatly by taking public rl account early in a planning process rather chan after the fact, when. trous policy mistake had been made ‘Lee preached at times a rather austere Px morality, not always consistently maintained, except with respe above, However, some doubr if his practice was consis ‘company in the public mi ‘hon with any lick of ethics. Supposing that a comy it may be wise for the company to hite px consul “The consultanes cau help by pointing ou the risks from engaxinig 189NDA AND THE ETHICS OP PERSUASION a given job, always allowing for the af dscovered, will end to discredit the finn making may we have seen. Ifa firm has been thus tinted, potential clients will Jed for the decision to do so wall reflect badly. That is the ld try to ensure it does not get caught in unethical practices. practitioners generally are concemed that the profession not be tthical practices that might tempe ae firm? The Public 9 Amenca has made statistics available conceming cases brought joard or Pancl between 1952 and 1985. Out af 165 cases, 75 there was “adherence to truth, accuracy, stan “engaging in practices that corrupt the chan- and 21 pertained ting to serve one cause but actually serving an rided 26 million towards the church of Harry Fosdick, a modernist preacher who proclaimed a message of tolerance and con- cillation between fundamentalists and modernists. Conciliation and cooperation, from antagonism and competition, were ideas that conveniently suited the carteborientation of Lee and the oil interests. Fosdick was on the board of the 90 60 192t. Lee, ick and his belie Society” conceals to a significane exte money. Wh oriented group, their reach in the sense of controlling voices not likely 10 be them, Asan example of this power, consider wat appeared newspaper in 1993 about the weakening of the Ontario government’ resolve (© curtail the sale of cigaretes by raising the egal age for tobacco sales to 19 and ban ning the ale of cigarettes in pharmacies and hospitals, A spokesperson for the eros Canada chain, Shoppers Drug Mart, was quoted as ‘oppose the action and that a court challenge ro the law would be a possiblity not worth the battle, because ifthere isa constitutional challenge they wor and it’s not one of the governn important pieces of lognlat the story did not reveal was that Shoppers Drug Mart, which had 67 across Canada that year, was part of the Imasco group of companies. through its Imperial Tobacco cigarette brands, du Maurier, Matinée, a wufictured cigaretes in Canada.” In another ise, newspaper, hoping as the source of the releases was properly identified. Newspaper editors could make their own judgments about news value, To abject ro this practice, he said, was Ia newspaper is owned by a large business it reports will fvour those business woraE oHICS OF FERSUASTON Lee likewise con- ‘promoting in schools, ‘opposed to public ownership ible or a certain expr ndorsed the “inflexible tuted by James Gordon Bennett I: Herald of allowing no anonyme ached to disclosure of a source's identi «things done by “carrying outa eruthful lowed this principle. His advice to the copper by a story that alcoholic liguids distilled in 1s get nto a ba make signs and filly articulate a literal falsehood, but can ’s moral is more revealing imess occurring when one com .pend large sums of money on public relations, while anothe ‘cutbacks to even basic legal aid, the outlook of Stadler Hotels. Their regular adv widest-circuation magazines in the nei wonderfl service. The purpose was primaly influence the tif themsel It was a clever bit of psychology, but somewhat ma told to worker, likely generate some, although probabl ‘ous, gesentment at this trickery.” One reason why’ Lee had few scruples about giving one-sided ac ‘events was that he saw that even public officials were uncertain abou 4 part ofthe fats, ¢o distort ther relations, and to force conclusi not be drawn from a complete and candid survey ofall the fats.” "We don'e wane any propaanda.” However, a the very time Coolidge made those remarks, hs Secretary of the Treasury, Andrew Mellon, was carrying om judged to be an active propaganda campaign on behalf ofthe Mellon P| involved reducing taxes on the rich, First presented to the House Ways and Means Committee in 1923, the plan was passed media support. Lee commented: “What he [Mellon] did was to give a sl ofthe fics,” not a complete and candid survey ofall the facts. Lee argued against ’slip-service condermation of one-sided presen ically, “Can you kindly tll me of an that hypothetical case in a fog of relanvity orof PeRsvastos chepter five» ADVERTISING AND FUBLIO RELATIONS BTHICS ver force any con- ‘terms. However, ent ft Se the aoc, ‘gressional human rights caucus. A Kuwait gid, ident ac applied to promote gol tha cannot beso juste (other things being ‘year-old Nayirah, was discovered ater