Propaganda 103: Repetition

by Hiram R. Diaz III 

In popular political rhetoric, it seems, the word propaganda signifies information, supportive of one’s particular party and/or individual goals, that is a complete fabrication. This is not how I have been using the term in my articles. Instead, I have followed the standard definition given by Encyclopedia Britannica. They write –

Propaganda is the more or less systematic effort to manipulate other people’s beliefs, attitudes, or actions by means of symbols (words, gestures, banners, monuments, music, clothing, insignia, hairstyles, designs on coins and postage stamps, and so forth).

[…]

Deliberateness and a relatively heavy emphasis on manipulation distinguish propaganda from casual conversation or the free and easy exchange of ideas. Propagandists have a specified goal or set of goals. To achieve these, they deliberately select facts, arguments, and displays of symbols and present them in ways they think will have the most effect. To maximize effect, they may omit or distort pertinent facts or simply lie, and they may try to divert the attention of the reactors (the people they are trying to sway) from everything but their own propaganda.

(Source)

In today’s installment of articles on propaganda, I want to discuss the propagandistic use of repetition.

Like any good aspect of language, repetition can be, and often is, abused by immoral persons. The abuse of repetition does not refer only to the repetition of falsehoods (e.g. “There is no evidence of voter fraud...”¹), but also to the repetition of phrases and individual words that implicitly reinforce the propagandist's intended communication. For instance, consider how heavily the following terms have been circulating social discourse since the beginning of the fauxpocalypse –

1. “New normal” – While searching the New York Times, I came across more COVID-19 articles containing the phrase “new normal” than I can list here. Searching other newspaper outlets, national and international alike, yielded similar results. The phrasing is being used to communicate that (a.)the way we view life and operate in it is no longer viable, (b.)this is universally agreed upon, and (c.)we need to reject what we think we know about life and how to operate in it, and instead begin to adopt a “new normal.”² This leaves open the question of who is able to, and who will, define what the new way of living entails.

2. “Trust the Experts” – The continued message here is simple: Given that the public is largely comprised of non-experts, it is in their best interest to trust those who are experts. This fallacious reasoning³ is typically liberally seasoned with implicit claims about the immoral, selfish, and dangerous nature of thinking for oneself during a so-called pandemic.⁴

3. “Mask up” – This is the continued call to wear face surgical masks, cloth masks, and, well, anything that covers your nose and mouth because you care for others.⁵ Despite scientific evidence to the contrary,⁶ the media push for continued masking – going so far as to advocate for double⁷ and triple masking⁸ – has only worsened.⁹

4. “Trump incited a riot,” “Insurrection,” “Threat to our Democracy” – These are the latest trigger terms saturating mainstream media propaganda in an attempt to paint Trump as a demagogic, tyrannical, fascistic ruler.¹⁰

The use of repetition propaganda is something we should all be concerned about for several reasons. Firstly, propaganda stultifies thinking, bypassing critical analysis either by aiming for the emotions or, in the case of repetition, superficially eliminating one’s need to obtain, comprehend, and analyze information. As God’s image bearers humans are called to judge with righteous judgment, and not by appearances.¹¹ Secondly, the use of repetition as a means of propaganda is a perversion of its original intended purpose, namely to aid learning the truth. Christians ought to use repetition to teach what is true, and denounce the use of repetition to encourage false beliefs and/or wicked behavior.

Finally, there is a historical reason for us to be concerned with repetition propaganda. It is the case that the totalitarian regimes of the past used repetition propaganda in order to manipulate people into supporting their evil actions, thereby making them complicit accomplices in those crimes. For instance, in his book Mein Kampf Hitler states that “all effective propaganda must harp on a few slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan.”¹² Elsewhere, Hitler again declares that –

“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is born in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. Propaganda must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over again.”¹³

Similarly, Islamic terrorist groups utilized repetition in their radicalization efforts. These groups, Robyn Torok explains, used

…repetition as the foundation tool coupled with the other propaganda tools aims to create a new belief system in which individuals reject Western values and norms as well as viewing the West as responsible for not only the historical suffering of Muslims globally, but also the current targeting and victimisation of Muslims. In conjunction, the positive sense of a just cause, the obligation of Muslims to take action and the esteeming of those who do help to reorient the belief system of the individual.¹⁴

In our own day, the same kind of repetition is being used by mainstream media outlets. Joe Biden’s occupation of the presidency has only heightened the repetition technique, with the media daily identifying anyone right of center as a domestic terrorist worthy of government sanctioned “rehabilitative” punishments.¹⁵ This would include Christians as well, given that we have been born again, and therefore have “immutable [spiritual] characteristics”¹⁶ that inexorably place us outside of whatever contradicts the Law of God.¹⁷

Identifying the use of repetition propaganda that currently saturates mainstream media productions may, Lord willing, help us remember our duty to love God and neighbor by preserving the rule of law, thinking rationally, and thereby preserving life.

