Animal Farm Propaganda Use

Propaganda techniques are used all throughout George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, to keep the pigs in absolute power and enslave the other animals. The techniques of propaganda used in this novel by the pigs include scapegoating: pinpointing the enemy, striking fear into their subjects, and scientific claims to dupe the animals. The pigs selfishly use these techniques for their own benefits and not for the rest of the animals.
The technique of scapegoating can be seen when Napoleon accuses Snowball to have destroyed their windmill. “Do you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? SNOWBALL!” This is a scapegoat technique because there isn’t sufficient enough evidence for Napoleon to present Snowball as the enemy. The pigs, mostly Napoleon, benefit from this because the animals who weren’t happy with the overthrowing of Snowball now feel justified that he was overthrown. Another instance where the use of this technique is seen when the rest of the farm starts blaming Snowball for all the problems the animals are having. “Whenever anything went wrong it became usual to attribute it to Snowball.” There is no sufficient evidence for them to blame Snowball of these crimes, so this is using propaganda. This doesn’t affect the pigs that much, but it is seen that the farm despises Snowball.
The technique of using fear to get the animals to obey the pigs can be seen as soon as Napoleon overthrows Snowball. He used the dogs that he took in as puppies, trained them to become his own, “secret police,” and strikes fear into the other animals. This fear discourages the rest of the animals from revolting or opposing against Napoleon. This is fear persuasion because he is implying to the animals that if they don’t obey his orders they will be punished by his dogs. The pigs benefit from this turning point because they present an absolute rule over the rest of the animals with the help of the dogs. The animals have no choice but to obey Napoleon now,...