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103 Propaganda Essay Topics & Examples

Looking for good propaganda topics to write about? This field is truly exciting and worth exploring!

🏆 Best Propaganda Topic Ideas

🔊 excellent propaganda essay examples, 👍 good propaganda essay topics, ❓ questions about propaganda.

In your propaganda essay, you might want to focus on the historical or ethical aspects of the issue. Another interesting option would be to focus on a particular case and discuss the effectiveness of propaganda. In this article, we’ve gathered a list of top propaganda topics to write about. They will suit for essays, research papers, speeches or other projects. We’ve also added some excellent propaganda essay examples to inspire you even more.

• World War II Propaganda Posters in America The imagery of the boot stepping on the American church is not just a threat to the religious ideals of the country but a threat to freedom itself as the church often doubled as the […]
• Persuasion and Propaganda: Differences and Similarities In contrast to propaganda, persuasion is characterized by private acceptance of the position advocated in the message. In contrast to persuasion, propaganda is based on mind control aimed to condemn the recipients of a particular […]
• Hitler’s Use of Propaganda and Fear-Mongering The establishment of the National Socialist German Worker’s Party led to the adoption of a properly coordinated propaganda campaign that would prepare the country for war.
• Propaganda During World War II The Second World War was a complicated time for both the general public and the authorities since while the former worried for their safety, family, and homeland, the latter needed to maintain the national spirit […]
• Propaganda Techniques in the Vitaminwater Advertisement Applying this technique implies that an advertisement uses strong, attractive words and phrases to show how good a product is in order to attract the audience’s attention.
• Propaganda Techniques in Advertising The end goal is to solidify the brand in the subconscious mind of the buyers, in order for it to be able to compete with other brands.
• French Revolution: Role of Propaganda and Music The history of propaganda is based on three interweaving fundamentals: first, the mounting need, with the growth of civilization and the rise of nation-state, to win the battle for people’s minds; second, the increasing sophistication […]
• Stereotypes and Propaganda in Society Analysis The unfortunate reality is that the propaganda onslaught is continuous and the gullibility of the audience is also too often and thus the thinking of the majority of the audience is corrupted on heavy scales.
• Propaganda in “Animal Farm” by George Orwell His greatest objective is to carry out the spreading of the revolution and to bring in the improvement of the general welfare of all the animals on the farm.
• Political Propaganda in The Aeneid by Virgil As the paper reveals, The Aeneid is a political epic that was written with a political agenda to justify the founding of the nation of Rome.
• Rhetoric and Propaganda: How Far Is Rhetoric From Propaganda? In order to understand the essence of the two terms, it is important to consider the available definitions and meanings assigned to rhetoric and propaganda in the modern world.
• World War II Propaganda and Its Effects The purpose of this paper is to examine the confrontation between the German and the Soviet propaganda machines during the period of the Second Patriotic War, outline the goals and purposes of each, and identify […]
• Anti-War Movement DADA Vs. Propaganda Posters of WWI In relation to the causes of the WWI, these can considered as pertinent specifically on the basis that the reasons can be related to the type of society that is present during the said era.
• Propaganda in the Democratic Society The article focuses on the effects of propaganda on the democracy. In the article, he focuses on his experiences in the media industry with respect to the past and the present news.
• The World War II Propaganda Techniques All the parties to the war, including Germany, the Soviet Union, and Britain, invested many resources in propaganda, but the present essay will focus on the United States’ effort. Furthermore, propaganda messages were created to […]
• The History of Propaganda: From the Ancient Times to Nowadays The history of propaganda shows that some means of encouraging the troops, or discouraging the enemy were undertaken in the ancient times, and the times have preserved and brought up the names of the greatest […]
• The Use of Propaganda in Political Campaigns The issue of propaganda is of current importance because we hear such words we can face propaganda in every sphere of human life: political campaigns, propaganda of healthy way of life, propaganda in the sphere […]
• Propaganda, Persuasion and Public Relations For example in the case of the Australia’s cancellation of the Fuel Watch program Senator Xenaphon utilized propaganda stating that Fuel Watch was not an effective means of helping consumers stating the need to tackle […]
• How to Control What People Do: “Propaganda” by Edward Bernays In the book, Bernays explains how he employed propaganda to manipulate the public when he was the head of the United States Department of public information during world war I.
• Authoritarian Propaganda in Education and Media The question that people often ask themselves is, ‘how do authoritarian regimes get away with violence, torture, and oppression?’ Most of the citizens in countries led by authoritarians often seem to be in agreement with […]
• “The Motherland Calls”: Art as Political Propaganda The statue is meant to commemorate the Soviet victory in the Second World War, represent the soviet might, and serve as a message to all enemies of the USSR.
• Contribution of Media Text to World Wars’ Propaganda The key stakeholders in the industry prioritized profit maximization, hence amplifying the benefits of winning the war while minimally addressing the repercussions of the violence to the international community.
• Freedom of Speech and Propaganda in School Setting One of the practical solutions to the problem is the development and implementation of a comprehensive policy for balanced free speech in the classroom.
• The Role of Propaganda During World War II The poster encourages men to enroll in the army to protect the peaceful lives of women and children. By manipulating emotions and feelings, propaganda influenced people to enroll in the army or work harder.
• Nazi Propaganda and Triumph of the Will Based on this, the filming of the Triumph of the Will took place with the help of the vision of the world and the situation by the directors, omitting a number of significant events or […]
• Basic Propaganda Techniques The majority of the article is dedicated to Logos, however, presenting logical arguments and examples. When examples of negativity can be largely attributed only to one side, the folly occurs as follows: Subject A is […]
• Jim Crow Era Signage and Advertisements: Tools for Reinforcement a Racist Propaganda The quality of the services offered to “colored” people, It comes as no surprise, that all public facilities and spaces were segregated, particularly in the Southern states.
• The Use of Radio in German Propaganda During the World War II One of the techniques used by the Nazis to persuade German people and shape their worldview was the use of such media as radio.
• War on Terror: Propaganda and Freedom of the Press in the US There was the launching of the “Center for Media and Democracy”, CMD, in the year 1993 in order to create what was the only public interest at that period. There was expansive use of propaganda […]
• Medieval and Renaissance Art Religious Style and Propaganda The main task of these artworks was to inspire and awe the people, to show the greatness and almightiness of God.
• Is Propaganda a Technique or a Phenomenon? The main goal of this paper is to analyze the nature of propaganda to answer the question of whether it is a phenomenon or a technique.
• World War I: Medias of Propaganda in the U.S. Posters of World War 1 presented a different style of propaganda because of the war time effort of U S government.
• Commercial Advertisements as a Form of Propaganda System This is due to the fact that the objective of advertisement is to promote a product or service resulting in a financial benefit to the firm.
• Commercial Advertising as a Propaganda System The propaganda system is a commonly used tool of winning the attention of the audience and is mostly used in political circles although it has of late gained popularity in the business environment.
• Anti-Japanese Propaganda During World War II The content of propaganda was much the same as that of broadcast propaganda: emphasis on the Allies’ growing war potential, ridicule of the more preposterous assertions of the National Socialists, evidence of self-contradictions in the […]
• Propaganda in Art During the Second World War In the background of the Great Depression, and the Second World War this poster was the embodiment of the unification of generations, which takes place at the feast table.”The Four Freedoms” speech, proclaimed by Roosevelt […]
• Persuasion and Propaganda in Modern Society Persuasion is based on discourse and dialogue; propaganda is intended to be one-sided” Some researchers, such as Cain, look at any piece of media communication according to the ten points identified by Jowett and O’Donnell […]
• Nazi’s Propaganda in the XX Century At first, Nazis used propaganda technologies to draw attention of other political organizations of the right wing, then, after the departure of imprisonment by Hitler, the party becomes better organized and, finally, propaganda is used […]
• Post-World War II Propaganda Art According to Arendt, the “who” is revealed in the narratives people tell of themselves and others. We humanize what is going on in the world and in ourselves only by speaking of it, and in […]
• The Power of Propaganda He is of the opinion that lies comprise the lion’s share of propaganda and describes it as a very powerful tool utilized in the arena of politics.
• Bolshevik Propaganda in the Russian Revolution Communists hoped to achieve, and that was why they had more and more concentrated their propaganda efforts on the boys and girls and the young men and women.
