WHAT IS PROPAGANDA?

PROPAGANDA

(prop-a-gan-da)
noun
1. information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm  person, group, movement, institution, nation, ect.
2. The deliberate spreading of such information, rumors, ect.
3. The particular doctrines or principles propagated by an orginization or movement.






What is propaganda? I'm sure you have heard of it before. You have seen pictures of Uncle Sam pleading for military service in your history books, you have probably learned of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany and their influence on the world, but could you define propaganda in it's most simplest terms?

An interesting photo I found describing the essence of propaganda.

Propaganda has been around for along time. Historically, propaganda has been used to sway the masses outlooks towards a particular style of thinking. This could be done by the constant use of media to present an idea or doctrine. The most famous way of issuing propaganda is through visuals such as posters or billboards. For example, if you were to walk down a street and see 400 different signs telling you to buy a certain product, what would your thoughts be? Probably something along the lines of 'wow that must be a very quality product' or 'I should by that product'. This is an example of advertisement, which is not exactly like propaganda but very similar. By constantly giving a message to the masses, they will believe it. This is the purpose of propaganda.

A term that plays a huge part in propaganda is ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the belief or viewpoint that the your ethic group is superior and all other ethnic groups are inferior. This will be explained later on when I talk about Nazi Germany and it's influence on propaganda.

A bubble map (because I know you love bubble maps Mrs. Smith) of what ethnocentrism really is in regards to a persons views on society. 

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROPAGANDA

There are many different types of propaganda. Certain types can be used to change people in certain ways, and some are more effective than others, depending on the people group it is being used on. Though there are many forms of propaganda, I will use the ones that are most commonly used in 1984.

Assertion - Assertion is a form of propaganda that is used in advertising and modern propaganda. Assertion is a energetic and enthusiastic statement presented as fact, even if it isn't. Assertion can be seen in many presidential campaigns. For example, how much has Obama changed for the better since he was in office, even though his slogan was "change'?

Has the U.S made progress, or was this simply a slogan that the Americans automatically assumed true and therefore voted for Obama?

Bandwagon propaganda - Bandwagon propaganda is one of the most influential techniques used during both wartime and peacetime. This type of propaganda appeals to the individual to join the crowd, and do something because everyone else is doing it, otherwise known as "jumping on the bandwagon"

Buy war bonds because I'M buying war bonds! - A simple example of bandwagon propaganda.

Selective Omission (Card Stacking) - Selective omission, also known as card stacking, is a typical type of propaganda used to sway the masses in a given direction by telling them what they want to hear, and leaving out the rest. By presenting information that is positive and omitting all negative viewpoints, the government can control the way the people view something. This technique is used often in Orwell's 1984. Though a picture will not be shown, this type of propaganda will be addressed later in the blog.

Glittering Generalities - Occurs often in politics and political propaganda, glittering generalities is what it sounds like. By using words that sound positive to defend something that sounds like it would correspond with a persons values, one can give a person a warped view on something.

 

Americans's may see the three words in this posters slogan and immediately assume positive things about Ron Paul.
Restore, America, and Now, are all words that are positive to the American citizen.

Lesser of Two Evils - This technique is basically self explanatory. By presenting the subject with two ideas and pointing out the obvious superiority of one, the subject immediately concludes that the superior one is also positive, even if it is not. This is a very clever form of propaganda, often used in wartime to convince people of the need for sacrifice or to justify difficult decisions.

Though it does not have negative connotations, this is a good example of lesser of two evils propaganda.

Name Calling - Very, very common in political and war propaganda, name calling is very simple yet very effective. Name calling is the use of derogatory words aimed towards the competition of a country, society, or individual, to change the masses minds about that competition. 

A common propaganda poster used during WWII against the Germans. The poster immediately gives the viewer
negative thoughts about the countries that opposed America.

Enemy Pinpointing - A very effective propaganda technique used often in warfare. This technique simplifies a complex situation by pinpointing the main cause of the problem, or the enemy. This type of propaganda can also be known as simplifying or stereotyping.

A complex situation, the need for workers in America, is addressed  as a negative effect due to the Japanese, in this American propaganda from WWII. 

Plain Folks - The last and possibly most important type of propaganda I will discuss is that of plain folks propaganda. Plain folks propaganda convinces the public that its views reflect those of the common person and that they are working for the benefit of that person. A very deceitful form of propaganda, it can give the public an unrealistic view of their power and influence, only to toss them into the hands of the government.

An example of plain folks propaganda; "Look at what I am doing to help the war!"

As you can see, propaganda has many forms and can be used to influence the public in many ways. it is important to know that there are two different ways propaganda can be viewed. Positively and negatively. Positive propaganda would be for example, a recruitment video or poster. The propaganda in these videos or posters does not give the public a warped view of a complex subject, it merely asks young men and women to be patriotic and fight for their country.

Negative propaganda has not been common within the realm of American propaganda, but later on you will have a front seat view of some of the most despicable and deceiving propaganda ever used, by a man named Adolf Hitler and his propagandist Joseph Goebels.