Understanding Propaganda - Research Paper Example

Understanding Propaganda The understanding of propaganda is complex since propaganda consists of the truth and lies, persuasion and deception, confusion and diversion and takes several forms. There is no clear definition of propaganda since it takes different forms and diverse depending on its application and setting. However, for the general understanding in this study, we can define propaganda as the information that is carefully selected and conveyed to audience with the intention of influencing their opinion or attitude mainly for the political benefit of the propagandist. According to Magstadt (147), Propaganda is the deliberate and a systematic effort to manipulate the perceptions, cognitions and or behavior using false, true or partial information in order for the informer to achieve certain specific responses that serves his or her intention. Propaganda may therefore passing information mainly to direct perception towards a certain point for the benefit of the propagandist. It therefore follows that propaganda may not benefit the audience but benefit only the architecture of the propaganda. Propaganda may also be intentional deception of individuals by changing their perceptions towards a particular issue. It can be engineered by the government or politicians for political reasons or just by an individual for self benefit. However, victims of propaganda do not often realize until they are completely deceived. Most of the times, propaganda is used to garner political support for politicians and they do this by spreading propaganda against their rivals. However, it is important to clarify that propaganda is not only for political reasons but may be also witnessed by other societal organizations that have intensions of manipulating the perceptions of the people. The understanding of propaganda in a class setting has therefore to start with the differentiation of propaganda with the other forms of advocacy. There are other forms of advocacy that are used to persuade people and hence change their perception by not necessarily using lies and false information. From the explanation given above, it is clear that there is a difference between propaganda and other tools of persuasion. One idea that has come out is that with propaganda, is that the propagandists are willing and uses confusion and deception to change the people’s perception rather than ordinary persuasion and understanding (Magstadt, 148). Another difference is that they may take the opportunity that the audience do not have the full information and hence use partial truth and partial lies to confuse them and make them believe. For example, in an organization, the leaders of that particular organization know very well that the information may not be true, however for the individuals in the organization that helps in the dissemination of the information; they might not know this. Bringing this difference in class aids in the understanding of propaganda as it it makes the members in a classroom stay focused and avoids confusion with other methods of advocacy. It also brings the concept clearer for the members in the classroom. It is therefore clear that propaganda is deliberate, deception and confusion that is intended to benefit individual interest or group of individuals. The techniques that are used to share propaganda are also very important. Since it is not a direct deception, it is important to outline the various techniques that are used by the propagandist to share information. The two commonly used avenues for sharing propaganda are the advertisements through media and public relations. However the difference should come out clear between the advertisement that are meant to promote a commercial product and the advertisement that is only meant to share propaganda. It should be noted that the propaganda often takes a specific forma and is totally different from the commercial advertisements in the media. Propaganda often takes the political or nationalist kind of messages and hence should not be confused with the advertisements or promotions of a particular product or service over the media. However propaganda still uses the same media such as the leaflets, radio and TV broadcasts, posters, electronic and printed media to pass their messages and hence confusing people more. Analysis of the content with regard to the intention of the content of such information or messages is therefore provides a clear understanding of propaganda and differentiates it from other commercial adverts. It should be noted that whether printed or electronic media, propaganda mainly contains information that is misleading and supports the political cause or those in power’s interests. Those in political powers often try as much as possible to use different avenues and media to first change the situation so that they are provided with a good opportunity to eventually change the actions of the people as well as their expectations in the manner that are desirable or benefit the interest group. As stated by For Know –it-Alls (28), Propaganda deceives individuals by not only filling their minds with false information but by preventing them from gating the truth about such false information. This is achieved by changed political situation that changes the perceptions of the audience and hence making them vulnerable to political deceptions. To help in the understanding of propaganda, it is necessary to understand the reason or why politicians or organization avoid all the available means of advocacy. There are different methods that can be used to advocate for any agenda but the propagandists deliberately avoids all these forms of communication. The aim of propagandists is therefore important in this study as it will also helps in the differentiation of propaganda and other forms of advocacy. It is important to recognize that propaganda is mainly used as “a mighty weapon in war” (Marlin, 333). In this context, propaganda is aimed at dehumanizing the enemy and hence creating