to be the daughter of Shaikh Saud al-Nasser equal). her story might have been treated with mote scepticis ibjective and objective asess- Lantos, co-chair of « ‘the goals seem reasonable, to the PR practitioners, informed of Nayirah’s identity, but the other co-chair, John Porter general public tS are in? In fact, the public is not he did noc know her identity, Hill and Knowlton contradict him eu all the pertinent facts by rx practitioners, who are content to follow wer {0 questions put by Li ir own subjective valuation. At the heart of chis problem is the one of gras Maclneyre of the cc's the fi ‘anportant a democracy versus elitism. My tentative conclusion (although more discus ‘hough, in saying thatthe rest of Congress and the public should have been informed: Judgment connected with. respect for democracy should discourage unfettered one-sidedness in presentations on policy matters. think people—members of Congress cereinly, and public—were enuited ro know the source of her tes Hill and Knowlton and the Gulf War: A Case Study” preoccupied with various fest « holidays, and by New Year's the story was ‘of Kuwaiti hospitals and left them there to di, while they to people's consciousnes. I story seemed to revel a deep-seated What we do not know, and cannot expect to find out, i the precise tion between Hill and Knowlton and all the dies Ws 195eeepc ensemrayanremeromene f PEReUASION 80 years, the fll truth about the corpse utilization story is worth c4 November 27, Dr. Ibrahim Bahbahani Council that he personally had buried 4o newbom ‘aken from their incubators, Accordin Hill and Knos a surgeon ashe claimed, but an ortho sd without examination co determine death, In a March interview with aac news, he said he buried around 30 and that he did not know whether or not the 120 babies buried by hi group asa whole (according to his testimony) were taken fom incubators at al 1990, when Amnesty International ing the story of 312 incubator baby deaths ganization had beet could get. The ce to the number of ve nid-January, US attention was completely diverted id action, The quest ‘of Amnesty Intemational, for example? In ‘my analysis, boch Hill and Knowlon and the Pentagon were heavily involved either in sippesio ve or lack of diligence toward finding and presenting the truth. A spoech 198 onepter five» ADVERTISING 24D given on April 20, 1993, by Tom Bic thar the company engaged knowingly in any des to evaluate the reliability of witnesses from whose testimony the bator baby deaths was derived. Recall that Ama national information from medical sources, bt by their Apnil 1991 report wrote: "Alt icluding a Red Ci claiming babies had died in we found no har Credible opinion in hospitals discounts the allegations Following the war, Kroll Associates was hired to determine, among other things, the igure also he evidence. The date ofthe incident supposedly 1990 by Nayirah alSabah when she visited Al-Adan Hospital is given only as “one day in late August." In other words, Kroll considered the reported incubator Kroll Associates, replied in a lete July 8, 1993, thatthe could say only that the incident occurred sometime 26, 1990. [ was puzzled ial records could not to maintain regularRSUASION eredence? Nayirah’ soldiers coming into the ‘more than seconds, hurryi for her safety. Itseems remarkable that between and a friend who was with her, the dite of tis incident cannot looks out 'uppose the following were true: The US, for defen {0 go to war agains Saddam Flusein. To do sport of the Am le, tur own research on the oct ait documented hundreds of gross abuses committed by Ira forces bbl he details? i acceptable co gain support ‘This answer does not settle the matter, for two reasons. Firs not ' genuine democracy, Second, a substantial number of people r benign purposes. But, every so lick of accountability encour, and openness in gover n-Contra scandal. Recut » eventually cyn ing the democratic process. This i go those subject ions. What if the actual decision, quite to be put wrong? The outrage against the supposed 3. ‘or baby deaths needs to be compared with the estimated 46,900 childses age five who died in Irag between January and August ryt as an indi of US-led bombing, civilian uprisings, and a ux economic embargo.” Use of decep= ‘we have seen, preempts the judgment of the people. It prevents such judge ‘ment fiom being made effective through choice of congressional representatives, by cutting it off from 2 grounding in proper fac, as distinct from grounding in selected information and misinformation disseminated by the powercholders by Lee fele very strongly that it was wrong not to reveal to an audience the source of a Px message. This prin ncubator babies case was violated ith regard to the American people and to all but few of the congressional caucus, ‘The argum« 's atives stakes involved and the