“That other people are falling for propaganda, but we are too clever and know what is really happening.”
It’s usually pretty easy to spot the big, in-your-face propaganda — but sometimes, the most effective messaging flies completely under the radar. Recently, u/BaChooChoo asked, “What’s a low-key form of propaganda you’ve noticed everyone seems to fall for?” Here are some of the most agreed-upon examples that people shared:
1. “That other people are falling for propaganda but we are too clever and know what’s really happening.”
—u/D3RF3LL
“It’s physically painful to realize you have been duped in major ways. It’s so much easier to think everyone else is falling for it except you. It’s a lot wiser to assume you are probably severely misinformed too, or at least wrong about some things in pretty big ways.”
—u/Grueaux
2. “Companies posting as consumers.”
—u/ContentPolicyKiller
3. “‘In this country, they do that.’ People will believe anything they hear about how things are done in a country they’ve never been to without even thinking about it, even if the person who’s telling them has never been there.”
4. “Growing up American, I was led to believe we are the best at everything. One trip abroad dispelled that myth when I realized our transportation infrastructure is terrible compared to other countries.”
—u/The_Quibbler
5. “The amount of now-common knowledge that is actually just misinformation is astonishing. Everyone believes it and acts like it’s a fact, and if you tell them the truth, they don’t believe you. It makes people think they’re smart when really they’re falling victim to what someone else wants them to think.”
—u/bbydoll114
6. “There is so much medical and mental health nonsense on social media. At least 95% of it is inaccurate, badly informed, or just flat-out wrong. Apparently, educated morons like me never got the memo that you can cure everything from Alzheimer’s to major depression with apple cider vinegar and a few cubic centimeters of positive thinking, plus liking, following, and subscribing to a newsletter. Just think of all those years I wasted studying mental health and earning clinical experience, when I could have just given hurting people apple cider vinegar. By the way, if I have to hear one more person complain that someone is a ‘narcissist,’ I am going to scream my lungs out.”
7. “The attendance award in elementary, middle, and high school is teaching people to be dogmatically loyal to show up to work no matter what.”
—u/PacoMahogany
“One of the few answers here that is actually a ‘low-key form of propaganda.’ Starting from a young age, emphasizing that your physical health and any other obligations or opportunities are secondary to your work obligations.”
—u/pollyp0cketpussy
8. “Rewriting and revising history to serve a specific narrative.”
—u/rogue-iceberg
“I’m American and studied abroad in England during college, and took an American history course. It was very interesting hearing things like ‘Abraham Lincoln was not really a hero,’ among other things.”
—u/PacoMahogany
9. “Artificial intelligence posts on social media.”
—u/Insert–User–Name
10. “‘Experts are stumped trying to solve a problem until a blue-collar worker with folksy common sense comes along with a simple solution.’ It reeks of anti-intellectualism. Are there times where a fresh perspective can lead to breakthroughs that everyone else had missed? Sure. Is that perspective coming from someone with absolutely zero experience in the field? Not at all.”
—u/_goblinette_
11. “Religion.”
12. “In the United States, that cutting taxes for rich people will result in a better situation for everyone. Trickle-down economics, basically. I cannot believe we are still here 45 years later.”
—u/Serene_Druchii
13. “Full-body deodorant ads trying to make us paranoid that we stink.”
—u/Alive_Standard5927
14. “Dismissal of experts in certain fields in favor of ‘folk knowledge’ or what ‘feels’ right. Scientists do not always get it right and can argue, but that does not mean they don’t know anything. Politicians have a reputation for lying, but the person who would have the most expertise in politics would be someone who has played the game for a while. This also happens with cultural issues. The rural gun owner who claims they need guns for wild hogs might actually know their local area better than an urban dweller. An experienced farmer knows their conditions far better than someone who has never farmed or done anything with agricultural science. Someone who works with people experiencing homelessness probably knows the situation better than a random talking head, and an activist for, say, racial issues knows what is racist better than some random person from the majority population.”
—u/WindyWindona
15. “Blaming another group of people for your problems.”
—u/thatpaperclip
16. “Memes. Notice when they are actually advertising something — for a while, I saw tons of memes about ‘pumpkin spice lattes and HomeGoods will fix me.’ How easy it is to inject this into society without making it seem like an ad. People let their guard down and think it’s just a little fun humor, but they never consider who benefits from some of this messaging. It’s extremely easy to divide and ‘other’ lots of groups and play it off as silly snark.”
17. “The Pledge of Allegiance.”
—u/Adventurous_Habit784
18. “Cynicism. People make a million negative assumptions based on an inflammatory headline without actually reading the article, and then they assume that because their interpretation is negative, they have engaged in critical thought. Cynicism is not a substitute for skepticism.”
—u/[deleted]
19. “I run an animal rescue. It’s Dawn dish soap. Yes, rehabbers do use it to get oil off animals, but a lot of people mess this up — you can’t just lather on some Dawn over motor oil, or bathe the animal, and expect it to work. The process is much longer and often involves applying another oil first and then dish soap, but that’s a rant for another time. Because of the little yellow duckling on the bottle and very effective commercials, many pet owners are convinced Dawn is a gentle alternative to shampoo. But Dawn is designed to remove oils — that’s what dish soap does. Your pet’s skin needs its natural oils for a reason. Dawn is fine for emergencies or in-a-pinch flea removal on animals too small for flea treatment, but it should not be used on pets regularly, and it definitely should not replace shampoos made for them.”
20. “The phrase ‘military grade’ in advertising of literally anything. In reality, it does not mean tough and durable; it means the cheapest thing the government could be bothered to spend more money on.”
—u/MechHed7467
21. “One low-key form of propaganda I’ve noticed is how society has pushed the idea that women should be sexualized to feel ’empowered.’ Think about it: for generations, the messaging has been that wearing less, being more overtly sexual, and embracing casual relationships is liberation. But look closer — much of it benefits men more than women. It’s like the ultimate marketing campaign: you’re told it is empowerment, but the underlying goal has been to normalize being objectified and keep the focus on male desire.”
—u/[deleted]
22. “Exclusivity. Make something invitation-only, or limited supply, and suddenly people will compete for it to the point of lunacy. Oh, and telecom companies giving away free absolutely nothing in the guise of extra data or minutes.”
—u/Hot_Low9868
23. “This has to be propaganda from companies to convince people not to accept raises, but I have absolutely heard folks say things like, ‘Be careful accepting raises, as it may change your tax bracket and cost more in taxes than the raise will give you.’ That is not how tax brackets work. Luckily, I have seen it less these days as folks seem to have caught on, but it absolutely makes me twitch.”
24. “That communism killed 100 million people. Fellas, if communism, socialism, and literally any form of left government ‘breaks down because of human nature,’ then so does capitalism. And capitalism is actually worse — millions of people have died each year due to poverty since the 1990s. The only people who benefit from not moving away from capitalism and greed are the rich bastards trying to turn us back into slaves.”
—u/Portal455
What do you think? Have you noticed any “low-key propaganda” in your own life, media, or social circles? Drop your take or your own examples in the comments, or fill out the anonymous form below?
Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.