Stereotypes: The Power Of Propaganda

Everyone has heard multiple rumors in their lives. Some are constructed in a way that makes them seem believable while others are so outlandish it seems impossible to fathom how anyone could believe such a thing. A rumor could also cause both reactions from different people. One rumor is that Procter & Gamble’s, the parent company of Folders, Pampers, and Duncan Hines, logo actually represented The Devil. The logo in question depicted the moon and stars, with the moon also depicting a man whose beard held the sign of the Antichrist. Some people might think this to be possible while others might find it ridiculous, either way, enough people believed such a rumor that it caused quite a bit of controversy. So what allows a rumor such as this …show more content…
The basic synopsis of the rumor is that P&G’s sun and moon logo is satanic propaganda. Short and simple, making it easy to remember. This makes it easy to spread from one person to another allowing the rumor to spread. So, now that the rumor can be easily remembered and spread it needs a group of people that will care about what is being spoken. In this case, the rumor was aimed towards Christians, who were also asked to boycott P&G’s products because of the “devil worshipping” propaganda. Without a target audience, nobody would bother to remember let alone pass on the rumor, which is why it is a necessity for the rumor to cater towards some group of people. Finally, a rumor needs to be adaptable. For a rumor to be adaptable it should be able to bypass numbers, names, and places. Upon first glance the P&G’s rumor, due to including a name of a company, but the basis of the rumor is merely some company (in this case Procter & Gamble’s) promotes Satan. Many other companies, one being McDonalds, have fallen victim to similar claims of having Satanic affiliations. Sure the rumor starts off very specific, but when it is dissected it can meet the final criteria to be a successful