9.3: Types of Antisocial Persuasion

Lying

"Cigarette smoking is no more 'addictive' than coffee, tea, or Twinkies." –James W. Johnson, CEO, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco

We all know what lying is and we all know that, most of the time, lying is wrong. Unlike white lies such as social rituals (e.g., saying "fine" when someone asks how you are), lies told to spare someone's feelings, and lies told to shield others from upset or emotional pain, lying for the purpose of deceiving or misleading someone is antisocial and unethical. "A liar has an intention to deceive [the] hearer. Lying has to be deliberate, the result of an intention on the speaker's part" (Raboul).

Full disclosure: the author of this book lies every time she checks the "I have read the terms and conditions" boxes when signing up for things. She has also been known to tell people that she is "on her way" when, in fact, she has not yet left her house. According to numerous websites and various polls, the average person lies 1-2 times per day. Common reasons given for lying are fear of punishment and to avoid shame or embarrassment.

In the context of persuasion and influence, however, the implications of lying are always serious. Lying to others is inherently disrespectful as it denies them full access to the information known by the deceiver. Lying can alter our beliefs. Lying limits or falsely influences the choices of the message recipient. Power dynamics are also at play, as the liar controls what information is given or withheld. In short, lying is an abuse of information power. Whether it involves spreading lies about political opponents, making false claims about a product, altering photographs, making stuff up, or pretending to be something or someone one is not, lying robs the audience of knowledge and decision-making power.

The consequences of lying in persuasive contexts are also very serious. As in the Dieselgate scandal, false advertising, unethical business practices, and lying to regulators can cause incredible damage to a company's credibility, as well as to its bottom line. Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump all lost votes, credibility, and respect as a result of being caught telling lies. A consequence of people sharing so many lies on social media has resulted in negative perceptions of social media. Nearly two-thirds of those polled in the U.S. believe social media is bad for democracy (Wike et al.) and 70% of U.S citizens polled view the spread of false information online as a great threat to our country (Pushter et al.). This demonstrates a skepticism for social media likely caused by its spreading of misinformation.

Deception

"Deceivers are the most dangerous members of society. They trifle with the best affections of our nature, and violate the most sacred obligations." -George Crabbe

An image used by the University of Wisconsin for a 2001 admissions brochure considered a crowd shot for its cover but the image did not appear to reflect the desired diversity of students. A Black student was photoshopped in to remedy this problem. The altered image is below on the left (look behind the student in the white sweatshirt). While it may be true that UW-Madison is diverse in the manner portrayed below, it was unethical for the media editors to consent to this practice just because an accurate image did not exist. Paul Barrows, UW-Madison Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at the time of the incident, stated: "This was an error in judgment that shouldn't have happened" (Mikkelson).

"2001-2002 University of Wisconsin-Madison Admissions Brochure" by UW-Madison is licensed under Fair Use.

Deception is very similar to lying. As with lying, the main goal of deception is to purposefully influence people into making certain decisions by providing them with false information or false statements without their knowledge (Botes). Deception, however, can also be more subtle. Whereas both deception and lying share an intent to deceive, lying involves making false assertions (Mahon). Deception does not require that one make a false statement – or any statement, for that matter. According to Sissela Bok, "when we undertake to deceive others intentionally, we communicate messages meant to mislead, meant to make them believe what we ourselves do not believe" (qtd. in Mahon 183).

Deception can be done by exaggerating information, by denying the truth, by remaining silent, or even allowing someone to believe you agree. Deception can involve intentional bias, or the selection of information to support your position while framing negatively any information that might challenge your belief (Kilgannon). In other words, lying is telling someone something false. Deception is leading or allowing others to believe something one knows to be false.

A recent example of deceptive or misleading advertising involves a popular diaper brand that claims that its "blowout barrier" can "help prevent up to 100% of leaks – even blowouts ("Pampers Innovates"). Think about this statement for a moment. "Up to 100%" could mean as little as 0%. Even if the blowout barrier prevents absolutely no part of a blowout from leaking, the claim is technically true. Advertisers know that framing the claim as "this breakout barrier may do absolutely nothing to contain blowouts" simply will not sell diapers.

Propaganda

"Of all the words we use to talk about talk, 'propaganda' is perhaps the most mischievous." –Neil Postman

The printing press was invented in 1440. At that time, most of Europe was Catholic. Within a relatively short period of time, and due in large part to the ability to disseminate inexpensive, printed pamphlets, the Protestant Reformation was in full force, with thousands of pamphlets in circulation across Europe by the early 1500s (Edwards 1). "[The printing press] broadcast the subversive messages with a rapidity that had been impossible before its invention. More than that, it allowed the central ideological leader, Martin Luther, to reach the 'opinion leaders' of the movement quickly, kept them all in touch with each other and with each other's experience and ideas, and allowed them to 'broadcast' their (relatively coordinated) program to a much larger and more geographically diverse audience than had ever been possible before" (Edwards 7).