many lives lost during the war and as a consequence ‘he marginal increase in msk to such of her relatives who may have remained ly provides a convincing justificati Although Lee was not as concemed as I am about one-sided presen hhope the evidence reviewed here will one-sided account Hill and gave of the incubator babies story contrib theieaccount, Hill and the contrary, since the sve the truth by pretend cd presentation Lee referred (0, continued ase, MacArthur and Middle EastPROPAGANDA ABD CHR ETHICS OP PHRSUASTON CONCLUSION sometimes argued that truth by itselfis morally indifferent and thatthe value ‘depending on the pragmatic implications of believ- {good does it do, it might be asked from this perspective, hase after and expose deceptions that no longer have a role to play? The war Kuwait was liberated, and exposure of deceptions will not undo any of tage. Maybe those involved in the deception should be commended 1g to bring about such good as came of the w: we Oper the responsibilty that goes with wilful blind- i about govern with all the resultane sufering Jcemingly superannuated questions of teuth has pragmat rnces that cannot be ignored ir grounding in truth, and we eannot be ‘tum our attention away from matters that ‘of falehood gives us a sense of protect mplete areal of Expos Orwellian world (or should one say the more may be that controls against tion raises issues of free cnepter five » ADVERTISING AyD FUBLIC RELADTOVS ETHICS Ponca! Counc 20. From the 1999 Ad Complains Report, avaible athe Advertsing Sadar to See Commission on Pblic Relons Education, Public Relation Eatin fr th ao Cemury, Outcber 1599. Online at ‘ue, 4 "To Sella Wat” demonstrated 0 wel hive 2 wt ery Eom me, give the age a 143th ae 1 Thos Ross, Senor Vice-President 10 Jae 199) and suppose they woul ave acces to kausedgeable sources, However, her age des have sna oe to phy: her ced was imponant at dhe ne of he tesiony, and being 15 caries peter ° st chapter Five ry atthe tne of her testimony 9 tener witha tayer-old ‘See Meluryre, “Ta Sell A War” Macarue 54 See Mile Ea Wath 5, Abo Unied Nations Secu {G7 November 190) 8/P¥. 2959.97; there Dr al fa ep also discredits dhe ‘Abde-Hhmana-Sura senate a Ames informacion which ed Alto pubbeied he figure of ). All cha ‘This form of meta-journalism would draw futher detal.' Today various Webs touted in similar ways, but falling ir shore 0 is in order, Jacques Ellul, ntemnet, He said chica ponsibiites OF wide ane ders, butts lary Ws fof computerized soci- suppose cht the benctis wall necesanly come npurer and formation devices enter an existing social Inevitably, informacion sytenis will become concentrated an 4... The orsinary citizen wil be given acces to information, but how -knaw where to ook for what he wants, which databank 10 Gp? Social privilege will How even more than now to he big administers, ‘uals, and presure groups or unions, whoever has the resources €0 get per= Canadian mainstream publi ver, without an advertising budget, how many know of wus dreamed ofa critical journalism that would soon, and would give cof the journal's experienced judgment as to the likelihood Jem, thus putting the reader on guard the technical possibility of such jour be found bed by Camus, Fa1e being one such i, for many people, is awareness of Wd. Can we expect a new era of democratic involve- information technology ney sureRner sinent information, rally develop 90 lew financed by the Mi it over to the privat the com the demise of cA panies access, Nonprofit and co port unl i anrently the Internet as plenty as National Capi vided eal ans pectic neat dscuson group since he erly 995 see een ancl poll op sp pene nerve costae ve. ne a8 crv, Will it also end thou heen alkeady happened i after the CRTCin rewearching the Oxtaws then T clicked to go back ne page I was linked ta CanWest another way of constraining the ied, another pops open in its place, le pom trade, The only way t0 ases isto shut down the computer. UNCERTAINTIES AND NEGATIVE FEATURES xed through xeously. This seems likely to 4c drop from $122.75 to less than $9 in a year. Some businesses have done ye Net. Secondhand booksellers have profited fiom this service, whieh bs books so much more efficiently than before. Judging from the Jess appears to profit as i and with each other, ‘ill the problem ‘keep them check certainty, IF access is and how the iew dean unregused nathoplace begs o semble corporate boar ocho one sre equ one ota tha oe pan. In ote seth ind ass mackeplace democracy meats dar demouny. which ee Mire ae varios coneepuons of sh del marketplace scopic rhepace iy mibodyg democracy ree ssconeary tothe ideal which involves fee buyel Sty eae. Ina monopoly sisaton ve among comple oes by oben. He tet jst among the polite le, that 3 nuskeplace waranted, although spec tres work eee to cre hat Soube the range of goverment