• Propaganda Theory Analysis Communication Theory Propaganda Theory Meaning The propaganda theory explains how social, political, and economic attitudes are manufactured to manipulate the populace, for the sake of the welfare of entities with power and money. Invention Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky introduced the theory in their book, Manufacturing Consent – The Political Economy of the Mass […]
• Albert Speer’s Architectural Scale as a Tool of Nazi Propaganda In the center of attention of Hitler, there was the restructuring of Berlin by the architect Albert Speer. Such buildings as the Volkshalle and the Cathedral of Light were the most expressive projects that illustrated […]
• Propaganda and Political Framing The video chosen for the overview in this paper is called “Euromaidan/Kijow 2014”, it was posted on YouTube by a user under the nickname MrMitos1 in the end of February this year, which was the […]
• Propaganda of Social Movements and Non-State Actors Taking a closer and more attentive look at the FARC video, it is easy to notice that the cartoon characters are of Latin origin, the video is designed to attract the people of Colombia and […]
• Terrorism as Spectacle: Extremist Propaganda The objective of terrorist propaganda is to influence the attitude of a specified mass audience. Terrorist propaganda in the video links is intended to publicize acts of brutality committed by the militants.
• Advertising: Rhetoric or Propaganda? The shorter video mainly features the executive director of the “Morningside Recovery” company, who might be described as an attractive person, which creates additional appeal in the viewers of the video; the director briefly outlines […]
• Propaganda: “Total” and “Time” Concepts The fact that the most outrageous instances of propaganda are never forgotten and stay in history brings us to the next aspect of the investigated phenomenon and technique, which is the “Time”.
• The Cyberspace War: Propaganda and Trolling To justify the theory that will be used in the study, it is necessary to state that the Russian government has been using the workforce of its employees to change people’s opinions to the ones […]
• American Government: Propaganda and Persuasion He successfully achieved his goal of sending a man to the Moon and managed to beat the Soviet Union mostly due to his ability to capture people’s imagination.
• Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and Its Propaganda The Middle East also has a serious economic impact on the rest of the world because of the rich oil deposits, especially in the countries bordering the Persian Gulf.
• Holocaust, Antisemitism, and Propaganda That is why, nowadays great attention is given to issues which led to the death of millions of people. Being a part of the ideology of Nazism, it led to the elimination of a great […]
• Islamic State’s Online Propaganda to Men and Women The third hypothesis is that the ISIS extensively uses misrepresentation as a tool of online communication, i.e.the way the role and position of women in the ISIS presented in the terrorists’ online communication are significantly […]
• Propaganda as a Social Phenomenon Edgar Henderson, also comprehensively in propaganda scholarship, argues that propaganda is basically a social phenomenon owing to its objectivity and capacity to appeal to the psychological or sociopsychological dispositions of individuals.
• Propaganda: Terrorist, Government, State, Non-State Extremists pass their terrorist propaganda to the youth through the power of the media and the internet. Ideally, propaganda that is produced by the state aims at influencing the opinions and attitudes of its people […]
• Terrorist and Government Propaganda in Media The aim of terrorists, especially those concerned with religious extremism, is to attract the attention of the state and other members of the public.
• Propaganda and Marketing Relationships This aspect was meant to prevent the wrong societal perceptions that Bernays was promoting Venida products in the market, but showing the public the importance of the hairnets.
• Propaganda of Adolf Hitler and Jim Jones This is a scenario that has occurred with the Nazi, under the command of Adolf Hitler, and the story of Jim Jones, and the people who followed him in a quest to build an ideal […]
• Propaganda Techniques in Movies: Light, Camera, Action Despite using rather simplistic propaganda techniques and devices, such as Beautiful People and Flag-Waving, the movie manages to get the key idea of the major flaws at the very core of the current healthcare system […]
• Propaganda Forms and Techniques They both target the anti-government group that is most likely to criticize and question the actions of the government. The policies of the government have been hijacked and are now in favor of the ruling […]
• Propaganda Model and Media Power The media is expected to expose any practices of the government and corporate bodies that may cause any harm to the public in one way or the other.
• Propaganda Movement in Mass Media Through the study of Gimenez et al, it was seen that the correlation between the propaganda model and the power of the media can be summarized on the impact of irrational exuberance as a means […]
• Influence of Propaganda Politics The organizers of the event were well conversant with the impact of the flag to the message; it created credibility and believability among the members of the public.
• The Marlboro Ads as a Propaganda Advertising As such, the target of information presented is to alter the attitudes of consumers towards the interests of the advert sponsors.
• Propaganda as Hezbollah’s Auxiliary Strategy These strategies include the construction of a propaganda theme park, the establishment of a Hezbollah television station, the development of anti-Israeli video games, and the production of varied merchandise that promote Hezbollah’s ideas and values.
• Why We Fight: American Wartime Propaganda The reason for this is simple contrary to what it is being suggested in the film, the overwhelming majority of German Nazis, as well as ordinary German citizens who never ceased supporting Nazis right to […]
• Propaganda in Pro-slavery Arguments and Douglass’s Narrative Propaganda refers to the form of communication that is meant to influence the feelings and attitudes of individual to believe or support a certain viewpoint.
• Propaganda Model: Herman and Noam Chomsky In Chomsky’s opinion, the conclusion that the tyranny of the majority can threaten the rights of persons, including the rights for freedom of speech and conscience, was the result of confusion caused by the vague […]
• Al Jazeera TV: A Propaganda Platform Al Jazeera is the largest media outlet in the Middle East reporting events mostly to the Arab world. The media outlet has equated revolutions in Egypt and Libya with the ejection of totalitarianism in the […]
• History of Hitler’s Nazi Propaganda According to Hitler, the German’s defeat in the First World War, the Bolshevik Revolution, German’s post war inflation, and the economic crisis of the year 1929 were accredited to International Jewry. Over time, the masses […]
• Media Propaganda: Poster Advertisement Further, at the lower right corner, the poster has a picture of the spray under consideration and the name of the spray: “New Axe Essence”.
• Propaganda and Mass Media: Obstacles and Best Conditions for Propagandist The first obstacle is to comprehensively understand the nature of the target audience that the propagandist wants to modify through the use of propaganda.
• Propaganda in the “Triumph of the Will” This is propaganda because the development of Germany was not based on the efforts of the labor force alone, but also on all German citizens and the world at large. He is often heard saying […]
• What American Leader Relies on Propaganda and Appeals to Fear?
• How Did Hitler Consolidate His Power and Continue to Gain Support Using Propaganda?
• How Is Propaganda Used?
• How Effective Were Indoctrination and Propaganda?
• Did a Campaign of Propaganda and Disinformation Initiate the War in Iraq?
• How Did the Nazi Regime Use Propaganda as a Form of Political Control?
• What Makes a Good Propaganda?
• How Media and Propaganda Are Related?
• How Did the Nazi Party Use Propaganda?
• How Were Cartoons and Propaganda Used Against Jews and Nazis During World War II?
• How Did Propaganda Help the Nazis Control?
• What Role Did Printed Propaganda Play in the Outbreak and Continuation of Conflict During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms?
• How the Nazi Germans Used the Media to Spread Propaganda During Hitler’s Time?
• How Does Napoleon Use Persuasive Language and Propaganda to Seize and Maintain Power?
• Was Propaganda the Main Reason for the Lack of Opposition to the Nazis?
• How Have Images and Designs Been Used as Social Protest and Propaganda?
• How Effective Was Propaganda in Affecting the Way People Acted and Thought?
• Why Did the British Government Make Use of Propaganda During World War I?
• How Successful Was Propaganda in Indoctrinating Nazi Ideals?
• How Did Radio and Movies Change People’s Ideas, and How Were They Used for Spreading Propaganda?
• What Are Propaganda Historical Origins?
• What Is Propaganda in Psychology?
• How Propaganda Helped the Nazi Government to Control Germany?
• How Far Did Ancient Coinage Serve as a Medium for Political Propaganda?
• What Is Bandwagon in Propaganda?
• Why the Society Has to Co-exist With Propaganda?
• How Vital Was Propaganda to Nazi Control Over Germany in 1934-1939?
• How Important Was the Governments Use of Propaganda in Bringing the Strike to an Early End?
• How and Why Did the Nazis Use Propaganda to Further Their Aims 1929-1933?
• How Does Propaganda Work?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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127 Propaganda Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Propaganda has been used throughout history as a powerful tool to manipulate and influence public opinion. From political campaigns to advertising, propaganda can be found in various forms and mediums. If you are interested in exploring this topic further, here are 127 propaganda essay topic ideas and examples to get you started.