The Catholic church was a bit slow to counter the Reformation, but did so in the late 1500s when it established the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide – the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (Walton 383). The term propaganda likely came from this committee. "Because the committee had the purpose of advocating a particular point of view, or taking one side, on an important issue of church doctrine, and because the committee had an interest at stake in doing so, it is easy to see how the modern, negative connotations of the word 'propaganda' developed from this original use of the term" (Walton 384).

"One aspect of propaganda is that, by its very nature, it is designed to reach and influence a mass audience, and as such, it is a kind of technique that must appeal successfully to the emotions, commitments and enthusiasms of the crowd to win acceptance for a conclusion (Walton 388). Another aspect of propaganda is that it often relies upon fallacious arguments. Lastly, propaganda is typically geared toward getting people to act in a way that benefits its proponents.

Whereas the goal of ethical, prosocial persuasion is to "consider this," the goal of propaganda is to "believe this" (Postman 130). What is the difference? The believing response is a "passionate, uncritical acceptance of a point of view" (Postman 133).

Manipulation

"Human cognition is tampered with by manipulators." -Sandrine Sorlin

Let's imagine that we're scrolling through our socials together. I see an ad for a product I've been researching. How convenient! With a single click, I can use my PayPal account to purchase the product! While I'm buying that product, you are getting asked to rate a purchase you recently made – and get roped into a somewhat lengthy survey. As I continue to scroll, I see a lot of cat videos, while you notice lots of concert notifications and car insurance ads. While watching the kitty videos, I get a notification that my screen time is up 6% over last week...

These days, digital technologies are influencing human behavior in ways that were not previously anticipated. "Algorithms were designed with embedded persuasive technology 'tools' for the purpose of changing attitudes or behaviors by means of reduction, tunneling, tailoring, suggestion, surveillance, and conditioning" (Botjes). Those one-click purchasing buttons are reductions; they reduce the time and hassle of making an online purchase That survey? It's a tunnel: easy to get into, but sometimes they are way longer than we anticipated. Anyone paying the least bit of attention recognizes tailoring; click on one cat video and those kitty videos start popping up all over your feed! And yes, social media advertisers know if you're a Swiftie. Screen time notifications provide surveillance; they alert me that someone or something is keeping track.

Many people do not realize how pervasive persuasion is online, and many people do not even realize it is there, which is one of the key components of manipulation. "The essence of manipulation can be found in its goal to influence or persuade, but without being detected. The influence exercise by manipulation on the individual is thus hidden or entails the covert subversion of another person’s decision-making power. Manipulation keeps vital information from people which deprive them from being able to properly consider their options to exercise a decision that aligns with their personal beliefs and values..." (Botes).

The other key component of manipulation is that it "involves the management of facts, ideas or points of view to play upon inherent insecurities or emotional appeals to one’s own advantage" (Kilgannon). "The success of manipulation lays in the ability of this persuasive technique to target and exploit people’s decision-making vulnerabilities" (Botes).

Manipulation is certainly not limited to online experiences. Sandrine Sorlin defines manipulation as "the art of controlling others by having them do something that is not in their interest" (132). Fairclough defines it as a "devious way to control others" (6). Elsewhere in this book, such tactics as the "foot-in-the-door", the "door-in-the-face", lowballing, liking and reciprocity have been explored. All of these tactics are somewhat manipulative in that the persuader's motives and tactics are not transparent, and the communication may not be authentic. Is that salesperson giving a sincere compliment? Possibly; but it's also quite possible that emotional manipulation is taking place.

Coercion

"Remember that mindsets can not be changed through force and coercion. No idea can ever be forcibly thrust upon any one." –Pervez Musharraf

Coercion is the use of power to compel action; it is making someone do something they would not choose to do freely (Kilgannon). Threats of violence or punishment, use of force, blackmail, and deprivation are some forms of coercion. Because coercion violates personal freedom and choice, it is often illegal. Coercion actively seeks to control the outcome of the decision-making processes. Where persuasion leaves the individual in control of the entire decision-making process, coercion deprives the individual of the capacity to exercise a conscious and free decision (Botes). Anytime a person makes or forces another person to do something, or removes choice or autonomy or boxes a person into a corner, persuasion is not occurring, but rather coercion is.

"Coercion tightens an individual’s autonomy by restricting the available and acceptable options from which he or she can choose, and exploits the weaknesses and vulnerabilities found in an individual’s personal beliefs, desires and commitments to steer his or her decision-making ability toward a certain goal."