Card stacking is a propaganda technique that seeks to manipulate audience perception of an issue by emphasizing one side and repressing another. Some examples include:
The technique is often used in persuasive speeches.
Contents |
The term originated from the magician's gimmick of "stacking the deck", which involves presenting a deck of cards that appears to have been randomly shuffled but which is, in fact, arranged in a preconceived order. The magician knows the order and so is able to control the outcome of the trick; the audience is unaware of the gimmick. In poker a deck can be 'stacked' so certain hands are dealt to certain players.
The phenomenon is subject-matter neutral and has wide application. Whenever a broad spectrum of facts exist, appearances can be rigged by highlighting some information and ignoring other information. Card stacking can be a tool of advocacy groups or those with a specific agenda. For example, a crime story focusing on a particular ethnic group, without providing proper comparative data, could be considered card stacking.
Card stacking especially becomes a problem in more objective writing such as news stories and scholarly works.[1]
|
|||||
|
|
Wikis
Quiz
Search