sc conepton ofthe oe of govern ny, aconting fo which 3 comm _government involvement of aTwo different sets of questions arise. One deals with ues of media monopoly, since the Intemet theo nk, and delivery servi sues and the pi viewed the sender may operate trough another's Intemet service provider who knowingly per- be convicted, bue the capability of examining lack of knowledge looms large. takes us back value possible to be in direct ‘country and, more impor= nparalleled array of information perform its own seat n to others, Indeed, the operation. where anyone interested can simular happenings with ‘The dil seeker should guatd ap merely because they appeatt ist or rightist perspectives STRATEGIES FOR DEMOCRATIZING THE NET mn, which was very active in the 19703 to the community asoci Jno were frustrated by the way in which city plann reeds of developers, rather than by overall concern for expertise and knowledge to the public be effective at getting cert ‘came from profe traditional constraints clealy gave some volunteers ses wpe ‘may ako exist regarding journalists or public servants, that chey will ind some way.‘way to support alternative media, weads are removed through utilization the 19608, and in many wa properly needed for serving the public interest in Sealed src nthe own newspaper tier med sich public joumalism i to make i ease for ord + for ordinary cti= make intelligent deciions about public ales and to get these decisions cared fm rneareT ymalists—and here Charity credits Daniel this ares—ate those of raising the con- then allowing for public debate , promoting 6wo-W level of civility. Fi k by takin newspaper—the practice of elint= cand inating or reducing in-de} land explain some complex sues, Such complex articles are dlsficult to the matters they deal with are lficult, The ate of a good invest patience to tackle the matter Such materials be made available. Although these will be an influential minonty compared with * philosophy favours prod people, offen in a hurry, sensationalized or quirky news fon society, such as that of marrage.” His poi ses over serious ists, pethaps becaus existing hhave decided fo join with the Intemet rather than ve their ovm Website. In any case the parallel supply of ‘dumb-down” net should allow for some additional uncertainty about pursing pers hi rials on che fnWE BTHICS OF PERSI form of joumalism in the major media. Will people pay for it on paper when it free online? Susanne Craig, a media columnist for the Globe and s scooped the established press: “For vely unknown TheSmokingGun.com were fist its to Marry a Mulkimillionaire? ith a great many scoops, less sexy exclusiv y the Intemet is ikely to contribute to comparatively low cost of disseminating ideas on this re are people willing to do the research necestary to produce in-depth strongly interested in finding and reading those le extra time to post materials, Joumalists ‘mainstream media editors can now find igand to share this information among other journalists ‘made his living by analyzing goverament documents, pick~ ‘who currently lack society that may well jose who log on do not necessarily have equal access, There * inspeed and nature of access between, for instance, an chopter steht DeXOgeAcY, AMD THE TNTERUZT did not come through and texts lowly, Some will have the and suchlike. The ser and more “iMac” and the older Mac Classic What Others Have Said ‘THE INTERNET ENHANCES DEMOCRACY 1 whi showing him giving a speech. The quality of reproduction was s ‘campaigning. It appears that such access should provide a power ‘Capitol Advantage also provides a search editors, but only co senders with US addresses cffect. Those with money can use all the traditional means of pers dispoul to perstade ordinary citizens to send a certain message 0 the resentatives. The problem with the Intemet is information overload, SCEPTICAL ATTITUDES TO THE INTERNET ‘Some of those who have done a lor of thinking al at best, a qual (One stich person is Robert W. McChesney, protes and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madisfat the point is 's pessimism comes fom his asessment of the 1995 Communications ations ofthis act did not take place 25 a business tory, not a public policy nformed and mobilized citizenry ready cee had a chance to for new information supet-highway should the 19208 led the Aird Commission in id nonprofit public broad exactly another reason why the power i 80 1 peoples not expresed. You have one com nd before 1996 it was illegal 1 own more tions Act. Sic major media conglomerates sf magazines, newspapers, and the audie oe, AND ThE IxTwRNED for aught ‘ence of radio a pace i bbe able to radically transfoen as the concept of people gathern ‘Backbenchers juestioned why L was ev a just a question of criss in national soveret are “required ci restingly, McC procedure i Jame