• The use of propaganda in World War II
• How propaganda influenced the outcome of the Cold War
• Analyzing propaganda in contemporary political campaigns
• The role of propaganda in shaping public opinion on climate change
• The impact of social media on modern propaganda
• Propaganda in advertising: how brands manipulate consumer behavior
• The ethics of propaganda in journalism
• Propaganda in film and television: analyzing its use in popular culture
• The psychological effects of propaganda on individuals
• Propaganda in education: how textbooks shape students' beliefs
• The role of propaganda in promoting nationalism
• Analyzing propaganda in historical speeches
• The use of propaganda in promoting healthcare initiatives
• Propaganda in the music industry: how artists promote their image
• The role of propaganda in promoting social justice movements
• How propaganda is used to justify war and conflict
• Analyzing propaganda in religious texts
• The impact of propaganda on public health campaigns
• Propaganda in sports: how athletes promote themselves and their sponsors
• The role of propaganda in shaping public policy
• Analyzing propaganda in political cartoons
• The use of propaganda in promoting tourism
• How propaganda is used to promote consumerism
• Propaganda in the fashion industry: how brands influence trends
• The role of propaganda in promoting diet and fitness fads
• Analyzing propaganda in celebrity endorsements
• The impact of propaganda on public perceptions of crime and justice
• Propaganda in historical monuments and memorials
• How propaganda is used to promote cultural stereotypes
• The role of propaganda in promoting social media influencers
• Analyzing propaganda in video games
• The use of propaganda in promoting military recruitment
• Propaganda in historical artwork and literature
• How propaganda is used to promote religious beliefs
• The role of propaganda in promoting conspiracy theories
• Analyzing propaganda in public health crises
• The impact of propaganda on public perceptions of immigration

These essay topic ideas and examples provide a wide range of options for exploring the fascinating world of propaganda. Whether you are interested in historical propaganda campaigns or modern-day examples in advertising and social media, there is plenty to explore and analyze in this complex and influential field. Happy writing!

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125 Interesting Propaganda Essay Topics and Ideas

Table of Contents

A technique for influencing people’s beliefs is propaganda. Many times, false or forecasted rumors are spread, and they may not even be based on the real events that are taking place. For instance, during several battles and conflicts throughout history, rumors about the adversary spread while having no basis in reality. Propaganda essay topics should always be carefully considered. Topics may either pique readers’ interest or drive them off the page, leaving you with just one disgruntled reader. Fortunately, there are techniques to make sure that your topic of choice is both entertaining and educational. Consider this a new challenge.

List of Propaganda Essay Topics

Whether or if your essay is read is entirely up to you. If it’s a terrible one, it can be unread for years or even decades without any consequences, but if it turns out to be a good one, you won’t have any trouble obtaining an “A” in class! Take a look at the list of propaganda essay topics ideas below to get started:

Thought-Provoking Propaganda Essay Topics

• Advertising in “Triumph of the Will”
• The Vitamin Water Ad: Propaganda and the Mass Media: Barriers and Optimal Situations for Propagandist Propaganda Techniques
• Advertising on a poster is media propaganda.
• Hitler’s Nazi propaganda throughout history
• A Platform for Propaganda: Al Jazeera TV
• Model for Propaganda: Herman and Noam Chomsky
• Douglass’s narrative and pro-slavery arguments both contain propaganda Propaganda, Persuasion, and Public Relations
• American Wartime Propaganda as to Why We Fight
• Hezbollah’s auxiliary strategy is propaganda.
• The Influence of Propaganda Politics on the Marlboro Ads as Propaganda Advertising
• Activist Propaganda in the Media
• Media Influence and Propaganda Model
• Advertising in a Democratic Society

Fascinating Propaganda Essay Topics

• During the Second World War, propaganda and rumors were widely distributed throughout America.
• How did Adolf Hitler employ propaganda?
• Isaac Pontanus Propaganda against war: What you need to know
• Pro-American Empire propaganda by Augustan Art: The primary types of propaganda
• Nazi Germans used propaganda to persuade Germans.
• How effective is propaganda as a social reform tool?
• Music’s significance in the German Reformation
• Propaganda’s role in promoting democracy Political cartoons—are they the most potent forms of propaganda?
• Propaganda’s significance in advertising
• The government of the United States uses propaganda
• Using propaganda to further journalists’ arguments
• Propaganda’s influence on the 1984th society
• Radio censorship in the Third Reich
• Propaganda during the First World War
• How are the Olympic Games influenced by propaganda?
• What methods of propaganda do politicians employ?
• What kind of propaganda did Ann Mcclintock employ?
• What propaganda techniques did Sheryl Tuttle Ross employ?
• How Hitler abused the media to seize control?
• Is propaganda made out of fiction or fact?
• The distinctions between ancient and contemporary propaganda

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Outstanding Propaganda Essay Topics

• Understanding social and political propaganda is skill number 24
• The most successful campaign against terrorism’s propaganda
• The strength of Nazi propaganda
• What harm does political propaganda cause to society?
• The role of stereotypes in propaganda, number 28,
• Propaganda from the media and the government: What you should know
• How deceptive is propaganda?
• How does propaganda affect contemporary society?
• How did the communist and Spanish press deploy propaganda?
• How does friends’ propaganda affect teenagers?
• How is political propaganda sold through the media?
• How to approach propaganda to lessen its negative consequences
• What are the impacts of war propaganda photography?
• Simple And Easy Propaganda Essay Topics
• Propaganda: The Concepts of “Total” and “Time”
• Rhetoric or propaganda in advertising?
• Extremist propaganda: Terrorism as a Spectacle
• Social movement and non-state actor propaganda
• Political framing and propaganda
• The Architectural Scale of Albert Speer as a Nazi Propaganda Tool
• Analysis of Propaganda Theory
• Bolshevik Throughout the Russian Revolution, propaganda
• Influence of Propaganda
• Propaganda Art and the Anti-War Movement after World War II DADA vs. World War I propaganda posters
• Nazi propaganda in the twenty-first century
• Propaganda in History: From the Ancients to the Present
• Propaganda and Persuasion: Differences and Parallels
• Propaganda’s Use in Political Campaigns
• Propaganda and Persuasion in Contemporary Society

Exciting Propaganda Essay Topics

• Analysis of Stereotypes and Propaganda in Society
• During World War II, propaganda was depicted through artwork.
• Propaganda against the Japanese in World War II
• American propaganda posters from World War II
• Commercial marketing as a tool for propaganda
• The use of commercial advertisements in propaganda campaigns
• Media used for propaganda during World War I in the U.S.
• George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” contains propaganda.
• How to Control What People Do: Edward Bernays’ “Propaganda”
• Is propaganda a method or an occurrence?
• Renaissance and Mediaeval Art Styles of Religion and Propaganda
• Propaganda and Rhetoric: How Distinct Is Propaganda From Rhetoric?
• Propaganda and Press Freedom in the US During the War on Terror
• Propaganda and Music’s Role in the French Revolution
• The Jim Crow Era Signage and Advertisements: Tools for Supporting Racist Propaganda The Use of Radio in German Propaganda During World War II
• Simple Propaganda Methods
• Do advertisements encourage teen smoking? How are smokers often portrayed?
• Holocaust and Nazi propaganda. Is Hitler’s ideology directly responsible for the Holocaust?
• Do cartoons have an agenda? Consider the likelihood of propagandist strategies appearing in animated films in your article.
• What methods are utilized to spread stereotypes? How do stereotypes work? List some instances of stereotypes that are used to influence and control others.
• Propaganda is shown in Animal Farm by George Orwell. Describe the methods pigs formerly used to trick animals.