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1 See Grzeszczak, Jocelyn, “'No Evidence' of Voter Fraud, Says Federal Election Commission Official,” Newsweek, Nov 7 2020, https://www.newsweek.com/no-evidence-voter-fraud-says-federal-election-commission-official-1545747; Durkee, Allison, “FBI Director Says No Evidence Of ‘National Voter Fraud Effort,’ Undercutting Trump,” Forbes, Sept 24, 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2020/09/24/fbi-director-says-no-evidence-of-national-voter-fraud-effort-undercutting-trump/?sh=1b3ed6204974; Bump, Phillip, “There is not and has not been any credible evidence of significant fraud in the 2020 election,” The Washington Post, Dec 14, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/14/there-is-not-has-not-been-any-credible-evidence-significant-fraud-2020-election/. For evidence of voter fraud, see Baumann, Beth, “Trump Campaign to the Media: Here's Actual Proof of Voter Fraud, Just as You Asked,” TownHall, Nov 7, 2020, https://townhall.com/tipsheet/bethbaumann/2020/11/07/the-media-ignores-the-trump-campaigns-evidence-of-voter-fraud-to-celebrate-joe-bidens-socalled-victory-n2579670; O’Keefe, James, “Michigan USPS Whistleblower Details Directive From Superiors To Back-Date Late Mail-In-Ballots Nov 3,” Project Veritas, Nov 4, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS6xOuhsiJw; “Central OAC Exec Admits Org Registers Thousands Of Homeless To Vote At Same Address In Fulton Co,” Project Veritas, Jan 4, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tArtYkILiHc; “GA Recount Auditors Call Multiple Ballots For Joe Biden That Were Actually Marked For Donald Trump,” Project Veritas, Nov 16, 2020; “ELECTION INTERFERENCE: Google Ads Exec Boasts Company Can Censor ‘Right-Wing’ & Republicans,” Project Veritas, Oct 20, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuCg3I2V3xc. For an extensive collection of various kinds of evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 election, see Hereistheevidence.com.
2 Here are just a few examples of what I’m talking about.

    a. The Times of India –

“Moving forward in the New Normal”
“Students won’t be back in class in Unlock 4 but colleges are adjusting to the new normal…”
“Adapting to the new normal…”
“ON A SHOPPING SPREE: The bustling city is unlocking newer shopping avenues adapting to the new normal of social distancing”
“How Entrepreneurs are Moving Forward in the New Normal”

b. The Ottawa Citizen –

“The ‘new’ normal, the ‘old’ normal, and the ‘still’ normal; In pandemic times…”
“Brave new world; wide-ranging citizen series explores what the ‘new’ normal will look like…”
“Back to the new normal…”
“This shouldn’t be the ‘new normal’…” [N.B. This article deceitfully appears to be opposed to the concept of citizens adopting a new normal, but actually promotes it unashamedly.]
“It’s time to get ready for the new normal…”

c. The New York Times –

“How Does My Art Find the New Normal?”
“Renovating for a New Normal” [N.B. This article calls our present time a “New World Order.” I’m sure that’s just a coincidence.]
“¿Cómo será nuestra nueva vida normal? Tenemos algunas pistas” [trans. “What will our new normal life be like? We have some clues”]
“Creating a New Normal, Duly Masked”
“For Chess, New Normal Is Not a Problem”
“Should a Neutral-Site World Series Become Baseball’s New Normal?”
“Easing Back After Lockdown to a Peculiar New Normal”
“When Life Changes, Embrace the New Normal”
“The New Normal: Pokémon Don’t Go”
“Bettors Take a Chance As Atlantic City Opens Under a New Normal”

I could go on and on and on; however, I think I sufficiently demonstrated my case.
3 See “Debunking the ‘Expertise Rule’”, ThornCrown Ministries, July 10, 2020, https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2020/7/10/debunking-the-expertise-rule.

4 See Siegel, Ethan, “You Must Not ‘Do Your Own Research’ When It Comes To Science,” Forbes, Jul 30, 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2020/07/30/you-must-not-do-your-own-research-when-it-comes-to-science/?sh=2631ec2a535e.
5 The extensive propaganda regarding face mask wearing involves news articles, but also includes videos from the CDC and other medical outlets. Here are some examples of this propaganda in its various formats –

CDC: “I Wear a Mask Because [I Care]”
Indiana University Health: “Wear a Mask Because You Care”
Vermont Department of Mental Health: “I Wear a Mask Because...” [N.B. This site lists various reasons why different health professionals wear a mask. Among them is, you guessed it, “I care.”]
Pierce Washington Government Site: “I Wear a Mask Because I Care, Not Because I Fear”
Northern Illinois University poster: “We Wear Because We Care”
St. Albert Gazette: “LETTER: I wear a mask because I care”
The Salt Lake Tribune: “Letter: I ask you to wear a mask because I care”
Touro Infirmary: “Take Care. Wear a Mask.”
Lincoln Journal Star: “Wear [a mask] Because You Care”
The Durango Herald: “Letters: We must wear masks because we care”

