Appeal to Prejudice
Appeal to Prejudice: playing on dislike of a group.
How to spot it
Language that plays on dislike or distrust of people for who they are: their race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, immigrant status, sex, sexuality or disability. "They want to replace you", "they refuse to assimilate", "real Americans" set against one of those groups. The appeal works on who people are, not on what a 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 praise for voters or a place ("hard-working families", "put Coloradans first"), which is Glittering Generalities at most.
Attacks on a party, an ideology or a class aren't prejudice either: "liberals" or "socialists" used as a label is Name Calling, and "billionaires" is an economic class, not an identity. Nor is condemning someone else's prejudice: "they believe some people are more American than others" names the prejudice, it doesn't use it.
Real examples
Each was flagged by Semblen's model, then chosen to stay on this page, so the examples don't change from day to day. 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
“raise taxes on working families to bankroll free benefits for illegal immigrants”
In 2026 campaign ads
“refuse to assimilate and put Sharia Law above the Constitution”
“men and boys with makeup and dresses who can't win as men and boys so they pretend to be what they are not”
In government statements
“people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts”
“putting the needs of illegal aliens over the safety of the American people”
“migrants, jihadists and communists who hate Christianity”
“migrants jihadists, and communists who hate Christianity”
“concerns of illegal aliens over the safety of the American people”
“If you import the third world, you become the third world.”
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 the words that use appeal to prejudice or any other technique, and says why. It flags rhetorical techniques, not political tilt.