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Important Propaganda Essay Topics

• What American Leader Invokes Fear and Relies on Propaganda?
• How Did Hitler Use Propaganda to Maintain His Support and Consolidate His Power?
• What Role Does Propaganda Play?
• How Effective Were Propaganda and Indoctrination?
• Did a Disinformation and Propaganda Campaign Start the War in Iraq?
• How Did the Nazi Government Use Propaganda to Control Politics?
• Why Is Good Propaganda Effective?
• How Are Propaganda and the Media Related?
• What Kind of Propaganda Did the Nazi Party Use?
• How were Nazis and Jews persecuted through cartoons and propaganda during World War II?
• How Did Propaganda Aid in Controlling the Nazis?
• What Part Did Print Media Play in the Beginning and Development of War During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms?
• How Did the Nazi Germans Spread Their Propaganda During the Rule of Hitler?
• How Does Napoleon Achieve and Preserve Power Through Persuasive Language and Propaganda?
• Was the lack of opposition to the Nazis mostly due to propaganda?
• How Are Images and Designs Used for Propaganda and Social Protest?
• How Successful Was Propaganda in Changing How People Act and Think?
• During World War I, why did the British government use propaganda?
• How Effective Was Propaganda in Spreading Nazi Principles?
• What Are the Historical Roots of Propaganda?

Impactful Propaganda Essay Topics

• Write about German Ideology and propaganda.
• Discuss the manipulative nature of propaganda.
• Explain the artistic propaganda during the French Revolution.
• What is negative propaganda? Where is it commonly used?
• What propagandist views promote the issue of cyberhate?
• Explain the role of propaganda in military patriotism.
• Write an essay on the rise of modern propaganda.
• Prepare an argumentative essay on media propaganda.
• Explain what is wrong with propaganda.
• How to deal with propaganda and fake news
• Analyze the purpose of political propaganda.

Interesting Propaganda Essay Topics

• What Does Psychological Propaganda Mean?
• How Did Propaganda Aid the Nazi Regime in Controlling Germany?
• Why can’t Internet restrictions stop cyberhate? What propagandistic ideas advance the problem of online hatred?
• Propaganda used in conflict. Is it essential for military success?
• Manifestations of propaganda in The Grapes of Wrath. What support does the book’s anti-capitalist ideology have?
• Does education spread and influence ideas? Look for instances from the present and the history.
• What exactly is false propaganda? Where is it used frequently?
• Why is it that individuals are led to feel that immigration is bad? Who is in charge of these opinions?

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The Bottom Line

Pick a Great Propaganda essay topic of your choice from the more than 100 topic suggestions on our site to create a top-notch, flawless Propaganda research paper. Please get in touch with us right away if you need assistance choosing a topic for or preparing your Propaganda research paper. To provide top-notch assignment help , we have a large staff of academic writers with an in-depth understanding of writing Propaganda essay topics.

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Propaganda Essay Topics & Ideas

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Propaganda essay topics for college students, ✒️ persuasive essay topics about propaganda.

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✨ Best propaganda Topic Ideas & Essay Examples

• Edward Bernays Propaganda As an alternative, to avoid the chaos of having each member of society voice their opinion on social or political issues, Barneys suggests having a set Of institutions Of practices that serve to regulate these crowds so they can behave within the ….
• Propaganda in 1984 In Oceania, rumors, myths, ideas and false information controls the minds of the citizens. The Party uses propaganda as a powerful weapon against the citizens. There are many types of propaganda used. Propaganda is brainwash. The citizens of Oceania ….
• Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle”: Failure as Propaganda Upton Sinclair has famously remarked, “All art is propaganda. It is universally and inescapably propaganda; sometimes unconsciously, but often deliberately, propaganda. ” These words are especially befitting for Sinclair’s most famous novel, The ….
• Propaganda Is Being Projected to Americans Propaganda Currently, propaganda is being projected to Americans all across the United States every time they turn on a radio, television or look at a billboard. Nearly every politician is using these promotional opportunities to influence the minds’….
• The Berlin Olympic Propaganda of Nazi Germany The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931. Nazi Germany ….
• Evolution of Daesh Propaganda Before drilling deep into the revolution of DAESH propaganda, it is important to understand the classical understanding of propaganda as the “management of collective attitude by the manipulation of significant symbols” (Lasswell, 1927, p.627) From ….
• Jose Rizal and the Propaganda Movement Sample Between 1872 and 1892. a national consciousness was turning among the Filipino emigres who had settled in Europe. In the freer ambiance of Europe. these emigres–liberals exiled in 1872 and pupils go toing European universities–formed the Propaganda ….
• Mouthpiece and Minister of Propaganda He is a great liar as he had somehow persuaded Jessie and Bluebell that their puppies would be educated, but instead he was going to make of them his “bodyguards. ” Furthermore, he had opposed Snowball, who had the plan of building a windmill for ….
• How effective was propaganda in affecting the way people acted and thought? The Nazis used various methods of propaganda before and throughout the Second World War in order to gain total control of the German people. Of course, it was a gradual process but surely enough, the country soon became a totalitarian state; with ….
• How effective was Nazi propaganda 1933-1945? How effective was Nazi propaganda 1933-1945? Propaganda was recognized by Hitler and his men as an important tool for the success of a regime. As Goebbels said in 1934, “Propaganda was our sharpest weapon in conquering the state, and remains our ….
• Thomas Paine: Propaganda and Persuasion Thomas Paine, often called the Godfather of America was an eighteenth century writer who used propaganda and persuasion techniques to motivate Americans in the fight for freedom from Britain. In one of several editions of his pamphlets titled The ….
• The Use of Noam Chomsky’s Propaganda Models in Bill Moyers Buying the War Noam Chomsky is known to be the father of linguistics. He is an American linguist and political critic who created along with Edward S. Herman a set of five filters known as the propaganda model. These five filters discuss and focus on how power ….
• Propaganda Roe v Wade Propaganda is defined as information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. It is also known as brainwashing because when information is presented in a certain way ….
• Concept of Hitler: Nazi Propaganda The Nazi party was a powerful machine at its height of power when Hitler was chancellor. Despite its hold over the German people the Nazi party did not have a very auspicious beginning. To become the political machine that it did was a calculated ….
• English FoA Notes Propaganda Propagandistic messages can take on various forms -? the mass media (posters, radio telecasts, speeches made by the government, television, films, poems) played an influential role in disseminating news from the Front Lines to the Home Front. ….
• Media as Covert Sociological Propaganda One issue in Tom Cooper’s ‘Between the Summits: What American’s Think About Media Ethics’ that stands out to me is the concern about invasive advertising and its effect on the privacy of the citizens of a nation. This concern has become more and ….
• Full Spectrum Analysis of Propaganda Propaganda, as form of persuasion, has been used far and wide since humankind was in the business of persuading each other of their desired viewpoint. Propaganda has long been both a understood, as well as misunderstood, way of persuading people. It ….
• Powerful Propaganda for the Independence of the American Colonies Against Britain Thomas Paine was an English philosopher and political theorist who wrote powerful propaganda for the independence of the American colonies against Britain and became one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Books such as Paine’s Common ….
• Art and Propaganda in Ancient Rome The Romans used art as propaganda to help distribute a set of common ideals and behavior to all citizens. These citizens were often times far from the physical dimensions of Rome, and thus art (or propaganda masking as art) allowed even the most ….

