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CMN 456: Propaganda and Persuasion (UNH Durham) Borda

Resources and strategies to support case-study and propaganda literacy assignments in Prof. Jennifer Borda's 2022-2023 classes.

Introduction

Many levels of government collect, publish, and disseminate an extensive amount of information and statistics on a wide range of topics.

Government Agencies

One way to specifically look for government information, including from federal and state agencies, is to use Google and search: site:.gov [topic keywords]. For example: site:.gov statistics e-cigarettes. Include a specific state if that's relevant.

Some examples of government information sites:

Climate change

Vaping

Congressional Hearings & Reports

Congress, through committees in the House and Senate, investigates many topics of public interest. Committee hearings offer testimony from experts, involved parties, and others as well as reporting Q&A between witnesses and committee members.

For ExxonMobil case study:

  • Search: exxon climate change; change "Current Congress" to "All Congresses"
  • On results page, limit to Committee meetings and scroll down - there are at least two entries entitled "Examining the Oil Industry's Efforts to Suppress the Truth about Climate Change"

For Juul case study:

  • Search: vaping; change "Current Congress" to "All Congresses"
  • On results page, limit to Committee meetings - some of these will be committee hearings on vaping and e-cigarettes