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Let& #39;s talk about the difference between a stereotype and a canard.
Stereotypes are generalizations of a group of people. They& #39;re frequently based on an oversimplification or a misunderstanding of another group& #39;s norms and customs. They& #39;re dangerous because they can lead to bigoted prejudices in the nature of "All X people are [negative thing]"
Defenders of such prejudices will often defend them by saying that the stereotype has a grain of truth to it - and this is accurate. The stereotype is based on *something*, but the thing is often not what the prejudice assumes it is.
Stereotype example: "Jews are loud and argumentative."
There& #39;s a grain of truth there. There is a Jewish sub-culture that values a conversational style of high intensity cooperative overlap. Within the sub-culture, this is viewed as an engaged, productive conversation.
There& #39;s a grain of truth there. There is a Jewish sub-culture that values a conversational style of high intensity cooperative overlap. Within the sub-culture, this is viewed as an engaged, productive conversation.
From outside, from the perspective of a group that doesn& #39;t share those values, it looks like yelling and arguing. Not all Jewish people or subcultures communicate this way - but some do, and it& #39;s easily misunderstood, and it leads to the stereotype which creates a prejudice.
A canard, on the other hand, is an unfounded and often unfalsifiable derogatory claim intended to spread misinformation. It& #39;s fundamentally different from a stereotype in that it& #39;s not based on anything - it& #39;s just a made up claim about another group of people.
Things like "Jews control the media", "Jews call any criticism antisemitic", etc. are not stereotypes. They& #39;re canards. They& #39;re inherently malicious, and they& #39;re not based on anything real.