✍ Interesting Essay Topics About Propaganda

• Grey Propaganda in “Khuda Ke Liye” Film
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• Propaganda and indoctrination were the most significant methods”
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• Propaganda and Mass Media: Obstacles and Best Conditions for Propagandist
• Propaganda and Political Agendas in The Film American Sniper
• Propaganda as a Social Phenomenon
• Propaganda in “Animal Farm” by George Orwell Report
• Propaganda in Art During the Second World War
• Propaganda in Nazi Germany
• Propaganda in Pro-slavery Arguments and Douglass’s Narrative Expository
• Propaganda in the “Triumph of the Will” Essay (Movie Review)
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• Propaganda Model Research Argumentative
• Propaganda Model: Herman and Noam Chomsky
• Propaganda Movement in Mass Media Synthesis
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• Propaganda Speech Homework
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• Propaganda Techniques in the Vitaminwater Advertisement
• Propaganda Theory Analysis Coursework
• Propaganda Throughout History
• Rational vs. Non-Rational Propaganda
• Review of “the Propaganda of the Saints in the Middle Ages.”
• Roman Propaganda Expressed Through Art
• Romance: a Symbolism of Propaganda in Casablanca
• Stereotypes and Propaganda in Society Analysis Research
• Terrorism as Spectacle: Extremist Propaganda
• The 1936 Olympic Games Were A Failure For Nazi Propaganda
• The Cyberspace War: Propaganda and Trolling Proposal
• The Dictatorship of Joseph Stalin: The Power of Propaganda
• The Effects of Media Propaganda
• The Film Blackfish by Gabriella Cowperthwaite is a Propaganda Case
• The Grapes of Wrath as “A Piece of Documentary Propaganda in Functional Form”
• The History of Propaganda
• The Imperialist Propaganda in the Philippines by the United States
• The Marlboro Ads as a Propaganda Advertising Argumentative
• The Odyssey and Propaganda
• The Power of Propaganda Research
• The Role of Propaganda in Handling The Consequences of The Soviet and Afghanistan War
• The Use of Power and Propaganda in Animal Farm
• The Use of Propaganda in Ancient Pieces of Art:
• The Use of Propaganda in Political Campaigns Research
• World War I: Medias of Propaganda in the U.S. Term
• World War II Propaganda Posters in America Term
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Essay Samples on Propaganda

Propaganda and manipulation in george orwell's "1984".

George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984" offers a haunting portrayal of a society dominated by propaganda, where truth is distorted, and reality is manipulated by those in power. The novel explores the insidious nature of propaganda and its role in controlling thought, erasing history, and perpetuating...

Analysis Of The Anti-trump Statement In We The People Poster By Shepard Fairey

A propaganda is a mean of communication to influence others’ opinions to support a belief. In 1914, during World War 1, the word propaganda effectively came to use. Different types of propaganda were used to deliver different messages. In various propaganda, the American flag was...

• American Flag
• Donald Trump

Politics And American Propaganda In The Movie Casablanca

Casablanca is a 1942 Warner Brother classic which is near the top of the critical assessment of the best Hollywood movies of the all-time. Casablanca is more than a great movie and deals with topics head-on. It further deserves a lot more respect than it...

Ptolemaic Coinage as a Source of Propaganda

The minting of coinage during the Hellenistic period is a representation of propaganda that kings and queens used to establish themselves as the rulers of the rising successors kingdoms. The portrait representation of the Ptolemaic dynasty on coinage is a source of propaganda which was...

• Hellenistic Period

Messages of Political Propaganda in Advertising for Young Children

The definition of propaganda is about spreading information with a cause, whereas advertising is an attempt to influence the buying behaviour of customers or clients using a persuasive message. The similarity of both words is for the cause of spreading, even if it includes engraving...

• Advertising

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Ways to Combat the Fake News Issue and Stop It From Spreading

If I had to explain fake news to someone unfamiliar with the term, I might say something such as, it being misleading information or a piece of false information that has been manipulated and changed to fit an agenda. This type of news, is so...

• Media Influence

How Donald Trump Gained the Trust of His Voters Through Propaganda

Propaganda is information used by politicians and governments to portray an idea or to persuade people in a misleading and biased way. The creator of the propaganda focuses on the side that is beneficial for him and usually ignores the negative side. It is commonly...

• Trust in Presidency

Rosie the Riveter Empowers Women During World War II

Events in the past have shaped the minds of women from being housewives to holding higher paying jobs comparable to their male counterparts. The slogan, “We Can Do It!”, portrayed by Rosie the Riveter, inspired women during World War II to become more independent and...

• Rosie The Riveter

The Reality Behind Rosie The Riveter and Her Campaign in World War II

Rosie the Riveter was featured in the celebrated World War II era propaganda campaign battle and in the long run came a standout amongst the most renowned symbols in American history. But who precisely was Rosie the Riveter? But what is the real story behind...

Propaganda Process In Shepard Fairey'S Work

This essay will be discussing what it takes to create successful propaganda. Each paragraph will be delving into the creative process that is behind propaganda specifically the work of Shepard Fairey. Fairey has created multiple pieces of propaganda throughout the years ranging from his own...

• Barack Obama
• Exit Through The Gift Shop

The Difference Between Propaganda and Street Art in Shepard Fairey's Work

Shepard Fairey is a very influential graphic designer, who was born on February the 15th in 1970, in the state South Carolina, in the United States. He went to the idyllwild arts academy in Palm Springs, California in 1988. In 1992 he then got his...

Examining 'Supersize Me' and 'FatHead': Unveiling the Truth or Propaganda

The rising level of obesity in the United States of America over the past decade has led to an increase in both health and wellness promotions, and media attention. This has, of course, also caused elevated the level of controversy surrounding this issue, giving way...

• Documentary
• Super Size Me

Violent Propaganda of ISIS during War on Hamas

On January 4, 2018, ISIS declared war on Hamas via a propaganda video showing the execution of a man who ISIS claims worked with Hamas. They seem like similar groups and share core beliefs, but because of a few differences there are extreme tensions between...

Ways of American Propaganda during the Civil War

Propaganda is a form of persuasion that is aimed at influencing, manipulating and controlling the behaviors of people; usually towards a cause or position. Many trends of propaganda can be detected throughout world history. In 1939, Hitler used anti-semitism propaganda to help unite the country...

British War Propaganda During World War I

Propaganda is used worldwide by many of the world leaders to aid in the persuasion of their loyal citizens into doing what they would like. The term propaganda is defined by “information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause...

• World History

The Unknowing War of Propaganda Within Cinematography

The year is 2035, a conflict between the U.S. and Russia has reached threatening levels with proxy wars littering the cities of the Middle East and Europe. Seeing this on the news alongside the daily escalation of conflict, the local theater seems like the only...

• American Government

The Norms of Mass Society Theory and Propaganda in Media

Mass society theory, which first appeared in the late nineteenth century, was the dominant theory of the 1920s. (Baran & Davis, 2002) It provided various basic assumptions about the individuals, the roles of media, and the nature of social changes. There were three major changes...

• Mass Communication

Fake News and Propaganda Have Real World Consequences

Mankind has always used propaganda throughout history, but none more relevant than with the use of the internet. As early as the World Wars to the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, fake news has had an impact on America. With the easy accessibility to information, fake...

Anti-Americanism of the Soviet Period in Russia

For a better understanding of the roots of the problem, it is better to know what happened before the bad opinion was established. Before the Second World War, in Decembrists period was opposition in Russia whose ideology preferences was on USA democracy regime. One of...

• Americanism

Documentary Propaganda in The Grapes of Wrath

The definition of propaganda, according to The Merriam-Webster dictionary is “ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause” (Merriam-webster.com, 2019). We can certainly say that Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath to further his cause, but did...

• Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Grapes of Wrath

Governmental Propaganda as per George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein

Introduction The term “propaganda” comes from Latin. Propaganda is always biased. It is a way of distributing information or conveying a message where the message is designed in such a way to make people feel in a certain way. It is a particular kind of...

