Understanding The Propaganda

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Friends’ I’m delighted to share 117^th Blog titled ‘Understanding The Propaganda.’

Few Theories of Propaganda

Ø Propaganda is a deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions; manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist. - Garth S. Jowett & Victoria O'Donnell (Authors of Propaganda & Persuasion)

Ø Manipulation can be organized or unorganized, conscious or unconscious, politically or socially motivated. The concept reaches from systematic state propaganda to manipulate public opinion. - Edward L. Bernays

Ø Propaganda in the broadest sense is the technique of influencing human action by the manipulation of representations. These representations may take spoken, written, pictorial or musical form.- Harold D. Laswell

Ø Propaganda activates strong emotions, simplifies information, appeals to the hopes, fears, and dreams of a targeted audience; and attacks the opponents. -Renee Hobbs

Ø The modern word "propaganda" is derived from the Latin verb propagare, meaning to propagate, to disseminate, to spread. -Oxford English Dictionary

Ø Propaganda is a weapon as much as submarines, tanks and bombs. - Adolf Hitler

Primitive forms of propaganda have been a human activity as far back as reliable recorded evidence exists. Prototypes of political propaganda in the form of stone carvings, inscriptions, and sculpture date to the earliest civilizations and can be found around the world. The Behistun Inscription (c. 515 BC) detailing the rise of Darius-I to the Persian throne is viewed by most historians as an early example of propaganda.

However, the term “propaganda” did not originate until the 17th century. The term “propaganda” apparently first came into common use in Europe as a result of the missionary activities of the Catholic Church in 1622.  The Catholic Church was losing members and looked to recruit peoples of the New World. Pope Gregory XV created the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith) in Rome to send missionaries to the West to convert indigenous people and spread materials and ideas. The materials they produced were known as propaganda.

Further, Propaganda’s first widespread modern use occurred during World War-I. The warring powers used propaganda to motivate their own populations and to weaken their enemies' will to fight. Like the tank, airplane, and battleship, propaganda became an essential and powerful weapon in modern warfare.

Propaganda had served as the psychological weapon of Hitler's campaign to "divide and conquer" the world. Never before had the world been so overwhelmed with so much information. Pamphlets, cartoons, booklets, motion pictures, radio shows, and lectures written and produced both in the United States and abroad bombarded the American Public with the alleged problem of the Jews, the glory of the Third Reich (third regime or empire - the Nazi designation of Germany and its regime from 1933-45) and the moral decay of the world. The Nazi party used speeches, posters, and films during World War II to gain support. The United States used propaganda to encourage people to join the military during World War II.

Herman and Noam Chomsky Model of Propaganda explain how propaganda and systemic biases function in corporate mass media. The model explains how populations are manipulated and how consent for economic, social, and political policies, both foreign and domestic, is manufactured in the public mind due to this propaganda. The theory postulates five general classes of filters that determine the type of news that is presented in news media. These five classes are: ownership of the medium, the medium's funding sources, sourcing, flak, and anti-communism or fear ideology.

A to G of Propaganda Analysis

As per Institute for Propaganda Analysis (IPA), NY, USA A to G to detect, recognize, and analyze propaganda are…..

ü Ascertain the conflict element in the propaganda you are analyzing.

ü Behold your own reaction to this conflict element.

ü Concern yourself with today’s propaganda associated with today’s conflicts.

ü Doubt that your opinions are your very own.

ü Evaluate, therefore, with the greatest care, your own propagandas.

ü Find The Facts before you comes to any conclusion.

ü Guard always, finally, against omnibus words.

Colors of Propaganda

Communication experts classify propaganda as white, black, or gray depending on the transparency of the source. Determining the source of a message is an important tool in the analysis of propaganda.

v White Propaganda: In white propaganda, the producer of the material is clearly marked and indicated.

v Black Propaganda: One of the most deceptive forms of propaganda involves material created by one group but attributed to another. Black propaganda falsely claims a message or image was created by the opposition in order to discredit them.

v Gray Propaganda: Information and messages that have no clear producer are considered gray propaganda. Material of unknown origin leaves a viewer unable to determine the creator or motives behind the message.

