Explanation:

Phrases such as "The voice of public opinion" give us the impression that public opinion is a being which dwells in or above the group. It is often inappropriate to think this way, as there are usually members of the public who do not agree with that position.

One can make the unwarranted assumption that when these phrases are used that it is a plurality of the public that believes a certain thing. But this is not always the case. The propagandist may have evidence of only a few members of the group who hold a position, then deliberately mislead by implying that it is a widely held position. For instance, "Europe fears Bush plan for Balkans." The implication is that there is widespread fear in Europe. In this example, the article goes on to say that a few NATO officials had reservations about the proposed policy.

This type of thinking tends to cause group thinking. It could be viewed as a subset of ad populum.

Several types of personification exist:

1. Personification of Public Opinion

Phrases like "the "voice of public opinion," or "public conscience," suggest that at one time this "public" can hold one opinion and then change its mind later. For instance, in 1830 public opinion favored slavery, but in 1930 it opposed it.

It is important to understand that these phrases desribe generalizations about opinion and not of ascertainable fact.

2. The Group Fallacy of the Public.

A version of the fallacy of composition, speaking of "the public" as a monolithic group ignores minority viewpoints. This fallacy is very common regarding "the African American community." Many people actually believe that all African Americans think the same way on every issue. This perverse idea leads to such outrageous comments as, "Justice Thomas is not really black," because his views are different on many issues than the views that blacks are "supposed to have."

3. Confusion of Public Opinion with Public Presentation of Opinion (The Journalistic Fallacy)

The illusion that items which one sees represented in the press as "public opinion," or which one hears in speeches or broadcasts as "public information" or "public sentiment," represent widely held beliefs. Often groups such as political parties will encourage their members to send letters to the editor containing certain messages. When one sees the same essential content in a number of letters over a period of several days, it is a good bet that this tactic is being used.

4. Personification of Science

Using words which suggest that inanimate objects have a living soul or "will" to behave in certain ways. For example, "The rock wants to roll down the hill, because of the force of gravity." Rocks have no desires whatsoever, so it is inappropriate to speak of objects in this way.

"The squirrels decided they needed to evolve flaps between their legs so they could fly from tree to tree." This type of decision making power is often given to non-rational beings to support evolution. This example was used on a nature program on PBS.

5. Personification of History

Using words that history is a being with a will. For instance, "History has spoken on this issue."

Proof:

Watch for words which give personal, living attributes, decision making attributes to non-living things.