UNDERSTANDING PROPAGANDA FROM A GENERAL SEMANTICS

zybski's work in their 1937 article that includes a list of "the seven common propaganda devices, " (1) Korzybski and the Institute were talking about related matters. The Institute's seven propaganda devices (name calling, glittering generali-ties, transfer, testimonials, plain folks, card stacking, and band wagon) are classic examples of the violation of the prin-ciples of general semantics. But, that stands to reason. As Neil Postman points out, "propaganda " refers to a use of language designed to evoke a particular kind of response. (2) Korzybski and his associates intended that general seman-tics formulations and methods would help us communicate more clearly and immunize us against distorted communica-tion. But propagandists exploit such techniques to influence thinking in whatever direction they want. * Charles A. Fleeting teaches in the School of journalism and Broadcasting a