Propaganda techniques
The manipulation tactics we tag in each narrative — and what each one means.
We work from the 18 techniquesin San Martino et al. (EMNLP-IJCNLP 2019), “Fine-Grained Analysis of Propaganda in News Articles” arXiv:1910.02517. It is the first systematic fine-grained taxonomy of propaganda techniques, widely used in academic propaganda-detection research. The definitions below are condensed from §3 of that paper; the examples are illustrative — in the style of the pro-Russian narratives we monitor.
- 01
Loaded Language
Words chosen for their strong emotional charge to sway the audience rather than inform it.
Example: The bloodthirsty Kyiv regime is driving people to the slaughter again.
- 02
Name Calling or Labeling
Attaching a label the audience already loves or hates, so the label does the arguing.
Example: Kyiv is run by Nazis and a junta — there's nothing to discuss with them.
- 03
Repetition
Repeating the same message until familiarity is mistaken for truth.
Example: “The counteroffensive has failed, the counteroffensive has failed” — the same line repeated daily across dozens of channels.
- 04
Exaggeration or Minimisation
Blowing something out of proportion — or playing it down — to distort its real weight.
Example: Our sources say the AFU is losing a million soldiers every month.
- 05
Doubt
Undermining the credibility of a person, institution or fact without disproving it.
Example: Can you really trust the General Staff's reports at all — has anyone ever checked them?
- 06
Appeal to Fear / Prejudice
Building support for an idea by stoking fear of the alternative.
Example: Soon they'll mobilise everyone — they'll come for you and your children too.
- 07
Flag-Waving
Justifying an idea by playing on the pride or identity of a group (nation, faith, etc.).
Example: A true patriot would demand peace today, not send people off to die.
- 08
Causal Oversimplification
Blaming a complex outcome on a single cause when several are at play.
Example: Everything wrong in Ukraine comes down to Zelensky and the West, and nothing else.
- 09
Slogans
A short, striking phrase that compresses a claim into something memorable and hard to question.
Example: “We don't abandon our own” — and that settles every question.
- 11
Black-and-White Fallacy / Dictatorship
Presenting only two options when more exist — sometimes only one “acceptable” choice.
Example: The choice is simple: either immediate talks, or the total destruction of the country.
- 12
Thought-Terminating Clichés
A stock phrase that shuts down further thought or debate.
Example: It's not so black and white — no point digging any deeper.
- 13
Whataboutism
Deflecting criticism by accusing the accuser of hypocrisy instead of answering it.
Example: Before you condemn the strikes on cities, ask why you stayed silent about Donbas since 2014.
- 14
Reductio ad Hitlerum
Rejecting an idea by tying it to a group the audience despises.
Example: The Kyiv authorities are the new Nazis, so there's nothing to talk about with them.
- 15
Red Herring
Introducing irrelevant material to divert attention from the real issue.
Example: Forget the front-line reports — let's talk about Zelensky's wife's fortune instead.
- 16
Bandwagon
Urging the audience to join in because “everyone else already has.”
Example: The whole world is already tired of Ukraine — it's time we admitted it too.
- 17
Obfuscation / Intentional Vagueness
Using deliberately unclear wording so the audience fills in the intended meaning.
Example: Certain external forces decide the country's fate — you know who we mean.
- 18
Straw Man
Replacing an opponent's position with a weaker one, then refuting that instead.
Example: They want to fight to the last Ukrainian — that's their whole idea of “victory”.
A full Encyclopedia with expanded examples and academic citations is in development.