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Framing risk poorly or falsely so as to achieve fear is perhaps the single most common of the propaganda techniques. Propagandists often fail to differentiate a risk from threat or more likely, deliberately and selectively confuse the two concepts.

Conversely, another popular propaganda technique is to criticise concerns that might give rise to regulation (about the environment, or GM food, for example) as part of our "risk-averse" culture. This is a favoured technique of the UK LM group, which attacks the Precautionary principle as regressive. In the US, the Harvard Centre for Risk Analysis follows similar lines, as does risk pundit Michael Gough.

Risk management is a PR specialty which aims to help corporations strategically plan to avoid negative publicity, as well as to deal with it on an ad-hoc basis. PR agencies specialising in risk management include Regester Larkin and Kroll, Inc..

SourceWatch resources

• biosecurity
• Chemical threat
• war propaganda
• environmental scares
• weapons of mass destruction

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