Passive voice

Use of the passive voice allows propagandists to avoid attributing or taking responsibility for actions. "In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is neither a do-er or a be-er, but is acted upon by some other agent or by something unnamed (The new policy was approved). In the active voice, the subject and verb relationship is straightforward: the subject is a be-er or a do-er and the verb moves the sentence along (The executive committee approved the new policy)." [1]

In propaganda, the passive voice sometimes masks arguments of authority. When the speaker does not declare who performed an act, there is often a veiled inference or ambiguity that rests solely on the authority of the speaker for a flawed logical foundation.

See Also

• Argument from authority