Propaganda Against Propaganda

In her essay, “Propaganda: How Not to Be Bamboozled”, author Donna Woolfolk Cross explains the different types of propaganda and how it is used in the United States. The essay was first published in Speaking of Words: A Language Reader (1977). Cross defines propaganda as “simply a means of persuasion and so it can be put to work for good causes as well as bad” (247). In her article she discusses how propaganda works and explains how propaganda is used with thirteen different devices to manipulate people’s thoughts, opinions, and ideas. She uses this essay as an informative piece, giving advice on how not to be manipulated by propaganda.

Propaganda is about power and persuasion, and is used for many reasons by the government. This essay will explore the overt means by which the government uses systematic propagation to control the citizens of the society and the subtle ways in which information, independent thought, and their freedoms are restricted through radio and television.

As an academic, one becomes increasingly aware of the biases in others’ writing. It becomes engrained - to dissect the author’s worldview and biases in order to best determine how those things are affecting their writing. This dissection is all the more important when it comes to journalism. In current times, it is not just the academics that are concerned about biases. The average populous has become increasingly aware that the information that mass media attempts to feed them can be biased beyond belief. The coverage of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail showcases the differences in how a singular event can be reported in very different ways beautifully.

John Pilger’s ‘The War You Don’t See’ promotes many strong ideas, with a strong focus on the value of honesty and the lack of it. Raising the issue of when the media do not do their job, the public is manipulated as we are not told the whole truth therefore are not aware of the horrific and

F or better or worse, ours is an age of propaganda." (Pratkanis and Aronson, 1991)

When people hear the word ‘propaganda’, a negative image automatically seems to pop up in their heads. Propaganda generally revolves around hiding the whole story with information often being provided in a biased or misleading fashion.

We live in a world of technological innovation where mass media is a major part of us today. People make assumptions on what they hear. They do not try to analyze the situation to see who is right and who is wrong, and mass media is the main source of manipulating one's mind. The concept of propaganda has changed over time. Propagandists create ideas stereotypically through the use of propaganda and use media to promote it and target people's minds to have influence on their views towards a certain group of people. These ideas create negative or positive images in the intended audience's minds. However, it is notable that the information is only the one that is exemplified through media and therefore, can be

Nowadays journalists have the responsibility to report facts as accurately, objectively, and disinterestedly as is humanly possible. ‘’The, honest, self-disciplined, well-trained reporter seeks to be a propagandist for nothing but the truth’’ (Casey, 1944b).

First, one must define propaganda and since many have done so already, I shall use the Sheryl Ross model. Her model defines propaganda as “an epistemically defective message designed with the intention to persuade a socially significant group of people on behalf of a political institution, organization, or cause.”

In times of War, the media plays a crucial role both in reporting, monitoring and giving updates. During the Vietnam War of 1955-1975, the American press played crucial roles of reporting until it ended up shifting its tone under the influence of occurrence of some events like the Tet Offensive, the My Lai Massacre, the bombing of Cambodia and leaking of Pentagon papers resulting into lack of trust in the press (Knightly 1975). From the beginning of the war up to present times there have been undying debates over the role of media in the war. The have been various criticisms over the American News Media’s actions and influences on the outcome of the war. The debate is embedded on the particular political assumptions perceived across the

Propaganda is performed through print, audio, and visual mass media. It is used for the promotion of the public’s activities in their life such as purchasing goods through market propaganda, and it is also found in politics, foreign affairs, and in many other fields. Most importantly propaganda is depicted in the informercialization of the news, which is connected with subliminal advertising and commercialization of public events and individual promotion such in communication websites. However, there is great debate over propaganda and persuasion that is casted in the media, which I will be elaborating in this essay.

First and foremost, we must understand the concept of propaganda and mass media in contemporary world. According to Noam Chomsky, and Edward S. Herman on “Manufacturing Consent: The political Economy of the Mass Media” propaganda model was defined as

Throughout society, the mass media constantly changes over time. The mass media play a prominent role in informing the public about what occurs within the world, especially in areas which audiences do not acquire direct experience and knowledge. This essay will argue that the propaganda model is no longer valid as it has become outdated. This essay will also discuss the model in relation to the five filters and draw on Rampton's critique of the propaganda model in contemporary society.

Since my research deals with a conflict situation in the context of international politics, those studies that have dealt with similar issues are the ones that are most relevant to me. One such study was conducted by Maslog, Seow and Hun and published in Asian Journal of communication. The researchers looked at the how newspapers in five Asian countries covered the Iraq war. The study concluded that newspapers from non-muslim countries emphasized War journalism frame, and generally supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq, while newspapers from muslim counries opposed the invasion and emphasized Peace journalism frame. Reseachers found that ‘religion and sourcing are two important factors shaping the framing of Asian news coverage on the Iraq war.’ (Maslog, Seow, Hun,

Chomsky (1997) uses, what he calls, the first modern government propaganda operation, the Creel Commission, to identify that the opinions of a population can be easily manipulated with a few well-timed messages and slogans. Woodrow Wilson was elected president using the “Peace Without Victory” platform in the middle of World War I (Chomsky,