Propaganda tools

• Appeal to emotions: Propaganda often relies on emotional appeals to influence people's opinions.
• Bandwagoning: Bandwagoning is a technique that uses peer pressure to convince people to do something.
• Card Stacking: Card stacking is a technique that only presents information that is favorable to the person or thing being promoted.
• Cherry picking: Cherry picking propaganda is not telling lies, but rather selecting the truth one require and giving it mixed up with some truths the audience wants to hear.
• Glittering Generalities: Glittering generalities are words or phrases that have a positive connotation, but don't really mean anything.
• Loaded Language: Loaded language is language that is loaded with emotion or meaning.
• Managing the news: According to Adolf Hitler, “The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly – it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.” This idea is consistent with the principle of classical conditioning as well as the idea of "Staying on Message.
• Making Unrealistic Promises: Making unrealistic promises is another common technique used in propaganda.
• Manipulating Information: Manipulating information involves distorting or misrepresenting the facts to influence people's opinions.
• Name-calling: Name-calling involves using derogatory terms to describe an opponent or enemy.
• Plain Folks: The plain folks' appeal is a technique that uses average, everyday people to endorse a product or candidate. The idea is that if regular people like something, then it must be good.
• Red herring: Presenting data or issues that, while compelling, are irrelevant to the argument at hand, and then claiming that it validates the argument.
• Scare tactics: Scare tactics are used to frighten people into supporting a particular cause.
• Scapegoating: Assigning blame to an individual or group, thus alleviating feelings of guilt from responsible parties and/or distracting attention from the need to fix the problem for which blame is being assigned.
• Slogans: Slogans are short, catchphrases that are used to summarize an idea or concept.
• Smears: Smear is an effort to damage or call into question someone's reputation, by propounding negative propaganda. It can be applied to individuals or groups.
• Snob Appeal: Snob appeal is a technique that uses the idea of exclusivity to make something seem more desirable.
• Straw man: Straw man argument is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position. To "attack a straw man" is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by substituting a superficially similar proposition (the "straw man"), and refuting it, without ever having actually refuted the original position.
• Testimonials: Testimonials are endorsements from famous or respected people.
• Transfer: The transfer is a technique that uses positive associations to make an object or person seems more favorable.
• Using False Statistics: Using false or misleading statistics is a common propaganda technique.
• Using Symbols: Symbols are often used in propaganda to represent an idea or concept. For example, the Nazi party used the swastika to represent their belief in racial purity.
• Virtue words: These are words in the value system of the target audience that produce a positive image when attached to a person or issue. Freedom, hope, happiness, peace, religiosity, security, truth, wise leadership, etc. are virtue words.
• Whataboutism: Whataboutism is a variant of the 'tu quoque' logical fallacy that attempts to discredit an opponent's position by charging them with hypocrisy without directly refuting or disproving their argument.
• Weasel Words: Weasel words are words that are designed to mislead or deceive people.

Friends’ Propaganda is a deliberate attempt to persuade people to think and then behave in a manner desired by the source. Propaganda is one-way communication aimed at exclusively profiting the sender and manipulating the receiver's response and behavior. In principle, propaganda is a persuasion strategy and tactic to change people's opinions, attitudes, and behaviors by using lies, deception, and hatred. Propaganda aims to get public support and acceptance while at the same time, make the public condemn the opposing party. Authoritarian regimes massively engage in "negative propaganda" that spreads disproportionately derogatory information defaming foreign or political rivals. Propaganda is a more general communication term referring to falsehoods, untruths or exaggerated messages that individuals or groups convey in support of a given purpose or cause.

Since Propaganda is used to promote a particular agenda or point of view, therefore goals of propaganda can vary, but common goals include shaping people's opinions, convincing them to support a particular cause or political candidate, or encouraging them to behave in a certain way. In modern world Propaganda is negatively used to demonize an enemy or an idea. Misleading statements and even lies may be used to create the desired effect in public at large or target audience.

Common media for transmitting propaganda messages include news reports, government reports, historical revision, *junk science, books, leaflets, movies, radio, television, and posters.  *The expression junk science is used to describe scientific data, research, or analysis considered by the person using the phrase to be spurious or fraudulent.

With the advent of WEB 2.0 resulting in rise of social media platforms, propaganda can be created and spread by vast numbers of individuals simultaneously online and can take many forms, ranging from memes to mainstream partisan news. WhatsApp Chat has become one of the most after sought tool for spreading propaganda.  

To conclude; since, aim of propaganda is to influence people's opinions or behaviors actively, rather than merely to communicate the facts about something; Propaganda is used to promote a particular agenda or point of view. The goals of propaganda can vary, but common goals include shaping peoples’ opinion, convincing them to support a particular cause or political candidate, or encouraging them to behave in a certain way. The dangers of propaganda include that it can be very effective in shaping people's opinions, and that it can be used to control their behavior. It can also be used to spread hatred and bigotry and to incite violence. Propaganda can also be used to deceive people, and to undermine democracy.  Propaganda is designed to sway opinion and further an agenda through targeted messaging through various media. No matter how harmless it appears, propaganda should always be scrutinized, as it promotes decision making and action based on limited, sometimes false, information and emotional appeal. Propaganda targets and manipulates our emotions without the benefit of two-way communication or fact-based debate.

Thanks for reading the blog.

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