Propaganda is advertising that expresses certain views or points of view. Through propaganda, the thinking and actions of the population are influenced and its creators make themselves stand out and other possible opponents pale. The word propaganda, loosely translated into Dutch, means spreading a message. There are various methods of propaganda, and not all of them are equally innocent.
Propaganda negative?
During the Second War, propaganda acquired a somewhat negative connotation due to Nazi Germany. Under the leadership of a certain Joseph Goebels, a special ministry for propaganda was established where various incomplete and lying news facts and stories were released. The Nazis were not the only ones who abused propaganda. Stalin and Saddam Hussein also managed to hide the hard truth through propaganda. These forms of propaganda are also called totalitarianism. The government tries to completely control the thoughts and actions of the population. A state where this occurs is also called a totalitarian state. However, propaganda does not necessarily have to be bad in advance, because it also takes place on a smaller or completely innocent scale. For example, political parties hand out posters and nowadays there are also a lot of charities that try to persuade the population through campaigns. Advertising and propaganda have a lot in common; advertising also aims to influence the population through deception.
Propaganda techniques
The best-known method of propaganda is simply honesty. With fairness, a group or person puts forward an honest argument that allows the audience to make their own decision. This happens almost every day in politics. Another method of propaganda is through style. Many politicians try to fine-tune their speaking style and appearance as best as possible. Tricks can help to weaken other groups. This can be done, for example, by spreading a (false) rumor. With deception you can convince the population of things that will make them more likely to agree. Repetition is also a very well-known propaganda technique, if you keep repeating something often enough, at some point it will be assumed.
Types of propaganda
The best-known form of propaganda is push and pull propaganda. Various groups provide information to the population so that they can make their own choice. Another well-known form of propaganda is white/black propaganda. With white propaganda, the source of the information wants a lot of attention, with black propaganda absolutely not. With Gray propaganda the information is somewhere between the truth and a lie, it is only somewhat true.
Examples of propaganda
- Election campaigns
- Organizations such as Red Cross and Animal Protection
- Greenpeace’s use of rainbows and doves from the Bible story of Noah’s Ark as symbols of its ideals.
- People can express political ideas by taking to the streets and demonstrating
- The Nazi Party used airplanes to create a flying swastika, which linked the Party to new technology.
- The Palace of Versailles was built by the Sun King Louis XIV to demonstrate his power to the people.