Propaganda Technique: Ad Nauseam
This uses tireless repetition of an idea. An idea, especially a simple slogan, that is repeated enough times, may begin to be taken as the truth. This approach is more effective alongside the propagandist limiting or controlling the media.
A Townsville MP has questioned whether the courts are meeting community expectations in the wake of police calling a youth justice crisis meeting. https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TBWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.townsvillebulletin.com.au%2Fnews%2Fcrime-court%2Ftownsville-mp-scott-stewart-says-courts-should-meet-community-expectations-as-police-call-for-youth-crime-solutions%2Fnews-story%2F0c36ee5331db1734a2cce9f02cab0a9f&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium
Ad Nauseum and repetition are similar, but Ad Nauseum in Latin literally means driven to the point of nausea. While repetition can mean something neutral, positive or negative, ad nauseum is negative and sickening. The imagery used alongside the ‘youth crime crisis’ slogan regularly targets indigenous children, using language like dangerous alongside an image of a child being gripped by a police officer (shown above).
A search for ‘youth crime crisis’ in Google returns 93,700,000 results.
GOOGLE.com SEARCH
A search for ‘youth crime’ in Google returns 438,000,000 results.
But then… LNPs new adult crime adult time laws make everything ok
The ad nauseum technique can be seen not just in the generation of moral panic and amplification of extreme cases prior to an election, but in the public relations efforts post election. The adult crime adult time campaign and corresponding making Queensland safer laws that followed are still being marketed through reporting on their so called success. The falsely reported statistics initially are now being skewed even further to suggest that the laws, most only implemented 6 months ago, have had a positive impact on the safety of communities.
Why? To justify prioritising enforcement budgets over housing budgets. $19.2M in Townsville to tackle ‘youth crime’, not ‘youth safety’.
Propaganda Technique: Ad Nauseam
This uses tireless repetition of an idea. An idea, especially a simple slogan, that is repeated enough times, may begin to be taken as the truth. This approach is more effective alongside the propagandist limiting or controlling the media.
Do you have more examples of propaganda techniques being used in media which also uses the term ‘youth crime crisis’? We would love to add it to this page so others can learn from your research too!
Leave a Reply