How to write better propaganda

Half-truths, disinformation, red herrings: a little bending the truth can go a long way.

While working at J. Walter Thompson (JWT) in NYC, I was given the assignment to create a public awareness campaign for the Atlantic Council of the United States, otherwise known as NATO. It was the heady times of the cold war, Reagan and Gorby and so on. Client meetings had senior members from both parties, the most senior being Al Haig.
 Support for NATO, particularly among younger people, was declining and they wanted to fix that. The problem was that they wanted to get the TV and newspaper ads designated as PSAs (public service announcements) so they would run for free. The interesting fact is that if the PSAs were deemed to be political messages, the opposing entity was entitled to equal airtime.
 JWT’s lawyer wanted me with her when we went to ABC for approval. There we were, the two of us and seven ABC lawyers and other assorted network execs. It was a tough sell but we were successful. Truth is, with a good team of lawyers, I am convinced the Soviet Union could have gained equal airtime. Wouldn’t that have been interesting?
For the print, I wrote an extremely strong, almost bullet-proof propaganda headline. It read: “The Truth. It’s so startling it sounds like propaganda.” Meet the devil head on. How could you not believe that ad? Every sentence began, “Truth…”

This brings us to Hungary and its propaganda efforts. Even though the current polls suggest that if an election were held today, Fidesz would win, messages like “Gypsies are animals”, while playing well with certain factions of the Hungarian population, make for bad PR in the EU and globally.
The first thing the government needs to do is muzzle its rabid dogs. Write the script and make sure everyone sticks to it. Most importantly, it is imperative to recognize that about the only people who understand Hungarian logic are Hungarians. Trying to get the rest of the world to understand this logic is like pushing water uphill.

Good Hungarian logic, bad international PR

For example, recently, Ferenc Szaniszló of Echo TV won the coveted journalism award: the Táncsics Prize. It’s easy to see why. On camera he reported about a Bulgarian fortuneteller with a reportedly 80 per cent accuracy rate who predicted that in 2015 aliens would arrive from outer space and seek out Hungarians to solve the communication issues between the aliens and earthlings since, he said, Hungarian is an ancient UR language. (Thank you, Éva, for this.)
Of course, the prize was short-lived. He ended up giving it back voluntarily after both the US and Israeli embassies demanded the government withdraw the award because of Szaniszló’s anti-semitic rhetoric, racist outbursts against Roma and so-called conspiracy theories.
So why bother trying to explain Hungarian logic to non-Hungarians? It would be better for Hungarians (clearly more intelligent than the rest of the world) to use Western tactics and techniques when creating messaging/propaganda.

Three of the major PR problems Hungary faces are:

1.    Perceived persecution of the Gypsies

2.    Perceived antisemitism.

3. Accusations of creating an unconstitutional constitution.

So let’s take these one at at time and create a storyline. First, you’ll notice I have not called Gypsies “Roma”. The only time I hear use of the word “Roma” is inside government walls. Besides, the Romanians are on record with having a problem with the term. Use vernacular if you want to really reach people.
Below are the headlines and messaging for the three major PR issues facing Hungary:

1: “Gypsies: the problem 
Hungary alone is trying to solve.”

Notice how this angle of attack positions Gypsies as a problem without sounding racist. Then go on the offensive. Blame Canada. Why not? The Americans do it all the time. Canada is shipping Gypsies out in droves, including a victim of the largest human trafficking case in Canadian history. Blame France. Blame the whole damn EU.
Prejudice against Gypsies is widespread but Hungary has been cast as the racist devil; the evil force; the murderers of Gypsies. Why? Because Hungary is bearing the burden of solving the many problems. Talk about the Gypsy cultural dynamics, the lack of Gypsy education and Hungary’s valiant efforts at integration. Paramilitary groups doing drills on the fields surrounding Gypsy villages providing an opportunity for mingling and dialogue. Then ask the EU for more money.

2: “Hungarians and Jews: 
partners in persecution.”

This one is a stroke of pure genius if I do say so myself. Against the accusations of antisemitism, talk to the anti-Hungarian forces Hungary has to battle in Brussels, Germany, Serbia, Slovakia and Wall Street. Hungary knows all too well about prejudice. Hungary can empathise with the Jews. To party members or party supporters who go public with remarks about Jews being garbage and that Hungary will rid themselves of garbage, you need a sound, proven medical technique to give those guys a long-term case of lockjaw.
Surely Hungary lived long enough under the Soviet Union’s thumb to know how to say one thing but quietly do the exact opposite. How could you persecute someone when you can so strongly empathise with them? Play the “you don’t understand Hungary” card. Then ask the EU for more money.

3: “Constitutional reform: 
the creative approach to austerity.”

This is the piece de résistance. Rather than depriving seniors of their meagre pensions or other less-than-popular austerity programs in an already poor country, Hungary is making changes at the top in an effort to reduce the deficit and improve the economy. Use as an example reducing the number of seats in Parliament, providing tremendous savings to taxpayers.
The current contentious constitutional conundrum is the controversy surrounding the 4th Amendment. Position it as a cost-saving measure, reducing duplication and unnecessary bureaucracy. If Hungary has a clearly defined constitution, why is there need for such duplication and resource-wasting functions as an independent Constitutional Court? Remind the world that when Hungary tried to introduce property tax, it was the Constitutional Court that struck it down. Ask any nation what would happen to their revenues if there were no property taxes in their country. You’ll get a sympathetic ear on that one.
 So paint the Constitutional Court as part of the economic problem, not part of the solution. Then ask the EU for more money.