Appeal to Prejudice
Appeal to Prejudice: playing on dislike of a group.
How to spot it
Language that sorts people into us and them and asks you to side with us: "real Americans", "people like us", "they want to replace you", "coastal elites". The appeal works on who you are, not on what the policy does.
Watch for a group that is described only by who they are, never by anything they did, and for a claim that makes sense only if you already dislike that group.
What doesn't count
Talking about a group isn't prejudice. "Farmers will pay more under this tariff" names a group and makes a claim you can check. Neither is an appeal to shared values that doesn't set anyone against anyone else.
Real examples
Flagged by Semblen's model in the last 90 days and picked by rule, not by hand: the newest first, news rotated across left, center and right outlets, at most two ads from any one race. The model has false positives, a quote in a news article may be the outlet reporting what someone else said, and an ad may be quoting its opponent. Follow each link to check it in context.
In the news
“Republicans represent the mainstream, practical values of everyday Americans”
“does not represent the Values of Southwestern Washington”
“specifically white men”
“Watch out for these sneaky Californians, folks”
“traditional British values of fairness, tolerance, and decency”
“rural White American living in Michigan”
“more of the "right" type of baby”
In 2026 campaign ads
“sounds like Alaska, but toes a different line in Washington, D.C.”
“real Americans”
“loyalties lie with out-of-state liberal donors rather than Nebraska values”
“Troy doesn't represent Maine values”
“Bad for New Hampshire”
In government statements
“concerns of illegal aliens over the safety of the American people”
“protecting the American people”
Related techniques
Something wrong or unclear on this page?
Tell us. A person reads every note. Use Yes / No under any example if it isn't really appeal to prejudice: two readers saying no takes it off the page.
Check something yourself
Paste an article, a speech or a video link into the analyzer and Semblen marks each sentence that uses appeal to prejudice or any other technique, and says why. It flags manipulation techniques, not political tilt.