• George W. Bush

Manipulation of Opinions with Propaganda

To understand how certain events took place in history, it is vital to look at the effect propaganda had and still has on its people. By definition, propaganda is the spreading of information that may be biased to promote or oppose one’s cause. In actuality,...

Propaganda as a History-Changing Tool of Power

One of the most commonly asked questions in relation to propaganda, is what is propaganda and how does it work? Propaganda can essentially be any form of biased or even misleading information that is spread through some form of mass media with the sole intention...

• Catholic Church

Political Propaganda On Social Media

Social media has became an omnipresent tool of the 21st century. Nowadays, it is being used for a various of reasons, such as networking with one another, entertainment purposes, marketing and for political reasons. The development of technologies has made it very accessible to disseminate...

• Political Philosophy

The Unjust Promote Their Aims About Bad And Good

In every place and time in the world, there are individuals who want to oppress others in order to get more power. Two of the most effective ways to do this is through words that do not consider the truth or even through physical intimidation....

• Sociological Perspective

Best topics on Propaganda

1. Propaganda and Manipulation in George Orwell’s “1984”

2. Analysis Of The Anti-trump Statement In We The People Poster By Shepard Fairey

3. Politics And American Propaganda In The Movie Casablanca

4. Ptolemaic Coinage as a Source of Propaganda

5. Messages of Political Propaganda in Advertising for Young Children

6. Ways to Combat the Fake News Issue and Stop It From Spreading

7. How Donald Trump Gained the Trust of His Voters Through Propaganda

8. Rosie the Riveter Empowers Women During World War II

9. The Reality Behind Rosie The Riveter and Her Campaign in World War II

10. Propaganda Process In Shepard Fairey’S Work

11. The Difference Between Propaganda and Street Art in Shepard Fairey’s Work

12. Examining ‘Supersize Me’ and ‘FatHead’: Unveiling the Truth or Propaganda

13. Violent Propaganda of ISIS during War on Hamas

14. Ways of American Propaganda during the Civil War

15. British War Propaganda During World War I

• Gender Stereotypes
• Gender Roles
• Cultural Identity
• National Honor Society
• Cultural Appropriation
• American Dream
• Peer Pressure

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Beyond Intractability

The Hyper-Polarization Challenge to the Conflict Resolution Field: A Joint BI/CRQ Discussion BI and the Conflict Resolution Quarterly invite you to participate in an online exploration of what those with conflict and peacebuilding expertise can do to help defend liberal democracies and encourage them live up to their ideals.

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By Eric Brahm

August 2006  

The term propaganda has a nearly universally negative connotation. Walter Lippmann described it as inherently "deceptive" and therefore evil.[1] Propaganda is more an exercise of deception rather than persuasion. Partisans often use the label to dismiss any claims made by their opponents while at the same time professing to never employ propaganda themselves. It is akin to advertising and public relations, but with political purpose. Although propaganda has been utilized for centuries, the term was first used in 1622 when Pope Gregory XV issued the Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide to counter the growing Protestant threat in order "to reconquer by spiritual arms" those areas "lost to the Church in the debacle of the sixteenth century."[2] Propaganda has become a common element of politics and war. As new communications technologies have developed, propagandists have developed new methods to reach increasingly large audiences in order to shape their views. The shift to targeting mass audiences and not just elite publics has been called by some as "new propaganda."[3] This essay aims to provide a brief overview of the concept of propaganda, various propaganda techniques, and related topics.

In a nutshell, propaganda is designed to manipulate others' beliefs and induce action in the interest of the propagator by drilling the message into the listeners' heads. It involves the use of images, slogans and symbols to play on prejudices and emotions. The ultimate goal of propaganda is to entice the recipient of the message to come to 'voluntarily' accept the propagandist's position as if it was one's own. Propaganda may be aimed at one's own people or at members of other groups. It can be designed to agitate the population or to pacify it. We often think of propaganda as false information that is meant to reassure those who already believe. Believing what is false can create cognitive dissonance, which people are eager to eliminate. Therefore, propaganda is often directed at those who are already sympathetic to the message in order to help overcome this discomfort. One the one hand, then, propaganda generally aims to construct the self as a noble, strong persona to which individuals in the domestic population can feel connected. At the same time, propaganda often attempts to rally the domestic public to action creating fear, confusion, and hatred by portraying the antagonist as an abominable figure.[4] Typically, the Other is demonized or dehumanized.[5] Stereotyping and scapegoating are common tactics in this regard. At its most extreme, propaganda is intended to overcome a reluctance to kill. In its modern usage, propaganda also tends to be characterized by some degree of institutionalization, mass distribution, and repetition of the message. [6]

Propagandists often conceal their purpose, even their identity, in order to distract the public. White propaganda, for instance, is from a correctly identified source and is not intentionally deceptive. Black propaganda, by contrast, is purposefully deceptive in giving the impression that the source is friendly.[7] Finally, the term gray propaganda has been used to describe propaganda that falls somewhere in between.

Although the range of propaganda techniques is seemingly limitless, space permits only an abbreviated discussion.[8] One common technique is bandwagoning, in other words appealing to people's desire to belong especially to the winning side, rather than the rightness of the position. Doublespeak involves the use of language that is deliberately constructed to disguise or distort its actual meaning. Examples might include downsizing, extraordinary rendition, or the coalition of the willing. These may take the form of euphemisms, which are used to make something sound better than it is such as the term collateral damage. Another strategy is to appeal to authority. For instance, the World War II-era series This is War! emphasized how FDR's leadership qualities were similar to greats like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.[9] At other times, testimonials may be effective. Propaganda is also often heavily laced with rationalization and oversimplification. On the latter point, glittering generalities are words that, while they may have different positive meaning for individual, are linked to concepts that are highly valued by the group. Therefore, when these words are invoked, they demand approval without thinking, simply because such an important concept is involved. For example, when a person is asked to do something in 'defense of democracy' they are more likely to agree. The concept of democracy has a positive connotation to them because it is linked to a concept that they value. Propagandists sometimes use simple name-calling to draw a vague equivalence between a concept and a person, group, or idea. At other times, they may use "plain folks rhetoric" in order to convince the audience that they, and their ideas, are "of the people." Finally, propaganda often tries to at least implicitly gain the approval of respected and revered social institutions such as church or nation in order to transfer its authority and prestige to the propagandist's program.

Overall, many have pointed out that the most effective propaganda campaigns rely heavily on selective truth-telling, the confusion of means and ends, and the presentation of a simple idyllic vision that glosses over uncomfortable realities.[10] Psychologists Pratkanis and Aronson recommend four strategies for a successful propaganda campaign.[11] The first point is the importance of pre-persuasion. The propagandist should attempt to create a climate in which the message is more likely to be believed. Second is the credibility of the source. He/she should be a likable or authoritative communicator. Third, the message should be focused on simple, achievable goals. Finally, the message should arouse the emotions of the recipient and provide a targeted response.

It is unclear whether technological developments are making propaganda efforts easier or not. On the one hand, advances in communications technologies may be reducing government control over information.[12] Through the internet and satellite television, people need no longer rely solely on their governments for information. On the other hand, technology may make propaganda more effective. For example, it can make the experience of war more superficial and distort the lessons of prior conflict.[13] In addition, one can get overwhelmed with the amount of information on the internet, making it difficult to determine whether a particular source is credible. What is more, there appears to be significant 'virtual Balkanization' in which like-minded individuals form closed communities in which other viewpoints are not sought after.

Whether for scholars or the average person, Jowett and O'Donnell offer a 10 point checklist for analyzing propaganda:[14]

• The ideology and purpose of the propaganda campaign,
• The context in which the campaign occurs (for example, history or the ideological and social mileu),
• Identification of the propagandist,
• The structure of the propaganda organization (for example, identifying the leadership, organizational goals, and the form of media utilized),
• The target audience,
• Media utilization techniques,
• Special techniques to maximize effect (which include creating resonance with the audience, establishing the credibility of the source, using opinion leaders, using face-to-face contact, drawing upon group norms, using rewards and punishment, employing visual symbols of power, language usage, music usage, and arousing emotions),
• Audience reaction to various techniques,
• Counterpropaganda (if present),
• Effects and evaluation.

