Propaganda

Propaganda, dissemination of ideas and information for the purpose of inducing or intensifying specific attitudes and actions. Because propaganda is frequently accompanied by distortions of fact and by appeals to passion and prejudice, it is often thought to be invariably false or misleading. This view is relative, however. Although some propagandists may intentionally distort fact, others may present it as faithfully as objective observers. A lawyer's brief is as much propaganda as a billboard advertisement. Education, whatever its objective, could be regarded ultimately as a form of propaganda. The essential distinction lies in the intentions of the propagandist to persuade an audience to adopt the attitude or action he or she espouses.

Propaganda may be disseminated by or for individuals, businesses, ethnic associations, religious organizations, political organizations, and governments at every level. Thousands of special-interest groups disseminate propaganda. Among such groups are patriotic and temperance societies, fire-prevention and traffic-safety committees, leagues promoting environmental conservation or the prevention of cruelty to animals, trade unions, and chambers of commerce. No matter what its objective, propaganda attempts to persuade through rational or emotional appeal, or through the organization of personal opinion. Efficient use of the communication media is central to these efforts. The extent to which propaganda suceeds is directly related to the degree of access those at whom the propaganda is aimed have to alternative interpretation.

Propaganda can be employed in a variety of contexts: religious propaganda is widespread and has been throughout history, as when notable propagandist St Paul established the first Christian Churches in Asia Minor, Greece and Italy. The novel has also been a useful vehicle for propaganda, and famous pieces of literary propaganda include Gulliver's Travels (1752) by the Anglo-Irish satirist and political pamphleteer, Jonathan Swift, in which he launches a savage attack on the vanity and hypocrisy of contemporary politics, and Uncle Tom's Cabin (1850-1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe, which depicts black slavery in the American South and contributed to the growth of the abolitionist movement. A common form of political propaganda is the so-called “white” propaganda, which is designed to create a favourable view of a particular organization, group, or government, such as that disseminated to the German nation during the 1930s by the Nazis that stressed German “supremacy” and prosperity. Similarly, the unfortunately named “black” political propaganda aims to cause unrest and superstition with regard to the actions or intentions of another entity. One example of this kind of propaganda is that disseminated during the Cold War (1946-1990) when Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Moscow were all stressing the strengths of their own societies and undermining those of their enemies. The technological advances of the mass media, especially those of the electronic media, are expanding the outlets available to propagandists and are likely to have a significant impact on propaganda efforts in the future.

See also Advertising; Propaganda Cinema; Public Opinion; Public Relations.