How we read persuasion
Persuasion Techniques
These are the eight techniques the Persuasion analysis can name in an article. It names one only when the article's own writing uses it to push you further than its facts support, and only when the passage clearly fits. Straight reporting usually uses none of them, and then the analysis lists nothing.
For each technique, this page says what it is, what the analysis must be able to point to in the article before naming it, how it differs from the technique it is most often confused with, and two examples: a passage the analysis counts and a near miss it does not. Some examples quote our demo article, a fictional advertorial we wrote to show how the analyses work, and link to the passage. The others were written for this page. No example is about a real outlet, person or company.
Bias or persuasion?
The Bias and Persuasion analyses ask different questions about the same article. The Bias analysis asks which way the article leans as a whole: whose voices it quotes, which facts it picks and how its wording frames them. Its categories are explained in our guide to media bias types. The Persuasion analysis looks at single passages and asks whether each one argues by a technique on this page instead of by evidence. The two often appear together, but either can appear alone. A report that quotes only one side, in calm and accurate sentences, leans without using any technique. A report that gives both sides fairly can still tell you a decision has only two options.
To practise telling them apart, try the persuasion quiz. Each of its Hard questions holds one bias and one technique.
Buried fact
Also known as: Buried information, Burying the lede, Contextual scattering
A fact that changes how a claim reads is placed where readers are likely to miss it. The fact is in the article, so it counts as disclosed, but most readers have made up their minds before they reach it.
Before the analysis names it
The analysis must quote both the claim and the fact that changes it. A fact in the headline, in the opening paragraph or right next to the claim is not buried.
Not to be confused with
A fact the article leaves out altogether. That is a gap, and finding gaps is the Omissions analysis’s job. A buried fact is there to be found.
Examples
From the article The Hidden Dehydration Epidemic, paragraph 8 of 9:
Regulators saw things differently. After what the company calls "a routine dialogue", Lumivita agreed last year to change some of its product descriptions.
A local news report on a bridge project: the headline, then the opening paragraph.
Harbour bridge finished on budget … The bridge opened on Monday within a budget the council raised twice during construction.
False choice
Also known as: False dilemma, False dichotomy, Either-or fallacy, Black-and-white thinking
Only two options are presented when more exist. Framing a decision as either-or makes the option the article prefers look like the only sensible one.
Before the analysis names it
The analysis must quote where the article itself says or implies that there are only two options. Comparing two options, such as saying one costs less than the other, is not a false choice.
Not to be confused with
Assumed conclusion. A false choice still offers two answers and hides the rest; an assumed conclusion offers no choice at all and treats one answer as already settled.
Examples
A sports club’s letter to its members, in the chair’s voice.
Either we raise membership fees by a third or we close the youth teams. There is no other way to keep the club going.
A newspaper report on traffic, in the reporter’s voice.
The new ring road would cost the town twice as much as the bus plan. Councillors meet on Thursday to decide.
Guilt by association
Also known as: Judged by association, Association fallacy, Honour by association
Something is judged by what the text places it beside, with no reason given for the link. Despite the name, the borrowed feeling can be respect as well as suspicion: a notorious case casts doubt, a trusted source lends weight.
Before the analysis names it
The analysis must name the two things linked and show that the article gives no reason for the link. A stated contrast, such as “unlike X”, is not this, and neither is an expert quoted on their own field.
Not to be confused with
Emotional appeal. Guilt by association works through what the article puts side by side, and its wording can stay perfectly calm. An emotional appeal works through the article’s own charged words.
Examples
From the article The Hidden Dehydration Epidemic, paragraph 3:
In a recent study, people using CelluDrink reported 34% more energy within three weeks. Meanwhile, official statistics count thousands of hospital admissions every year where dehydration played a role.
A report on new cycle lanes, in the reporter’s voice.
The city’s chief road-safety engineer, who designed the new junctions, said the lanes had cut cyclist injuries by a fifth in their first year.
Normalising
Also known as: Euphemism, Sanitising, False consensus, Manufactured consensus, Bandwagon appeal, Mainstreaming, Shifting the Overton window
Something serious or disputed is presented as ordinary, popular or settled without support. Vague popularity words or a soft label in place of a serious act make the reader feel there is nothing to question.
Before the analysis names it
The analysis must quote the softening or popularity words and say what they present as ordinary or settled. Documented support, such as a vote, a poll or named backers, is not this. A soft label the article only reports someone else using belongs to them, not to the article.