democracy ‘optimism, There are gener very quae eso for 0 & reach like-minded others: inive features, such asaap THE BT veasyisy ver vareally the whole world, in fact. y be indeed a boon for democracy, are needed. Fist is the problem of universal access Chesney woes tit any peopl wll ot be up tod Je wll ot be up to dscsing the rat policies hoe Bone ore complied Here le we go online and explain tater tothe public, even though rns ite sownter fo the pois, aude, and ejetery oF lie" Good publi jualin abo hao til n mange Inert soda: However, profesional joumals ve become ead “nomen” had to Work for onganizations t Who will support financially the work of ‘Certainly not the market. It comes down, once again, to the need fora pubic pokey work and to paying are not needed, her proposes a Herculean future. He agrees with Williarn Greides sn university autonomy is most needed, ‘The acader the communica cultivate ties with the bus acchical commercial entity, even He s in che light Braail, ete oneptor et AND THE TSTERNET porations and advertsers and making it instead “ central eo the project of build ‘a democratic society.” For example, I used a search engine to look up" J wvas bombarded with advertisements for all different kinds of ing wristwatches. This has objects distract attention from the goal the forest of information availabe, the key to sustained the linkages are plent of only a particular political colouring, al debate, The Center for Media and Democracy provides many linkages 1 study of public r bout when it came «© the tobacco ‘Mentioned e industry sites and those of their apologists, but no link was made Non-Smoker’ Rights Association of Canada (SRA), which has been so very active and effective at combating the pro-tobacco propaganda, This omission is explained teily by the fact that the main concern of CM is to observe FR in operation, And, right not wish to include an organi night value, However, for those who wish to combs valuable source of information and would thas a section headed. fan impoverished ps ‘create 8 ser profile. Thus is especially easy ‘unwittingly allows “cookies” to be inserted into hus or her compurer4, DENCORACY, AND THE THTEREZT xb gu BTuICS OF PRRSDASTOX Jd exert a great deal of contol over what was dite mated ideas ave 4 small, But stands the significance of this usage effected through the < navy y sgh he was contradicted by esages and consuming time? Such, account and even crash a server. cited e-mail—or “spam""— form which suggests chey freedom in communication then was another of Chafee's ideas ness links of a major newspaper be very cleat ‘often when changes are freq bers of the established power structure—or any sxe 10 grind—to pay agents to contribute to public ‘order to shape the agenda on various bulletin boards. Ifa discus monitored and certain views are censored, the discuss to support radical causes might develop fro tigators can track Websites emt will ast only as long as people feel free of such Big Brother scrutiny, since no one will want to expose themselves £0 be the subject ofa loyaley inquisition, along the lines of the McCarthy Cold W:ied a remarkable opporcunity for by-pass sister who lives in Kenya and is a American Embassy kn ; new some of the victim, rican herself, and the impact was presented more significantly es are problems that should be as they were possible in the eatly 1980s, WI ‘April 2008 against the meetings of a wide variety of reports appeared on the Stablihed media" wtemet, supplementing the accounts “The human factor ‘worldwide, tp puter everyday life, dem ‘where, Although they may feel pres ing some who engage sumed. This phenor invalvemen Interesting information about the kind of pe iemnet was provided by the Ann Public umn by Jefitey Simp: ‘during the firse sx months casing it for Internet at all This profile does radivalizing the population. xe general population becoming familiar For this reason itis appropriate (© fof media and not just but the arrival of the for instance, a Rens mnmon ground wit a subject's attribu setPERSUASION PROPAGANDA ANALYSIS lesion, Who is the real author of a given message? jurce is, we cannot make an adequate appraisal of the Criginal source of an . but also telling. Someone expresses a starting idea or notable printed in the morn paper? Ws may have been ss may have been ory about a group protest, we ycern by informed sol for theie public relaions impact. What influen timing of a given ever at a barrage of facts, truthful ting the source, the less obvious message can be seen. Th ‘Canada to work in the US can be pre wey, Or it could have no sige has put up with one blizzard too many. So in a we need to differentiate between dire: acy, AED 1H5 TUTERIET jom the good”) ‘dentiying the source their other connections ‘Techniques Used to Impart the Message spare a message. The alysis, suggestions ove ha