Is It True?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5ckwBMpJ-A
Chapter 1: From Sake Oil to Emu Oil
Edessa Brown & Wivine Ngongo
Purpose
Give you a better idea of the types of spins and deceptions that are out there today along with illustrative examples of each and comparisons to 1984 and Language Awareness
Preview
Introduction Article’s Content
Contemporary Examples Connection to 1984 Connection to Language Awareness
Lipoway Weight Loss TV Commercial Closing
Two Spins, Two Deceptions Commercial spins Political spins
Direct deception Implied deception
RECOGNIZE THAT IT’S THERE!
Commercial Spins
Claims and promises in advertisement that seem too good to be true
Assume that it may not be all that it says it is
CompaniesBusinesses
Make a profit
In other words…
Deception is Highly Profitable
Unrealistic fast results Obvious over modified Photoshop images Unheard of or rare products from
unknown companiesTOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!
Yet, people buy!
You too can have a body like mine…
Deception Is True, But Misleading… Free credit report ads are
catchy and appear to be quite promising
Your ability to view your credit score for free is true, but only for the time being
To monitor your credit on freecreditreport.com it will cost you $15 a month
Consumers were unaware of this due to no disclaimers on the free credit report website or television advertisement
Deception Can Cost Lives Yasmin Birth Control, Yaz, or Ocella Birth
Control
“Can the pill be good for you? Can you feel OK when you're on it? Is it doing anything positive for you besides preventing an unwanted pregnancy? The answer to all these questions is yes!”
Not really! There has been reported claims of serious injury…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6yzrMmIZ04
Political Spins
Deliver even bigger doses of deception
Political deceivers often times imply their falsehoods rather than stating them outright Otherwise known as implied deception
…Politicians have a legal right to lie
Direct Deception The Claim: In the third Presidential debate in
2000, Bush stated that he supported a “Patients’ Bill of Rights” allowing patients to sue HMOs and insurance companies.
The Facts: Bush never signed to a right-to-sue law, and actively opposed it. He even vetoed a patient's bill of rights.
In other words, nothing in Bush’s claim was true and voters were deceived and supported Bush’s false claims.
Implied Deception
Bush: “To keep family farms in the family, we’re going to get rid of the death tax.”
Under then-current law, estate taxes only applied to estates valued over $675,000, and spouses could inherit estates of any size, tax-free.
Although his claim was true:▪ Bush’s proposal affected the wealthy▪ It did not affect farmers
Recognize that its there
Fend for ourselves
Connection to 1984
Politicians have a legal right to lie So does the Inner Party Inner Party was full of lies that were
otherwise claimed true. People outside of the party was
cheated and lied to, but there was nothing they could do about it.
Part 1, Chapter 4, Page 39
“As short a time ago as February, the Ministry of Plenty had issued a promise (a 'categorical pledge' were the official words) that there would be no reduction of the chocolate ration during 1984. Actually, as Winston was aware, the chocolate ration was to be reduced from thirty grams to twenty at the end of the present week. All that was needed was to substitute for the original promise a warning that it would probably be necessary to reduce the ration at some time in April.”
Examples of Deception
Direct deception “Categorical pledge”
Definite, clear-cut, inflexible vow The inner party directly lied to the
public when they said that the chocolate ration would no longer be lowered.
Examples of Deception cont. Implied deception “Substitute for the original promise” Used implied deception when they
said that it would be necessary to reduce the ration.
This statement was true but misleading because it lead people to believe it was for the best.
Reducing the chocolate ration wasn’t “necessary.”
Deception Is Highly Profitable Victory Gin, Victory Coffee, and Victory
Cigarettes were provided by the party. Otherwise known as “Victory Products”
Available in London after World War II, when “conditions made it impossible for people to obtain anything better.”
For all Winston knew, this could have been another lie for profit.
Connection to Language Awareness Weasel Words
Creates an impression that something specific and meaningful has been said.
“…advertisers have learned to weasel-word their
commercials so that their claims are literally accurate but still misleading.”
Weasel Words Examples New and Improved!
“A great new look!” – Advertisement for Brawny Paper Towels
Helps“Activia helps naturally regulate your digestive system.”
Virtually“Is it possible for laser hair removal to be virtually painless? YES!” – Ave Laser Hair Removal
Like“Makes wrinkles almost invisible to the naked eye!...It is possible your wrinkles will no longer even exist.” – Deception Wrinkle-Cheating Cream
Weasel Words In Lipoway Weight Loss TV Commercial Safe with virtually no calories
Could reduce your food intake by up to 80%
Anything that’s free isn’t “best quality”
Now What?
Deception is everywhere; it always was and it always will.
We voters and consumers must pretty much fend for ourselves if we know what’s good for us.
You will see how in the following presentations!
Sources
http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/barrons/198423.asp
http://www.george-orwell.org/1984/3.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word
http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~wechsler/PoliticalDeceptionHandout.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5ckwBMpJ-A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6yzrMmIZ04
Sources cont.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN237176420080124
http://thereasoner.com/articles/general/the-world-of-virtually-virtually-virtually-word
http://adage.com/adages/post?article_id=136596
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/22/eveningnews/main5739490.shtml