Sally is selling snake oil but no one is buying. to boost sales, she starts to talk at gatherings to drum up business. she starts by dispelling the fact the she is selling snake oil. "some people out there don't know how great snake oil is. They haven't seen the real data and the testimonies. And don't want to - they are brainwashed by the controlled media and the crooked government. These are the same people who voted to the party that allowed criminals enter the US and committing crimes." What tactic is Sally using?
Sally is using a mix of rhetorical and propaganda tactics. The main ones are:
- Poisoning the well: She discredits critics before they can respond (“brainwashed by the controlled media and crooked government”), making people less likely to trust opposing views.
- Ad hominem / attacking the audience: Instead of addressing evidence about the snake oil, she attacks the character or intelligence of skeptics and ties them to a disliked political group.
- Appeal to conspiracy: Claiming “controlled media” and “crooked government” suggests hidden forces suppress “the truth,” which encourages distrust of mainstream criticism without needing proof.
- Association / guilt by association: She links skepticism about snake oil to controversial political issues (“the same people who voted for…”), trying to transfer emotional reactions from immigration/crime debates onto her critics.
- Appeal to in-group identity: She frames believers as enlightened truth-seekers and skeptics as manipulated outsiders, which can strengthen group loyalty.
- Deflection from evidence: Rather than proving the snake oil works, she shifts the discussion toward culture-war and political grievances.
In informal terms, this is often described as a form of demagoguery or grievance-based persuasion: redirecting attention from the product’s merits to identity, distrust, and emotionally charged political themes.
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