similar proposals. There assaule on many der ‘critical stat favoured cause of personality popults at the sense of twisting Advertising in the media out between the media ownership and the schnigue” to sce it appl toa fieelance writer in order ge a Bvourable write-up of some travel destinats hy significant possible influences affecting the dhseminat dt way a8 fo warrant regarding i as propaganda in some sen Contexts and Truth-Reliability smportant to pay attention tothe many different w 4 given message. A one-sided presentation may be on 1 Reavily-biased presentation inthe opposite direction, prese to beatin mind are: what there been for chall or its premise to be heard?HDs AUD 2HE BRUTCS OP PERSUASTON needs to asess any message in the uate opportunity for rebuttal of rau people will know but they ean at those people as to whether a suficie (ed to the pul as related to the reliability of claims measured by to eritigue. When fa it may well be possibility of rebural, che doc rebutted despite the existence of an opportunity to do so. be true despite the suppression of contrary opinion. However, the reli ‘with artned contfiet especially, what are gotiation is no longer Eee eee ees 1 propaganda techniques may ld be encour profit maximization in which living condi ‘work still fo be done to expose conn Comunercial interest and groups that exist under a deceptive name, This is the Internet can be most helpfal. Just ‘Commissioner in Canada has ‘base for finding out about offical lobbyists, so also chere might be an “learing-house run by some phlanthropically established group to pro- ‘ide information about vested interests connected with any journabst, column Dr letter-writer, Failing such a centralized body, individual interest groups can to fulfill some of that function. 2. The informed section of the populauon should share expertise w jgpoups to make the actions ofthe latter more effective. It eps 0 {Ges are doomed to flute and which ones have some posubility of suec Tord Durham wrot B ver whic French-Canadians obtained by virtue of their family e ties, only afew children could remain on the farm. The rest would for someone else or join one or other of dhe professions, Many becan ‘en of coune, but others joined the clergy or became surgeo 5, 0f Jn numbers exceeding te demand. Asa result, so-called cls tained within a single family. Most families had a knowledg who informed them about political issues, told them for whom to wore anPAGANDA AUD THR EDWIOS OF PERSUASTOS groups have fill educational backgrounds ‘exchange may develop, and possibly this could occur on the Inter be developed there CONCLUSION sw focal point for some very old concems about democ- that empowering all potest groups will nec= scan get things wrong too. Democracy sew: the ordinary seamen ean still ake smies through misinformation and in extreme cases, but we should, rate on trying to find the right way to ac dlfferent interests among its population, rather than reople efficiently along a road the only clear merit of which i for a privileged few. The challenge is not ot new, miore critical, presentation of news, but for audiences to read, spond to them. This will require much more effort than the com- ably-ensconced television viewer is accustomed to, but democracy worthy of slemands nothing less. Complacency leads to servitude; hard-won free- eignt PROPAGAMDA, DEMOCRACY, AND THB THTERNET NOTES 1 Albert Camas, "Le Journal 1gyp) 2. Bora chy rw there refering i his quote murder of his wife ander ren the etuen of young Ein (Cubs afer his mother drowned stempangan leg ‘ied to Keep hin; and dhe ex air between Washington intern Mosca Le US preset Bill Chon Carey(New York Si aa Sct, 2 above) io: Fade to Blac.” Ouaws Le (Marsh 2000): 23 Vee wited nal news poi! 0,285,416 0 ml? own experience t ber, Having started the “Propo [Nanonal Capital Freenet in ts eas ds, 1, who wed the se over $0 “Democracy week, Participation aly becuse parcipans donot rein themselves bats that bore ots. Wi ee e-msil salibe on the more » Nevespe, people hive difed away. More revel, the Web expabites Ie wer can be recaptured lke Haers, “The Geopalits and Cyberspace,” lala (°The Magazine of foc intel cou ~bake/ geopolitis >) 9 iat Citizen, "Bush 1g’ study boa.” 7 Sepenber 2004 A, Forte record dhe US Nation Trasporta eget was an explsion ofthe center wing ammable fuel/air nator he tak The source sliation system.” See the NTSB Website pe /aco0/sar03 hen> But Boeing's yes had esi the source of gi 1g is determin surfing pom.” enews, 16 Augist 200 SAFE WSLaWOI0N/16 nay bt, 308 gu THR THTERNEZ ad mo en wd ink Sealy of ved cmt pasion fr John Seigenshalee, of NHC old 3 ws mea ser uy of oun higp/ fawn onp/news 2000/ sense: > My oven sich 3c pee archived 4a Jeltey Sampson, "So 4 See Chapter 4 168 for Whately aay 35. Gena M. Cig, ed Lad Durham's Repo (Ts has bo beer 300