Psychological Operations (PSYOPs)

PSYOPs are a military tactic that also involves the use of propaganda. Rather than build support amongst one's citizenry, the goal is to demoralize one's opponent and create confusion. Since World War II, most wars have seen the creation of radio stations that broadcast music and news meant to hurt morale of the opposition. Dropping leaflets over enemy lines and even amongst the civilian population of one's opponents is also common. These techniques are designed to promote dissension and defections from enemy combat units as well as emboldening dissident groups within the country. PSYOPs can also provide cover and deception for one's own operations. Finally, PSYOPs may have the added benefit boosting the morale of one's own troops as well as amongst resistance groups behind enemy lines.

Public Diplomacy

More generally, public diplomacy involves the attempt to influence foreign publics without the use of force. The now-defunct U.S. Information Agency defined public diplomacy as "promoting the national interest and the national security of the United States through understanding, informing, and influencing foreign publics and broadening dialogue between American citizens and institutions and their counterparts abroad."[15] The areas of public diplomacy used to influence foreign target audiences are media diplomacy, public information, internal broadcasting, education and cultural programs, and political action. The idea of public diplomacy emerged from the Office of War Information, which existed during WWII. During the early part of the Cold War, a succession of offices within the U.S. Department of State had responsibility for the dissemination of information abroad. During the Eisenhower Administration, an independent agency was created for the purpose. The agency was later abolished by President Carter and its functions folded into the newly created International Communication Agency (ICA) in 1978 (later redesignated US Information Agency, or USIA, in 1982 during the Reagan Administration). In the 1990s, USIA and the Voice of America (VOA) were incorporated back into the State Department. Most recently, the White House established its own Office of Global Communications in 2001 to formulate and coordinate messages to foreign audiences. Other significant agencies include the International Broadcasting Bureau and the National Endowment for Democracy.

One observer has suggested a list of best practices in the conduct of public diplomacy, at least from the perspective of the United States.[16]

• First, the primary goal is policy advocacy, in other words, to ensure that foreign publics understand US policies and motivations. As such, public diplomacy must be incorporated into foreign policy and it should involve coordination amongst a number of government agencies.
• Second, public diplomacy must be rooted in American culture and values.
• Third, the messages conveyed need to be consistent, truthful, and credible.
• Fourth, it is important to tailor messages to a particular audience.
• Fifth, a strategy needs to reach not only to opinion leaders, but also the mass public through national and global media outlets.
• Sixth, there are a number of nonstate actors such as MNCs, the expatriot community, and humanitarian organizations that can serve as partners to help deliver the message accurately.
• Finally, the US needs to recognize public diplomacy is a dialogue and to also listen to sentiment in other countries.

The Internet has become a major tool for information dissemination and interactive communication between the US government and their target populations as well as developing links with civil society actors around the world. Arquilla and Ronfeldt have described the strategy as 'noopolitik' as opposed to state-centered realpolitik . The former involves the use of soft power to shape ideas, values, norms, laws, and ethics.[17]

Cultural and educational programs, such as the Fulbright program, seek to provide a deeper understanding of a country's society, values, institutions and motives for forming the positions it takes. While funding of arts and cultural exchange was a prominent part of the ideological battle between the US and USSR, support has declined since the end of the Cold War.[18]

Propaganda and the War on Terror

The United States' War on Terror is but one of the most recent iterations of the use of propaganda in conflict. Since 9/11, the Bush administration has used fundamentalist discourse dominated by the binaries of good-evil and security-peril as well as appealing to a missionary obligation to spread freedom, while at the same time not broaching dissent.[19] This has had some resonance with segments of the American population. However, in this era of globalization, bad news in Iraq have obstructed the message and it has also been received very differently abroad. The US military has also utilized the practice of embedding journalists, which the British first learned during the Falklands war could be an effective government strategy because it creates sympathy for the troops on the part of the journalist.[20]

Despite gaffs of referring to the War on Terror as a crusade, the administration quickly recognized the importance of shoring up its image around the world, and the Middle East in particular. Within a month of 9/11, Charlotte Beers, a pioneer of branding strategies who had previously led Ogilvy & Mather and J. Walter Thompson, two of the largest advertising firms in the world, was named to the post of Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Beers was later replaced by Karen Hughes. Upon Beers' appointment, Secretary of State Colin Powell described her role in these terms: "We are selling a product. There is nothing wrong with getting somebody who knows how to sell something. We need someone who can rebrand American policy"[21] The administration did just that, undertaking a "brand America" campaign in the Middle East. Amongst Beers' initiatives were a glossy brochure depicting the carnage of 9/11 and the "Shared Values" campaign that consisted of a series of short videos of Muslims describing their lives in the US. The latter portrayed an American egalitarian culture, that the US was wronged and a victim. The videos showed successful Muslims. They tried to enhance their authenticity by showing Muslims doing 'traditional' things. The US made a particularly concerted effort to reach young Arabs. Many argue that the use of public diplomacy can be an important tool to offer desperate youth, particularly in the Arab world, a compelling ideological alternative to extremism.[22] To the present, however, the American propaganda campaign has failed in Iraq on all four of Pratkanis and Aronson's counts.[23] To be effective, some argue for the importance of a greater recognition amongst policymakers and politicians that public diplomacy is a long-term effort. In addition, some have called for a strengthened agency that has independent reporting, an increased budget, as well as greater training.[24] There is also a need for better organization and a better articulation of an overarching strategy in the conduct of public diplomacy.[25]

Political Communication

Propaganda itself is a subcategory of political communication, which encompasses a wide range of communicative behaviors that have political ends. One element encompasses the conduct of an effective election campaign, to disseminate the candidate's message and to counter the message of one's opponents. Governments, too, employ various techniques, including as we have seen propaganda, to build support for policies and stifle dissent. Chomsky and Herman's propaganda model of the media[26] "depicts the media system as having a series of five successive filters through which the "raw material of news" must pass, leaving a "cleansed residue" of what "news is fit to print, marginaliz[ing] dissent, and allow[ing] the government and dominant private interests to get their messages across to the public." In brief paraphrase, these filters are (a) a focus on profitability by an increasingly concentrated industry that has close ties to the government and is in a position by sheer volume to overwhelm dissenting media voices, (b) the dependence of these media organizations on funding through advertising, leading them to favor content likely to appeal to the affluent and making concessions to commercial sponsors, (c) the dependence of journalists who work for the media on information from sources that constitute, collectively, a powerful and prestigious establishment; (d) commercial interests that make the media vulnerable to "flak" and criticism from groups and institutions with the power to generate criticism and protest to which they respond with caution; and, finally, (e) "anticommunism" (or some ideological equivalent) that those who produce content have internalized, thus conjoining them to frame the news in a dichotomous fashion, applying one standard to those on "our" side and a quite different one to "enemies." Most recently, the "war against terrorism" has served as a non-ideological substitute…. The propaganda model assigns to the media system just one major function to which everything else is subordinate. That function is the "manufacture of consent" for government policies that advance the goals of corporations and preserve the capitalist system."[27]

Some argue that evolving communications technologies and advertising and marketing techniques are damaging democratic practice by replacing thoughtful discussion with simplistic soundbites and manipulative messages.[28] Campaigns play on our deepest fears and most irrational hopes with the result being that we have a skewed view of the world. That said, media effects on politics are not uniform around the world. Rather, they are the product of the types of media technologies, the structure of the media market, the legal and regulatory framework, the nature of political institutions, and the characteristics of individual citizens.[29] What is more, others argue, by contrast, that "blaming the messenger" overlooks deep-rooted flaws in the systems of representative democracy that are responsible for the sorry condition of political discussion.[30] There is also much discussion about whether the internet is a positive for American democracy.[31] With respect to often delicate peace processes, the role of the media in the Rwandan genocide has given the news media a tarnished reputation. However, in some instances, the news media has sometimes played a constructive role in sustaining peace efforts.[32]

[1] Lippmann, W. A Preface to Morals . New York: Macmillan, 1929. 281.

