tempt to change what a person believes to be true. However, the difference lies in the types of techniques used to generate this change. Propaganda systematically uses influence techniques to manipulate the emotions of its viewers and thereby accomplish a seemingly intellectual change in the way a certain subject is perceived. In Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore makes extensive use of omissions, false contextualization, and cynicism to manipulate the viewer's impressions (Rhoads, 2-25). We will now turn our attention to the movie itself and demonstrate how Moore uses all of these techniques to push his viewers to the conclusions he would like them to draw.
Perhaps the most commonly utilized propaganda technique involves the omission of information that would work against the larger theme of the work's thesis. Omission can be used to intentionally give the viewer the wrong impression about a subject in question. This allows, or in fact prods, the viewer to jump to certain conclusions about a subject without having all the relevant information before them in order to make a well-informed decision. In Fahrenheit 9/11, Moore uses this device frequently to nudge the viewer in the direction that he would like them to go. For example, in one scene early in the movie Moore features a short video clip from CNN showing analyst Jeffrey Tobin disputing President Bush's legitimacy. In the clip, Tobin is featured saying that if the Florida ballots had been recounted Vice President Gore would have won in every scenario. What Moore doesn't mention is that major studies by numerous media organizations, including CNN, the Washington Post and the New York Times, all found that President Bush would have won the recount in every such scenario including
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