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Course Content

    1. Introduction

    2. Article Download

    3. From Persuasion to Simulation

    1. Bandwagon and Manufactured Consensus

    2. Name-Calling, Labelling, and Smears

    3. Ad Hominem, Straw Men and Deflection

    4. Glittering Generalities, Empty Virtues, Loaded Language and Emotional Manipulation

    5. Appeal to Fear

    6. Testimonials and Influencer Authority

    7. Card Stacking and Selective Presentation

    8. Narrative Saturation

    9. Repetition and the Big Lie

    10. False Dichotomy / Black-and-White Thinking

    11. Temporal Flattening

    12. Scapegoating and Transfer / Association

    13. Astroturfing / Sockpuppets / Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour

    1. Last Words

    2. References

    1. Propaganda Quiz

Propaganda Techniques

Matthew Dahlitz delves into the evolution of propaganda in the digital age, where AI-driven media and algorithms create a hyperreal environment—drawing on Jean Baudrillard's theory of simulations that precede and replace actual reality. From a mental health viewpoint, the paper examines how these techniques hijack the brain's left hemisphere, as described in Iain McGilchrist's divided-brain model, favoring abstraction, categorization, and manipulation while sidelining the right hemisphere's contextual, relational, and empathetic processing. Through detailed analysis of classic and modern tactics like bandwagon effects, name-calling, appeals to fear, testimonials, card stacking, narrative saturation, repetition, false dichotomies, temporal flattening, scapegoating, and astroturfing—illustrated with examples such as COVID-19 fear campaigns, Iraq WMD misinformation, and the 1914 Christmas Truce—Dahlitz warns of societal fragmentation, delusion, and eroded truth perception, urging practices to restore hemispheric balance for resilience against such ontological manipulation.

  • Understand the principles of hyperreality and how AI-amplified propaganda shifts from persuasion to simulating reality itself.

  • Recognize the brain's hemispheric differences and how propaganda exploits the left hemisphere's biases toward abstraction and control.

  • Identify core propaganda techniques, from bandwagon and fear appeals to narrative saturation and astroturfing, and their digital enhancements.

  • Analyze real-world examples, such as historical events and modern crises, to see propaganda's psychological and societal impacts.

  • Explore the mental health implications of propaganda, including delusion, polarization, and the erosion of empathetic, contextual understanding.

  • Learn practical strategies to reclaim right-hemispheric balance, fostering resistance through mindfulness, dialogue, and critical reflection.

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Author

CEO The Science of Psychotherapy Matthew Dahlitz

Matthew Dahlitz is both university trained and an autodidact whose knowledge spans across the arts, technology, psychology, neuroscience, emergency medicine, and business. He has studied psychology at the University of Queensland with a Master of Counselling degree specializing in neuropsychotherapy. He is the Editor-in-Chief of The Neuropsychotherapist, has taught post-graduate courses in neuropsychotherapy, and is author of the book The Psychotherapists’s Essential Guide to the Brain. Matthew has also studied at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in both music technology and master of composition. He has scored for film and produced a number of albums of original music and played producer in a film production company. Matthew has also been an Advanced Care Paramedic for a decade, managed commercial property and property development projects in the tens of millions of dollars, founded the Age of Robots site that reports on the technology and the social and psychological impacts of this second machine age, and runs a media and publishing company with an emphasis on great story telling.