Not to be confused with
Assumed conclusion. Normalising makes something feel usual or widely accepted. An assumed conclusion states a disputed claim as fact and builds on it, without pointing to anyone who accepts it.
Examples
From the article The Hidden Dehydration Epidemic, the opening paragraph:
That is the message from Lumivita, an Amsterdam wellness company whose CelluDrink protocol is winning over executives, athletes and worried parents.
A report on a building society merger, in the reporter’s voice.
The merger goes ahead with broad support: 68% of members voted for it at Tuesday’s meeting.
Unrepresentative example
Also known as: Unrepresentative evidence, Cherry-picking, Hasty generalisation
A broad conclusion rests on examples or figures that do not represent the whole picture. A few vivid cases, or the one part of the data that fits, are made to stand for everyone.
Before the analysis names it
The analysis must say what the evidence fails to represent, using what the article itself shows. A point the article never mentions is a gap for the Omissions analysis, not this technique. Nor is a promotional piece quoting its own best figures: that is what the genre does.
Not to be confused with
Buried fact. With a buried fact the information that limits a claim is in the article but hard to find. Here the article’s own evidence is too narrow for the conclusion drawn from it.
Examples
From the article The Hidden Dehydration Epidemic, paragraph 4, which introduces the only trainer it quotes:
The message is landing fastest in gyms. "If you wait until you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated," says Utrecht personal trainer Bram Kuijpers, repeating a rule heard on gym floors everywhere.
A report on a shop chain’s results, in the article’s own voice.
The chain’s flagship store sold 12% more than last year, its best result since it opened.
Assumed conclusion
Also known as: Begging the question, Circular reasoning
A disputed conclusion is treated as already true instead of being argued for. It often hides in loaded words that take the answer for granted.
Before the analysis names it
The analysis must quote the words that take the answer for granted and name the disputed conclusion they assume. A disputed claim the article attributes to someone, such as “prosecutors say”, is not this.
Not to be confused with
Normalising. Normalising says many people already accept something. An assumed conclusion appeals to no one; it simply writes as if the question were closed.
Examples
From the article The Hidden Dehydration Epidemic, the headline itself:
The Hidden Dehydration Epidemic
A court report written before the verdict, in the reporter’s voice.
Investors who lost money in the fund, which prosecutors say was a fraud, packed the public gallery as the trial opened on Monday.
Deflection
Also known as: Whataboutism, Tu quoque, Red herring
Instead of answering a criticism, the text turns to another subject, often the critic's own faults. The criticism is mentioned and then left behind, so it feels dealt with when it has not been answered.
Before the analysis names it
The analysis must name the criticism and quote the point where the article turns away from it. More context on the same issue, or a reply that engages with the criticism, is not this.
Not to be confused with
Guilt by association. Guilt by association attaches a feeling to someone through what sits beside them. Deflection changes the subject so that a criticism goes unanswered.
Examples
A newspaper editorial on late trains.
Commuters are right that trains have been late all winter. But the previous council never ran a train on time either, and nobody complained then.
A school newsletter replying to parents’ complaints.
Some parents have asked why exam results fell this year. Two maths teachers left in the autumn, and supply staff covered their classes until March.
Emotional appeal
Also known as: Appeal to emotion, Appeal to fear, Appeal to pity
The text's own wording uses fear, pity, outrage or hope in place of argument. The feeling does the persuading, so the reader reacts before weighing the evidence.
Before the analysis names it
The emotional language must be in the article’s own narration. Words quoted from people in the story, such as a grieving parent or an angry official, are reporting, however many such quotes there are.
Not to be confused with
Guilt by association, which can use calm words and works through what the article places side by side. An emotional appeal lives in the article’s own charged wording.
Examples
A local paper’s report on a plan to close a youth club, in its own voice.
The council’s heartless plan will leave the town’s children with nowhere to go but the streets this winter.
From the article The Hidden Dehydration Epidemic, paragraph 7, where a parent is quoted:
"I couldn't wait for the establishment," says Sanne, a mother of two in Rotterdam who gives CelluDrink to her school-age children. "What kind of parent watches their child struggle to concentrate and does nothing?"
When the Persuasion analysis names one of these techniques in an article, that is an AI reading of the text: an indicator, not an accusation about the writer's motives. Our Terms explain more.