The corporate media uses a variety of techniques to propagandize people and shape public opinion. In the first 9 Democratic debates of the 2020 election, these techniques include repetition, constraining the range of debate within acceptable boundaries, opening the debates with smears against progressives when viewership and retention is high, framing criticisms in question form and hiding behind the words of others to guard against accusations of having an agenda, and asking different candidates more or fewer tough questions—and also having a lesser or greater policy focus—based upon their political ideology.