Whenever a person or group has a point
they wish to prove, there are a number of methods they may use to do
so. They may choose either to prove their point honorably and with
integrity, convince their audience that their stance is more
preferable than any alternative, or they may choose to persuade and
manipulate their audience by any means necessary.
Typically, if a point or position holds little or no value in the eyes of the audience, it is seen fit by propagandists to manipulate their audience. One of the ways propagandists might do this is by using the image of popular personalities in order to make their message seem more appealing. This use of celebrities as pretty faces to sell bad or questionable policies, products, or ideas is as well-known fallacy, and is simply referred to as celebrities. Here is a more extensive definition.
Celebrities
Description: Accepting a claim of a celebrity based on his or her celebrity status, not on the strength of the argument.
Logical Form:Celebrity 1 says to use product Y.
Therefore, we should use product Y.
Example #1:Tom Cruise says on TV that Billy Boy Butter is the best tasting butter there is. Tom Cruise is awesome -- especially in MI4 when he scaled that building with only one suction glove; therefore, Billy Boy Butter is the best tasting butter there is!
Explanation: Tom Cruise might be awesome, and perhaps he really does think Billy Boy Butter is the best tasting butter there is, but Tom is no more an authority on the taste of butter than anyone else; therefore, to accept the claim without any other evidence or reason is fallacious.
Example #2:Mike Seaver from that 80’s sitcom, “Growing Pains”, is really cool. He is now a born-again Christian and apologist for the faith. Therefore, you should really believe what he has to say!
Explanation: Mike Seaver is awesome, but Kirk Cameron, the actor that plays that character? Even if Kirk was super duper (which he might be, I don’t know him), his views on the truth of religion are equally valid as yours, or anyone else's who determines what he or she considers to be the truth through faith.
Exception: Some celebrity endorsements are authentic, where the celebrities are motivated by the love of the product itself, not the huge check they are getting for pretending to like the product. When these products are directly related to their celebrity status, then this could be seen as a valid (but not sufficient) reason for wanting the product.
Honestly, I really can’t think of any examples, but there must be some out there.
Tip: If you are in business and looking for a celebrity to endorse your product, try not to pick one that is likely to be accused of killing his wife and his wife’s lover, then taking off in a white Bronco.
To restate, the use of the celebrity fallacy involves using a popular face in place of reason to convince an audience to agree with a certain point or position. This fallacy typically includes an undertone of the bandwagon fallacy which elicits approval based on the popularity of an idea alone. Let's consider some examples of the celebrity fallacy.
Think back to late 2016. This is a time most of us might want to forget completely, but there were several blatant instances of celebrity propaganda that we may have seen during this time. One of these instances consisted of movie characters from the Avenger's series promoting an early anti-Trump message for election season.
The Avengers Just United Against Trump In Hilarious Video
16 Celebrities Who Will Leave the U.S. if Trump Wins
Obamacare to be Launched with a Star-Studded Celebrity Propaganda Campaign
Kim Kardashian Gets a Selfie With Hillary Clinton
Kim Kardashian Clarifies: I’m Voting for Hillary Clinton Not Donald Trump
This fallacy was very strange to see, considering that there was no attempt to hide the fact that
propagandistic manipulation was taking place. This is not to take political sides or to promote any false political duality, but to reveal the fact that
certain financial interests, instead of using the strength of their
argument to speak for themselves, they use the face of fictitious comic
book characters. As we may remember, the failure of these particular
financial endeavors was just as visible as their attempt.
We might keep in mind that just because a celebrity is speaking does not always mean that the celebrity fallacy is being used. It is only when we see big budget productions such as commercials or large political productions that include celebrity speeches that we can be fairly certain the tactic is fallacious.
We might keep in mind that just because a celebrity is speaking does not always mean that the celebrity fallacy is being used. It is only when we see big budget productions such as commercials or large political productions that include celebrity speeches that we can be fairly certain the tactic is fallacious.
The Obvious Modern Propaganda
The positive side about modern
propaganda is that it is easy to spot. In past decades,
propagandists were subtle and tactful in their use of their tactics.
There was an art to propaganda of the past—a certain knowledge
shown within each underlying message (though still devious and
dishonest). Not so with today's propaganda.
In modern times, propaganda is so
blatant and obvious that it no longer has the effect it once did. In
modern propaganda, there seems to be no tact, no subtlety, and no
real knowledge of progressive human psychology at all.
Time after time, we see propaganda used
from decades past with no layering, no believability and no knowledge
that the audience receiving this propaganda have changed completely.
We are no longer asleep and are no longer gullible enough to succumb
to such manipulation (though there are exceptions within society).
We are no longer sitting idle and allowing wealthy, self-interested
manipulators to call the shots in our world. We have no reason to.
Related links - Know Your Propaganda – Appeal to Emotions – Revealing How Sentimental Diversions can Mislead an Audience
It is easy to see the celebrity
propaganda used in modern times. We have seen this fallacy used the
entire year of 2017, and each time it appears, it seems to be
promoting the same financial interests. Again, this is not to take
sides or to promote any political party, but simply to acknowledge
the interests who most often use celebrity propaganda to make
extremely weak points.
