Authorship and Origins of the Seven Propaganda Devices: A Research Note
Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 4 (1):
135--144 (2001)DOI: 10.1353/rap.2001.0014
Abstract
Most ubiquitous and long-lasting among the many frameworks for propaganda criticism and analysis has been the construct of the seven propaganda devices-name calling, glittering generality, transfer, testimonial, plain folks, card stacking, and bandwagon-introduced under the auspices of the Institute for Propaganda Analysis in 1937. Not only did the seven-device format become a standard component of inter-world-war propaganda analysis in the United States but also the rubric has been reprinted, cited, alluded to, critiqued, or reworked constantly during the past 65 years. Despite the great and lasting attention paid to the seven propaganda devices, however, the story of this framework's origins has yet to be fully related. Although the larger history of the Institute for Propaganda Analysis may be found in the author's earlier work titled Propaganda and Democracy, this research note allows the author to concentrate on the process by which Clyde R. Miller, progressive journalist and educator, originated the framework, published it, and defended it against sundry criticism