Sources

The studies this book stands on

Every technique in the book comes from published propaganda studies and persuasion research. This is the full list, with the chapters that use each one.

Working rule

Read the source, not the summary

Each entry is a starting point. Read the study itself, keep the year and the author, and note what the study shows and where it stops.

WorkChapters
Harold D. Lasswell. Propaganda Technique in the World War (1927).
Book
01, 06, 13
Edward L. Bernays. Propaganda (1928).
Book
01, 02
Walter Lippmann. Public Opinion (1922).
Book
01, 02
Jacques Ellul. Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes (1962).
Book
01, 11
Garth Jowett and Victoria O’Donnell. What Is Propaganda, and How Does It Differ From Persuasion? (2018).
Book chapter
01
Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. The Spiral of Silence (1974).
Theory summary
02
Garth Jowett and Victoria O’Donnell. How to Analyze Propaganda (2018).
Book chapter
02, 16
Institute for Propaganda Analysis. The Seven Propaganda Devices (1937).
Reference
03
J. Michael Sproule. Authorship and Origins of the Seven Propaganda Devices.
Article
03
Institute for Propaganda Analysis. The Seven Devices (teaching notes).
Notes
03, 12
Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw. The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media (1972).
Article
04
Robert M. Entman. Framing Bias: Media in the Distribution of Power (2007).
Article
04
David H. Weaver. Thoughts on Agenda Setting, Framing, and Priming (2007).
Article
04
Victor Klemperer. LTI: Lingua Tertii Imperii (1947).
Book
05
George Orwell. Politics and the English Language (1946).
Essay
05
Raymond Williams. Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society (1976).
Book
05
William Lutz. Doublespeak (1989).
Book
05
Illusory truth effect (research from 1977).
Reference
06
The Illusory Truth Effect: how repetition increases belief (review, 2023).
Review
06
Aristotle. Rhetoric (4th century BCE).
Primary text
07
Aristotle. Ethos, Pathos, Logos, and Kairos (modes of persuasion).
Reference
07
Kim Witte. The Extended Parallel Process Model (1992; applications review).
Review
08
Sam Keen. Faces of the Enemy (1986).
Book
08
Anne Morelli. The Basic Principles of War Propaganda (2001), after Arthur Ponsonby (1928).
Reference
08
Carl Hovland and Walter Weiss. The Influence of Source Credibility on Communication Effectiveness (1951).
Article
09
The Sleeper Effect (Hovland and colleagues).
Reference
09
Edward Bernays. The Third-Party Technique and Front Groups.
Reference
09
Kenneth Burke. A Rhetoric of Motives (1950).
Book
10
Melanie C. Green and Timothy C. Brock. The Role of Transportation in the Persuasiveness of Public Narratives (2000).
Article
10
Georges Sorel. Reflections on Violence (1908).
Book
11
Roland Barthes. Myth Today, from Mythologies (1957).
Essay
11
Card Stacking and Cherry-Picking (selective omission).
Reference
12
Christopher Paul and Miriam Matthews. The Russian Firehose of Falsehood Propaganda Model (2016).
Report
12
Gary King, Jennifer Pan, and Margaret E. Roberts. Strategic Distraction, Not Engaged Argument (2017).
Article
12
Library of Congress. World War I Posters (collection).
Collection
13
National Archives. Records of the Committee on Public Information (1917–1919).
Federal records guide
13
Richard Dawkins. The Meme, from The Selfish Gene (1976).
Reference
14
Marcus Bösch. TikTok Edits, Vibes, Audio Memes: Participatory Propaganda (2026).
Empirical study
14
Marloes Geboers and Elena Pilipets. Networked Masterplots (2024).
Empirical study
14
James W. Carey. A Cultural Approach to Communication (1975).
Article
15
Library of Congress. Four Minute Men (1917–1918).
Collection essay
15
William J. McGuire. Inoculation Theory (1961).
Reference
16
Jon Roozenbeek and Sander van der Linden. Fake News Game Confers Psychological Resistance (2019).
Article
16
Beth Goldberg and colleagues. A Practical Guide to Prebunking Misinformation (2022).
Guide
16