The method of most celebrity propaganda
is simple. First, wealthy elitists pay and persuade (or possibly brainwash) celebrities to
put on some type of public spectacle (usually outrageous) to get attention. At
the same time, the elitists use their control over corporate media to
make the outrageous act as visible as possible. These elitists then
set up some type of photo op, public forum, or television appearance
for the celebrity to deliver the intended message to the public. To add, in
modern times, it seems often that the political messages of
celebrities completely contradict their behavior in their personal
lives.
Miley Cyrus
The above is the exact formula used to
promote Hillary Clinton using Miley Cyrus as a spokesperson. The political message of Cyrus
just seems out of place and seems to clash with virtually everything
that Cyrus has done in the past few years. Sadly, it appears that
Cyrus has done everything she can to embarrass herself or to rub
society the wrong way. Yet now, the people are expected to look up
to her as a political spokesperson?
This is not to judge Ms. Cyrus at all,
but simply to make the point that propagandists seem to have stopped
thinking about the details of their intended messages. It is as
though they have become so consumed in proving some point or pushing
their agenda that there is little left of the believability their
messages once had. It seems that to a great extent, these
propagandists have lost their touch.
We review this example of propaganda
due to its combining of two different fallacies. These are the
fallacies of celebrities and of appealing to emotion.
The emotional appeal is discussed in another article, but for
now, let's keep an important point in mind. That is, whenever we see
the face of a celebrity and they are attempting to push a political
or corporate message of some kind, it is important to assess the
value of the message itself and to ignore the voice speaking it. In
this way, we can overcome the temptation to cave to manipulative
tactics.
Trivializing Pedogate
As things stand, there could be no better
example of celebrity propaganda than we currently see in media at
present. The subject of Pizzagate/Pedogate has been one of major
public attention, despite the efforts of the corporate media, large
platforms of social media, and various entertainment personalities attempting to dissuade the public from learning about it.
Platforms such as YouTube, Facebook,
and Redditt have done virtually everything in their power to prevent
their users from learning the truth of John Podesta's emails, the
dark dealings of the Clinton Foundation in Haiti, and of the
regularity of sexual slavery behind the glamor of Hollywood. As it
turns out, the media seems to have found a new way to deter the
public from learning the truth of child trafficking and slavery
around the world. In these antics, the corporate media actually uses
a combination of fallacies to promote their propaganda.
Consider all of the celebrities who
have made questionable claims of being victims of sexual assault.
Now compare the media spectacles we've recently witnessed to the
actual number of celebrities who report pursuing legal action against
those they claim assaulted them. Now let's consider the fact that
for the most part, it is only other actors who have been named as
supposed sex offenders in Hollywood.
Related links - Vegas Terror and Disclosure: Is Something Very Big About to Happen? - Divine Cosmos - Links and Commentary
There are no true elitists being outed
besides Anthony Weinstein. This strongly suggests that we are not
actually witnessing change of any kind with regard to ending child
trafficking and elitist pedophilia in America. It seems that all we
are seeing is another star-studded performance by Hollywood
entertainment to distract from the real issue. It seems more likely
that these actors are simply putting on another performance as they
have been payed so much to do since their carriers began. (However,
this is not to say that there are not real and actual victims behind
many of these claims.)
In this way, the corporate media has created a straw man out of the true problem of elitist pedophilia.
Simply put, they have chosen to throw several celebrities under the
bus for what seems to be an attempts at saving those who are truly
responsible for child trafficking and elitist pedophilia.
The true issues implicate government
leaders and heavy-hitting financial establishments. Even though
Hollywood is portrayed as the elitist class, these actors are little
more than servants of those who have payed their way to stardom. In
truth, under the current status quo, actors and singers have no real
power in the world. Yet because these are the faces the public knows
more than those who have actual power, these actors are commonly
paraded around instead of elitists so that that true elitists can escape public attention.
Famous Faces
In modern days, the faces of
celebrities are used to promote whatever political agenda is on the
roster. However, it seems clear that the governing body we currently
have in the United States is disunified in its efforts. The agenda
of the president and his allies seems to be different than that of
the media. However, this is another discussion altogether.
It is important for each of us to
realize what message is being sold to us via artificial, manufactured
approval via celebrities. This is one of the more obvious methods of
propaganda. However, it can still be effective against those who
have not done their due diligence of learning the distinction between
fallacy and reliable communication.
Related Topics...
Know Your Propaganda – 'Arguing from Ignorance' – What is it and where have we seen it?
The Anatomy of Propaganda – Examining Multiple Tactics of Psychological Manipulation in Media Today
Know Your Propaganda – Appeal to Emotions – Revealing How Sentimental Diversions can Mislead an Audience
Know Your Propaganda – Card Stacking, Cherry Picking and Controlling the Message
Know Your Propaganda – Smear Tactics – Ad Hominem and Poisoning the Well
5 Times Corporate Media Got Caught Publishing Fake News Causing the Death & Suffering of Millions
Know Your Propaganda - "False Dilemma" - What is It?
The NDAA Legalizes the Use of Propaganda on United States Citizens - Commentary and Links, Plus an Interview with Dr. Udo Ulfkotte
Thanks for reading.
Discerning the Mystery is a project I started to help wake the people up to their true potential of spiritual, emotional, and physical growth. It can be difficult work, but if I am successful, it is all worth it. If you enjoy what you read, please give this a like and share on Facebook and social media. Also, if you feel so inclined, please give a donation.
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