Propaganda (Media Studies)

An attempt to deceive or coerce the recipients of a message by means of outright deception, selective information, or appeals to fears and emotions. Political propaganda is the use of these techniques to promote a political or power agenda or to cover up mistakes and illegal dealings. The widespread use of propaganda in political situations dominates the definition of propaganda as one of misinforming an audience or indoctrination. Information that is not structured to be propaganda is thought to be fair-minded and impartial, not favoring a particular point of view.

Propaganda shares with advertising, education, religious proselytizing, public relations, and govern mental campaigns an effort to influence feelings, thoughts, and behavior through media messages. That the persuasion of an audience through media images and messages is thought to be commonplace can be seen in the concept of “spin,” the idea that the manipulation of information to favor either an overt or a covert agenda is an expected part of contemporary communications. Through pundits, expert commentators, slanted statistics and research, and attractive visuals, messages from corporations, governments, or interest groups are presented to audiences, who are not given information for making their own judgments but are persuaded to accept the offered message as true and accurate.

From 1937 to 1942, The Institute of Propaganda Analysis tried to educate Americans in the identification of propaganda and how to fight it with critical thinking. The proposed seven basic techniques that could be recognized were as follows: (1) Name-Calling, (2) Glittering Generality, (3) Transfer, (4) Testimonial, (5) Plain Folks, (6) Card Stacking, and (7) Band Wagon. The use of these techniques for making persuasive messages can be seen in all types of communication. For more information, see Propaganda Critic: http://www.propagandacritic.com/articles/intro.why.html and Tye (2002).