hatred between two or more different groups that were one time associating in peace. In this way they try to make false image in the minds of the people or the audience and hence the people perception of the other groups are changed. False statement by saying that the enemy is responsible for certain bad happenings, the use of certain special words as well as deliberate avoidance of certain words that would otherwise bring clarifications is some of the ways that the propagandists use to create hatred. However, these false statements are usually successful because of certain injustices that were delivered to certain groups of people and hence confusing them through propaganda becomes easier. The understanding of the aim of propaganda is therefore important since it differentiates propaganda from other forms of advocacy or lies. While other forms of lies and confusions may be intended for self benefits, propaganda is mainly shared for political weapon against an enemy in politics. Another emerging important concept is that it creates hatred between groups of individuals or communities. As a result, the propagandist receives support from one group or community as a result of this division. According to Jowett & O’Donnell (43), propaganda is also used in the psychological warfare and not only on the political warfare. This is mainly seen among the religious leaders as they try to convince followers and increase their numbers. Some religious leaders use propaganda to convince not only the new followers but also the believers that they already have so that they do not loose followers but gain more followers instead. The techniques of the generation of propaganda are also important in this study. This is because they are different from the rumors or informal information communication channels. It is necessary to understand how these false and deception messages begin because they are unique and unlike other forms of advocacy or persuasion, the techniques used to generate propaganda often stem up from certain events, actions, or the behaviors of the enemy in the past. Most propagandists use these opportunities to easily create false information in the minds of their audience by manipulation of the past events to fit their intentions. There are several methods and techniques that certain people use to generate messages that are false but persuasive. Most of the techniques that the propagandists use are commonly found in the logical fallacies (Jowett & O’Donnell, 44). This is because most of these propagandists use some messages that do not necessarily need to be valid yet they are sometimes convincing. The research on the techniques by which propaganda messages are generated shows that it has been difficult to differentiate the ordinary messages from the propaganda (Jowett & O’Donnell, 46). This is however possible if the message is analyzed to find out if it contains false persuasive information. It is therefore necessary to understand certain techniques that may indicate that propagandistic information is being passed. This is important for the learners they would be able not only to identify the propagandistic statements but also the intentions of the propagandists. This is necessary to help individuals in making correct judgments and hence avoiding the impacts of propaganda. One of the most common techniques that are used by the propagandists to share information and initiate propaganda is appeal for fear or authority. By building fear in the public domain, the propagandists are capable of initiating support for their ideas and opinion since they tend to portray themselves as the only remedy to the fears of the general population. On the other hand, appeal to authority is mainly directed at citing the prominent figures as the cause of certain actions, support certain ideas or augments. In this way, hatred is developed between the groups. The result of this is that the propagandist gets the best opportunity to control the situation and influence the audience to accept a particular position or develop an attitude. This technique is one of the most used by politicians following a major event, calamity or disaster. The general public is persuaded to fear and support the individual or they are persuaded to hate the rival as the cause of a disaster and hence support him or her. Other ways that are used by the individuals to create fear and hatred among the communities as techniques for generating propaganda include; intentional vagueness, glittering generalities, scapegoats, virtue words, oversimplification of statements, stereotyping and slogans among many others. Lastly the understanding of propaganda would not be complete if we don’t look at how we can identify propaganda and differentiate it from the general methods of advocacy. One of the best ways one can identify propaganda is by analyzing the statements of the politicians. It is important to note that most of them work well by misleading or destructing the public from important issues. The propagandists do not focus on the important issues but concentrate on non important actions that had passed (For Know –it-Alls, 29). It is therefore important for the analyst to read between the lines and see what the reporters are avoiding or brushing over. Propaganda also includes certain important issues that are reported quietly or ones but a follow up is not made. Generally, the best test is to determine the benefits of the expected actions by the audiences that the message is directed to. If the intent of the message is for the audiences to act on the best interest of the distributor then this is a clear indication of propaganda. References For Know –it-Alls. (2008). “Propaganda for Know-it All.” New York: Filiquarian Publishing. Jowett, G. S. & O’Donnell, V. (2006). “Propaganda and persuasion.” London: Sage Publications. Magstadt, T. M. (2011). “Understanding Politics: Ideas, Institutions, and Issues.” Belmont: Cengage Learning. Marlin, R. (2002) “Propaganda and the ethics of persuasion.” New York: Broad Views Press. Read More