6 See Rancourt, Dennis G., “Masks Don’t Work: A Review of Science Relevant to COVID-19 Social Policy,” River Cities’ Reader, Jun 20, 2020, https://www.rcreader.com/commentary/masks-dont-work-covid-a-review-of-science-relevant-to-covide-19-social-policy; Mair, Lisa “Many Studies Find That Cloth Masks Do Not Stop Viruses Like COVID,” The Federalist, Nov 23, 2020, https://thefederalist.com/2020/11/23/many-studies-find-that-cloth-masks-do-not-stop-viruses-like-covid/; Miltimore, John, “New Danish Study Finds Masks Don’t Protect Wearers From COVID Infection,” Foundation for Economic Education, Nov 18, 2020, https://fee.org/articles/new-danish-study-finds-masks-don-t-protect-wearers-from-covid-infection/; Brosseau, Lisa M., Sietsema, Margaret, “COMMENTARY: Masks-for-all for COVID-19 not based on sound data,” Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, April 1, 2020, https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/04/commentary-masks-all-covid-19-not-based-sound-datahttps://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/04/commentary-masks-all-covid-19-not-based-sound-data.
7 See Lapin, Tamar, “Fauci: Wearing Two Masks is Better than One,” New York Post, Jan 25, 2021, https://nypost.com/2021/01/25/fauci-wearing-two-masks-is-better-than-one/.

8 See Curl, Joseph, “CNBC Touts TRIPLE-Masking For Best Protection Against COVID-19,” The Daily Wire, Jan 27, 2021, https://www.conservativereview.com/cnbc-touts-triple-masking-for-best-protection-against-covid-19-2650155414.html.
9 See Josephs, Leslie, “Biden signs order requiring travelers wear masks on planes and at airports as pandemic rages,” CNBC, Jan 20, 2021, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/21/biden-mandates-masks-for-interstate-travel-airplanes-airports.html.
10 See Savage, Charlie, “Incitement to Riot? What Trump Told Supporters Before Mob Stormed Capitol,” The New York Times, Jan 10, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/10/us/trump-speech-riot.html; Kakutani, Michiko, “How Trump Is a Threat to American Democracy,” Real Clear Politics, Oct 31, 2020, https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2020/10/31/how_trump_is_a_threat_to_american_democracy_528112.html#!; Albright, Madeleine, Chertoff, Michael, “Trump's behavior is threat to America's democracy,” USA Today, Dec 14, 2020, https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/12/14/trumps-behavior-threatens-american-democracy-albright-chertoff-column/6508765002/; Prince, Stephen, “Trump’s Threat to Our Democracy Isn’t Just Going Away,” Patriotic Millionaires, Dec 17, 2020, https://patrioticmillionaires.org/2020/12/17/trumps-threat-to-our-democracy-isnt-just-going-away/.

11 cf. Deut 19:15 & John 7:24.
12 Mein Kampf (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1943), p. 180.
13 Cited in Toland, John, Adolf Hitler (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1976), 221.
14 “Symbiotic radicalisation strategies: Propaganda tools and neuro linguistic programming,” in Proceedings of the Australian Security and Intelligence Conference (Nov-Dec 2015), 61.
15 See Kraychik, Robert, “Project Veritas: PBS Counsel Says Trump Supporters’ Children Should Be Taken, Put in ‘Re-Education Camps’,” Breitbart, Jan 12, 2021, https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2021/01/12/project-veritas-pbs-counsel-says-trump-supporters-children-should-be-taken-put-in-re-education-camps/; Watson, Joseph Paul, “Leftists Suggest “Re-education Camps,” “Firing Squads,” Banning Talk Radio to “Deprogram” 75 Million Trump Supporters,” Summit News, Nov 19, 2020, https://summit.news/2020/11/19/leftists-suggest-re-education-camps-firing-squads-banning-talk-radio-to-deprogram-75-million-trump-supporters/; Nelson, Joshua Q., “Howard Kurtz: Media personalities' call to 'deprogram' Trump voters 'deepens the divisions' in US,” Fox News, Jan 19, 2021, https://www.foxnews.com/media/howard-kurtz-reacts-katie-couric-deprogram-trump-supporters; Geller, Pamela, “ABC News Calls for ‘Cleansing’ of Trump Supporters in Terrifying Piece,” Geller Report, Jan 9, 2021, https://gellerreport.com/2021/01/abc-calls-for-genocide-trump-supporters.html/.
16 In legal terminology,

The term “immutable characteristics” generally refers to a physical trait that is extremely difficult to change, such as race or gender.(Source)

Christians, being a new race in Christ (cf. 1 Pet 2:9), have spiritual traits that are immutable (cf. 1 John 3:4-10).
17 See Vandermillen, Cherie, “If You’re a Democrat, You’re Probably Not Saved,” Pulpit and Pen, Feb 1, 2019, https://pulpitandpen.org/2019/02/01/if-youre-a-democrat-youre-probably-not-saved/.