SCAME

The source can be an actor, an author, or an authority. Often, all three will be involved. It's important to consider all of the sources involved in the production of some propaganda.

• An actor might be an actor in the traditional sense or some other representative who is being used to convey the message.
• An author directly wrote (or otherwise created) the message; along with the author, consider the location where the message was produced.
• Authority is the means by which the source is establishing credibility; it can be manifested by the use of individuals, symbols, slogans, or other representations - for example, using the presidential seal or a public information minister to broadcast the message.

Further analysis should be done on all the sources to identify their goals, values, relationships, and so forth.

The source's credibility should be considered, as well as what type (based on attribution) of propaganda it is:

White

These are overtly attributable to a particular source, e.g. the source is disseminating propaganda and openly admitting to it.

Gray

These either conceal their source or attempt to remain anonymous.

Black

These products will pretend to be from a different source than the original one. Organization A may broadcast propaganda identifying itself as coming from Organization B.

Analysis reveals what the propaganda message says and what is trying to be achieved regarding the TA. This analysis can also reveal the source's intent, motives, and goals. Content analysis reveals the meaning of the message, the reason the message was disseminated, the intended purpose or objective, and the manner in which the message was presented to the TA. PSYOP personnel analyze the content of propaganda by evaluating—

• Objectives.
• Lines of persuasion used.
• Morale.
• Involuntary information.
• Biographic information.
• Economic data.
• Propaganda inconsistencies.
• Geographic information.
• Intentions.

The analyst should determine the target audiences being reached and selected. This may reveal further lines of persuasion and symbols that might be effective in future efforts. Audience analysis looks for four major categories of target audience:

Apparent

This is the target audience that the message appears to be targeted to at first glance. It may not be the real intended or final target audience(s), and may have been selected to throw off PSYOP analysts.

Intermediate

The intermediate target audience(s) are those used as a stepping stone to the ultimate target audience. They may comprise a subset of the ultimate target audience, or it may be a separate group.

Unintended

The unintended target audiences are any groups that received the message, but for whom it wasn't intended.

Ultimate

The ultimate target audience is the audience that is the intended target of the message, typically that the sources wish to effect some behavioural or attitudinal change.

Analysts will consider the media used to convey the message. Why was it chosen? What does it say about the sources ability to produce messages? How consistent is their messaging? Was it overtly or covertly transmitted?

Some factors to consider:

Frequency

How often is it disseminated?

Placement

Where was it physically disseminated?

Place of origin

Where was it produced?

Technical characteristics

For radio or TV, it's useful to think about the channel or frequency it was disseminated on, signal strength, bandwidth, and other electronic signatures. Print may consider the size and quality of the paper, colours (was it printed on an inkjet printer, or an actual printing press), and the overall quality of the print.

Method of dissemination

Similar to the source analysis.

This is the crux of the analysis, and accordingly, the most difficult. Did it effect an change in behaviour or attitudes? If possible, analysts should gather impact indicators. Otherwise, the effects will have to be determined analytically. Focus groups, surveys, and similar means may be useful here. It's also important to consider that behavioural or attitudinal changes may occur due to sources other than the propaganda being analyzed. Analysts need to link this propaganda to other pieces of propaganda to properly understand these complex effects.