Breaking the Silence

Breaking the Silence

by | May 3, 2022 | Politics

Source: www.alarabiya.net

Is the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) silent? It seems to me that the posters we saw on the billboards in 2018 are inexistant this year. However, FPM is no silent at all; it’s rather using social media to spread its electoral campaign. In the past few years, politicians have been extensively relying on these platforms because they give them an easy, direct and less costly access to voters. What are some of the techniques that the Free Patriotic Movement has been using in campaigns to make them more persuasive?

In 2018, there was a raised clenched fist, holding both the Lebanese and the FPM flags to create an association between them, and to reinforce the slogan that says, “a strong FPM for a strong Lebanon”.

Source: facebook.com/FreePatrioticMovement

Is the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) silent? It seems to me that the posters we saw on the billboards in 2018 are inexistant this year. However, FPM is no silent at all; it’s rather using social media to spread its electoral campaign. In the past few years, politicians have been extensively relying on these platforms because they give them an easy, direct and less costly access to voters. What are some of the techniques that the Free Patriotic Movement has been using in campaigns to make them more persuasive?

In 2018, there was a raised clenched fist, holding both the Lebanese and the FPM flags to create an association between them, and to reinforce the slogan that says, “a strong FPM for a strong Lebanon”.

Source: facebook.com/FreePatrioticMovement

Other visual elements were also present in the posters based on the slogan of each. “Lebanon is strong in its unity” had a picture of both church and mosque domes; “Lebanon is strong in its oil and gas resources”, a picture of an oil rig, and so on.

The slogans were characterized by the use of repetition which helps convince us that what’s being said is true even if it’s not. The more familiar we become with something, the easier we accept it. The message becomes then as follows: when FPM is strong, Lebanon is strong. When Lebanon is strong, you can have unity, dignity, oil resources and other. If one of these is missing, then the package is missing. This is how politicians frame our minds without us knowing that they do.

In February 2022, a series of short videos were introduced on social media under the name of “one minute with Gebran”. The introductory video has an interesting caption that says, “a minute of truth sums up years of manipulation and lies”. The way that phrase is written directs our attention to “years of manipulation and lies”, and gets us into the right mood for FPM leader to present the information he wants to convince us of because we will unconsciously accept it.

Source: www.facebook.com/GebranBassil

In February 2022, a series of short videos were introduced on social media under the name of “one minute with Gebran”. The introductory video has an interesting caption that says, “a minute of truth sums up years of manipulation and lies”. The way that phrase is written directs our attention to “years of manipulation and lies”, and gets us into the right mood for FPM leader to present the information he wants to convince us of because we will unconsciously accept it.

Source: www.facebook.com/GebranBassil

The remaining videos of the series are very much similar even though each one deals with a different matter. Bassil starts by presenting facts. Then, he sheds the light on the struggles and agony that the famous “them” has caused us. When negative words are used in political discourse, logic is set aside and negative emotions come to surface. This creates the perfect opportunity for him to speak about what FPM has been doing to stand in the face of “them”. Also, the use of Us/Them model helps increase his positive self-representation.

After appealing to our emotions, Bassil calls for action and asks us to assume our responsibility if we may wish to change the situation. He says, “vote for FPM, vote with us for (the recovery of stolen funds, recovery of rights…)”, before ending with this year’s slogan, “we were and will remain (clean, patriotic, truth seekers…)”.

Make no mistake, the campaigns must be emotionally powerful. As Franklin Roosevelt once said, “in politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.”

Is the FPM silent? If this is called silence, then silence is definitely stronger than words.

The Red Road

The Red Road

by | Apr 18, 2022 | Politics

Source: www.vdlnews.com

Has the Lebanese Forces booked the majority of the billboards in Lebanon? This is the question that crossed my mind few days ago as I was heading north. Going to Bcharre district, one might say it’s quite common to see the red and white posters on the roads. After all, this party has the biggest community in that area. However, it seems that their slogans are all over the country.

While some might assume that red and white have become a part of the party’s identity and that these colors have no specific connotation, I must say that any color combination in addition to any textual technique tell a lot about electoral campaigns. You might be aware that red is used as an attention-getting tool, but what are some of the textual techniques that the Lebanese Forces party has been using in their campaigns to make them more persuasive?

2018 

Election Campaign

Source: facebook.com/LFPartyOfficial

2022

Election Campaign

Source: facebook.com/LFPartyOfficial

2018 

Election Campaign

Source: facebook.com/LFPartyOfficial

2022

Election Campaign

Source: facebook.com/LFPartyOfficial

In 2018, it was “time for integrity not corruption, “accountability not clientelism”, “a government not a farm” etc. The slogans were characterized by the use of a common feature in politics, the contrastive pair which consists of using two somehow opposite parts. Since the brain usually focuses on the second part, the positive is placed there and the negative comes first. However, in 2018’s campaign, the negative comes next. Why? Because negative words usually elicit stronger reactions than positive ones and when they are repeated, they get in people’s brains and release stress-producing hormones that interrupt the way the brain normally functions. 

Source: aljaras.com/

In such case, logic is set aside and amplified negative emotions come to surface, so you intervene and say that it is time for you as a voter to assume your responsibility, it “is time to vote for the Lebanese Forces” if you want integrity, accountability and other.

This year’s posters preserve the red background and the white text, but the textual feature is different. The use of the pronoun “we” is associated with the achievements that the party assumes will take place.  “We can protect identity”, “we can stop theft”, “we can free the government”, “we want to and we can” etc. So how does the persuasive process take place on the red road?

Let’s suppose you’re driving to work. You cannot but notice those red and white posters on the billboards. On your way home, you see the same posters. On the following day, the same takes place and it goes on every time you take the road, check social media, watch tv, and so on. What you don’t know is that the first time you saw these posters, an unconscious association was created in your brain: the Lebanese Forces wants to and can get you the change that you so much aspire for. When you encounter these posters regularly, their content becomes common sense, and when it becomes common sense, you don’t need to give it much thought. Don’t you suffer from power cuts? “We can light up the country”. Don’t you feel threatened by the risk of having your identity lost? “We can protect your identity”. Aren’t you tired of seeking the truth behind the 4th of August explosion? “We can protect the investigation”, and the list goes on. The use of positive verbs in this year’s campaign represents an important shift as it helps promote a positive image of the Lebanese Forces and build a positive feeling about them in your unconscious mind.

Make no mistake, the campaigns must be emotionally powerful. As Franklin Roosevelt once said, “in politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.”

The road is red. Now you know why…