[2] Guilday, Peter. "The Sacred Congregation De Propaganda Fide." Catholic Historical Review 6. 480. See also: Jowett, Garth S. and Victoria O'Donnell. Propaganda and Persuasion . 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1999. 72-73.

[3] Combs, J.E. and D. Nimmo. The New Propaganda: The Dictatorship of Palaver in Contemporary Politics . New York: Longman, 1993.

[4] Kimble, James J. "Whither Propaganda? Agonism and 'The Engineering of Consent'." Quarterly Journal of Speech 91.2 (May 2005).

[5] Link, Jurgen. "Fanatics, Fundamentalists, Lunatics, and Drug Traffickers: The New Southern Enemy Image." Cultural Critique 19 (Fall 1991): 33-53.

[6] Kimble, 203.

[7] Jowett, Garth S. and Victoria O'Donnell. Propaganda and Persuasion . 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006.

[8] For further discussion, see: Center for Media and Democracy. "Propaganda Techniques." < http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Propaganda-techniques> .

[9] Horten, Gerd. Radio Goes to War: The Cultural Politics of Propaganda During World War II . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2002.

[10] Cunningham, S.B. The Idea of Propaganda: A Reconstruction . Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002.; Ellul, J. "The Ethics of Propaganda: Propaganda, Innocence and Amorality." Communication 6 (1981): 159-175.; Plaisance, Patrick Lee. 2005. "The Propaganda War on Terrorism: An Analysis of the United States' 'Shared Values' Public-Diplomacy Campaign After September 11, 2001." Journal of Mass Media Ethics 20.4 (2005): 250-268.

[11] Pratkanis, Anthony and Elliot Aronson. Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion . Owl Books, 2001.

[12] Deibert, R. "International Plug 'n' Play: Citizen Activism, the Internet and Global Public Policy." International Studies Perspectives 1.3 (2000): 255-272.; Rothkopf, D. "The Disinformation Age." Foreign Policy 114 (1999): 82-96.; Volkmer, I. News in the Global Sphere . Luton: University of Luton Press, 1999.

[13] Hoskins, Andrew. Televising War: From Vietnam to Iraq . London and New York: Continuum, 2004.

[14] Jowett and O'Donnell (2006), 270.

[15] U.S. Information Agency Alumni Association. "What is Public Diplomacy?" 1 Sep 2002. 2 Apr 2003. < http://www.publicdiplomacy.org/1.htm> .

[16] Ross, Christopher. "Pillars of Public Diplomacy." Harvard Review Aug 2003. Available at: < http://www.iwar.org.uk/news-archive/2003/08-21-3.htm> .

[17] Arquilla, J. and D. Ronfeldt. The Emergence of Noopolitik: Toward an American Information Strategy . Santa Monica, CA: Rand, 1999. w13. < http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR 1033/ MR1033.pdf/MR1033.chap3.pdf>.

[18] Smith, Pamela. "What Is Public Diplomacy?" Address before the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomacy, Malta, 2000. < http://diplo.diplomacy.edu/Books/mdiplomacy-book/smith/p.h.%20smith.htm> .

[19] Domke, David. God Willing? Political Fundamentalism In The White House, The War On Terror And The Echoing Press . London: Pluto Press, 2004.

[20] Knightley, Philip. The First Casualty: The War Correspondent as Hero, Propagandist and Myth-maker from the Crimea to Iraq . London: André Deutsch, 2003.; Miller, David (ed.) Tell Me Lies: Propaganda and Media Distortion in the Attack on Iraq . London and Sterling, VA: Pluto Press, 2004.

[21] Klein, N. "The Problem is the U.S. Product." Seattle Post-Intelligencer 28 Jan 2003: B5.

[22] Finn, Helena K. "The Case for Cultural Diplomacy: Engaging Foreign Audiences." Foreign Affairs 82.6 (Nov-Dec 2003): 15.

[23] McKay, Floyd. "Propaganda: America's Psychological Warriors." The Seattle Times , 19 Feb 2006. < http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0219-24.htm> .

[24] Johnson, Stephen and Helle Dale. "How to Reinvigorate U.S. Public Diplomacy." The Heritage Foundation Backgrounder 1645 (23 Apr 2003). < http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/loader.cfm?url=/common... .

[25] GAO Report on Public Diplomacy. 2003. < http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03951.pdf> .

[26] Herman, Edward S. and Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media . New York: Pantheon, 2002. Excepts of a previous edition available at < http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Herman%20/Manufac-Consent-Prop-Model.h... .

[27] Lang, Kurt and Gladys Engel Lang. "Noam Chomsky and the Manufacture of Consent for American Foreign Policy." Political Communication 21.93 (2004): 94.

[28] Bennett, W. Lance and Robert Entman (eds.) 2000. Mediated Politics: Communication in the Future of Democracy . Cambridge University Press, 2000.; Pratkanis, Anthony and Elliot Aronson. Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion . Owl Books, 2001.

[29] Gunther, Richard and Anthony Mughan (eds.) Democracy and the Media . Cambridge University Press, 2000.; Hallin, Daniel C. and Paolo Mancini. Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media and Politics . Cambridge University Press, 2004.

[30] Norris, Pippa. A Virtuous Circle: Political Communications in Post-Industrial Democracies . Cambridge University Press, 2000.

[31] Bimber, Bruce. Information and American Democracy: Technology in the Evolution of Political Power . Cambridge University Press, 2003.

[32] Wolfsfeld, Gadi. Media and the Path to Peace . Cambridge University Press, 2004.

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Propaganda Essay Examples

World war ii: the role of propaganda.

World War II was a global conflict of unprecedented scale and devastation, marked by the widespread use of propaganda as a tool of persuasion, manipulation, and mobilization. Propaganda played a crucial role in shaping public opinion, bolstering morale, and advancing the agendas of the warring...

Algonquians: a Barrier to America

Many assume colonizing America was an effortless campaign. Where the strong European countries with their superior technology, dominate the American regions and take what they want. This is far from the truth. Amerindian tribes all over America would stand up to the Europeans after peace...

Relationship Between Terrorism and the Media

Several writers have suggested that certain media attention has increased opinions or the major risk or fear towards terroristic acts and crimes can relate to how little or how much attention a person pays to those dealing with what is being shown by the media....

Analysis of Propaganda Campaigns of the Cold War

Propaganda can be defined as a mode of communicating which is used to manipulate and influence public opinion in support of the propagandist’s belief. Propagandas take shape in art, movies, speeches and music over the years, but it is not restricted to forms like these....

Famous Dictators in History: Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong

“Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.” The infamous German dictator Adolf Hitler coins this expression as he explains the propaganda technique “big lie” in order to explain his own political ideology. The Big Lie technique...

American Propaganda During the Cold War

During the years of World War 2, the relationship between the Soviet Union and USA was tense, nonetheless, they were both fighting together against the Axis powers. USA had however been long wary of Soviet Communism and their leader, Stalin. After the war this long...

Analysis of Propaganda and Donald Trump's Persuasive Language Techniques

Following the study of Propaganda and persuasive language in Part 2 of the course – Language and Mass Media, I wish to express, how these techniques were used by Mr. Donald Trump during the 2016 Presidential Elections for the 45th President of America. Hence, I...

Forrest Gump: Conservative Propaganda

Towards the end of the twentieth century, the United States of America was a nation struggling to keep many of its defining ideas. Many people believed the country needed to “redefine” itself, and as a consequence of this new ideology, American pop culture became the...

1984 by George Orwell: the Issue of Propaganda in America

Propaganda is the face of America. It is used every day by large companies, interest groups, and political campaigns. By expressing broad, popular ideas, powerful people have the ability to attract many different groups of subordinates. However, one specific propaganda technique is quite intriguing because...

German Propaganda During the Second World War

Propaganda happens when spreading or publishing of information/news in support of a cause. While hearing this word (propaganda) it is often used in a negative sense because especially politician who spread false news to grab the attention of a people and to get their way...

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