# 13. Propaganda ## 13.5. Methodology/Refinements/Sub-species ### 13.5.12. Shell game Named after the popular street game in which a hustler engages in sleight-of-hand to hide an object under one of three shells, he manipulates the shells quickly to conceal the one the object is hidden under, and asks one of the onlookers to tell him which shell is the winner. Analogously, the term describes a game where one piece of information hides another piece of information. In a "shell game" politicians can play with the public whereby they hide information by switching the terms of a policy or debate. One recent example is the contention that the unemployment situation is actually better than the official rate suggests. When certain classes of unemployed workers (like married women) start to re-enter the job market again because they think there is finally a real chance they may be able to find a job, so the argument goes, it pushes up the unemployment rate. This is because previously uncounted, unemployed people have now started to seek work. The manipulator says that this really means that the job market is actually getting better, even though the unemployment rate is going up. This argument is a type of shell game where the "true information" on the employment situation is hidden within other indicators. It is not deceit; it is a simple manipulation of truths to hide one fact behind another. ### 13.6.12. Avoidance of Shell games Shell games rely on audiences being poorly informed and easily confused by apparently conflicting or coinciding data. It's hard for most people to avoid or counteract because most people have such a poor understanding of the logic or relationships between sets of data.