Flag Waving
Invoking national or group pride so that the argument becomes a loyalty test rather than a question of fact.
Flag waving converts a question of fact into a question of loyalty. The argument for the policy becomes that supporting it is what a patriot, a believer, or a member in good standing does — which means doubt about the policy quietly becomes doubt about you. Nothing in the appeal touches whether the policy will work, and that is the point: the reader's answer is now about identity rather than about consequences.
We record it more than 1,100 times, at almost exactly one instance per article — the least repeated of the common techniques. It is usually a single closing appeal rather than a running theme. Just over half of the articles where we record it also carry an appeal to values, which is the closest relative; we separate the two by what is invoked. Flag waving names the group. An appeal to values names a principle.
Patriotic subject matter is not the technique. An article about a national holiday is full of national pride and is not doing this at all. Nor is a population under occupation or attack asserting self-determination doing it — that is a description of what is at stake, not a loyalty test, and treating it as a technique would confuse the weaker party's account of its own position with an operation.
What we flag is the author adopting the frame. Political speech is saturated with national appeal and reporting that speech is the job, so a quoted call to rally is the subject, not the technique. It counts when the reporter's own voice makes the case — when the paragraph that ought to explain why an escalation is necessary instead says the nation cannot be seen to back down. Under the power-direction rule that construction draws the most attention when the state doing the escalating is the militarily stronger one. And where a weaker belligerent is armed by a superpower backer, we ask who the language serves: rallying its own defence stays protected, while rallying its offensive escalation serves the backer.
What we have recorded
| Instances recorded | 1,511 |
|---|---|
| Articles containing it | 1,459 |
| Share of all recorded techniques | 2.6% |
| Average manipulation score where present | 54.3 (corpus average 45.1) |
Outlets where we have recorded it most
| Outlet | Instances recorded |
|---|---|
| israelnationalnews.com | 125 |
| rt.com | 95 |
| aljazeera.com | 90 |
| ynetnews.com | 87 |
| jpost.com | 73 |
Counts reflect the articles we have analyzed, which are not a representative sample of any outlet's output.
Recent examples
"the Islamic Republic has unveiled only a fraction of its defensive and retaliatory power so far"
Presents Iran’s military posture as inherently powerful and restrained, appealing to national pride and portraying the state as superior and resolute, which serves to rally domestic or regional support through nationalist sentiment.
Iran’s missiles determine equation, forced US to say ‘Yes, sir!’: Acting defense minister"the U.S. … absolutely is the most responsible incubator for technology."
This statement appeals to national pride by asserting U.S. superiority in technological responsibility, using national identity to bolster credibility rather than providing comparative evidence.
White House: FTC Can Stop AI/SI Models Before Release, Some Agents Broke Rule to Not Harm People"We were OK before 2003 without DHS, and we can live in a life without it as well."
Invokes national identity and resilience by implying that the U.S. functioned safely without DHS, appealing to a nostalgic vision of American self-sufficiency and patriotism to support dismantling the agency.
DHS Was Designed as a Weapon"This round of sanctions once again demonstrates that the one-China principle brooks no violation."
Invokes national sovereignty and the one-China principle as an unquestionable moral and political imperative, appealing to national pride and identity to justify punitive actions and discourage dissent.
China sanctions Paraguayan, Belizean ministers over Taiwan question, delivering explicit warning of ‘no bargaining over one-China principle’"China's "city of the future,""
The phrase 'city of the future' is used to describe Xiongan New Area, invoking national pride and a forward-looking vision tied to China's developmental ambitions. This label serves to elevate the location's symbolic importance and associates the forum with national progress and modernity, leveraging patriotic sentiment.
China to host global governance forum from Oct. 23 to 25"We believe that lasting peace, calm, and stability can be achieved only through the end of the US presence and interference in the region,” he said."
Appeals to national sovereignty and regional pride by framing the withdrawal of US forces as essential for peace, tying Iran’s position to a broader nationalist narrative of resisting foreign interference, thus leveraging national identity to justify military posture.
Iran’s ‘new operational plans’ will push US warships farther from region: Army spokesman"Everyone must follow the law."
Invokes the principle of lawful behavior in a broad, nationalistic or civic-moral tone to position the legal action as a defense of societal order, aligning the states’ actions with a collective duty that appeals to shared legalistic values.
Eight states sue OpenAI over ChatGPT’s alleged harms to users"the Taiwan question is China's internal affair that brooks no external interference"
This statement invokes national sovereignty and territorial integrity—core elements of national identity and pride—to frame the issue in terms of uncompromising patriotism, discouraging external critique by appealing to the sanctity of China's national unity.
U.S. needs to handle Taiwan question prudently: FM spokespersonCommon questions
Is writing about national pride flag waving?
No. An article about a national holiday is full of national pride and is not doing this. The technique is turning a question of fact into a loyalty test, so that doubting the policy reads as doubting the group.
Does a country under attack asserting self-determination count?
No. A population under occupation or attack describing what is at stake is not running a loyalty test, and treating it as one would confuse the weaker party's account of its own position with an operation.
What about a quoted speech full of patriotic appeal?
That is the subject being reported. Political speech is saturated with national appeal and covering it is the job. We flag the reporter's own voice adopting the frame, where an explanation of necessity is replaced by an appeal to national honour.
How does flag waving differ from an appeal to values?
Flag waving names the group; an appeal to values names a principle. They are close relatives and often co-occur: just over half of the articles where we record flag waving also carry an appeal to values.
Other Justification techniques
Check an article for flag waving and 22 other techniques.
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