War Propaganda in the United States |
Overview of propaganda |
Propaganda
Propaganda is biased or misleading information used to promote a certain political opinion or view. Propaganda starts with facts or information that is true and then it is twisted and manipulated to shed a favorable light on the opinions or motives of the people or government distributing the material. Advertising is a huge sector that involves propaganda to sell a product or interest possible costumers. Propaganda is not only in advertising but it is also prevalent in newspapers, radio, posters, books, and any other popular form of media.
Propaganda has been going on for centuries but the word propaganda originated in Medieval times when the spiritual unification of Europe collapsed. The Roman Catholic church lost its control over the northern countries of Europe. The church was faced with the dilemma of strengthening its control on the non-Catholic countries. The Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide or The Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith was created to manage the foreign missions. Later the College of Propaganda was created in order to train a new generation of Catholic propagandists to spread the religion. Soon the word propaganda was associated with any group or government with the intentions of spreading a doctrine in its favor. From the seventeenth to the twentieth century propaganda began modernize with increases in technology and science. Eventually propaganda became related to times of crisis or turmoil.
Propaganda has been going on for centuries but the word propaganda originated in Medieval times when the spiritual unification of Europe collapsed. The Roman Catholic church lost its control over the northern countries of Europe. The church was faced with the dilemma of strengthening its control on the non-Catholic countries. The Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide or The Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith was created to manage the foreign missions. Later the College of Propaganda was created in order to train a new generation of Catholic propagandists to spread the religion. Soon the word propaganda was associated with any group or government with the intentions of spreading a doctrine in its favor. From the seventeenth to the twentieth century propaganda began modernize with increases in technology and science. Eventually propaganda became related to times of crisis or turmoil.
Edward Bernays
Edward Bernays was an early leader in the field of public relations and developed several techniques for influencing the public. He was one of the first people to revolutionize the world of public relations from a small and basic industry to a larger yet more controversial industry that sought to influence public opinion. Edward used psychoanalytic techniques that he learned from his uncle, Sigmund Freud, to influence his work. Not only were his methods used in business and industry but they were also used in governments and in the revolutionizing of propaganda during World War One. His techniques and methods that he used helped influence the way the United States government created propaganda and how they manipulate the people to follow them in times of war or conflict.
Quotes from Edward Bernays' book, Propaganda
“But, given our present political conditions under which every office seeker must cater to the vote of the masses, the only means by which the born leader can lead is the expert use of propaganda.”
“The media by which special pleaders transmit their messages to the public through propaganda include all the means by which people to-day transmit their ideas to one another. There is no means of human communication which may not also be a means of deliberate propaganda, because propaganda is simply the establishing of reciprocal understanding between an individual and a group.”
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”
Quotes from Edward Bernays' book, Propaganda
“But, given our present political conditions under which every office seeker must cater to the vote of the masses, the only means by which the born leader can lead is the expert use of propaganda.”
“The media by which special pleaders transmit their messages to the public through propaganda include all the means by which people to-day transmit their ideas to one another. There is no means of human communication which may not also be a means of deliberate propaganda, because propaganda is simply the establishing of reciprocal understanding between an individual and a group.”
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”
War made easy
Norman Solomon, who is a columnist on media and politics, published a book in 2005 titled War Made Easy which is about how the United States government has been using deception and manipulated stories to drag the country into war. It was later made into a documentary in 2007. The trailer and the link to the full documentary is below:
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