Why Is Social Media Considered Propaganda

“A systematic dissemination of information, especially in a biased or misleading way in order to promote a political cause or point of view”,this is the Oxford definition of propaganda and it unswervingly mirrors the ambitions of contemporary social media. Social media today implements retroactive interference which is the theory that information presented later interferes with the ability to retain previously encoded information. Through this theory media possesses the ultimate power, the power to manipulate our minds and replace our entire initial beliefs and preconceived notions with alternative thoughts

Besides friends using social media to connect with other friends or families keeping in touch with other relatives who are at a distance, in the recent years, terrorists have taken advantage of social media and used it as a platform to threaten and send jaw dropping messages to some of the most popular outlets across the nation. For this paper, I will examine how terrorists have used social media as propaganda. I will also analyze the trends in media and terrorism, and how it has provided access for the promotion of the violent messages as well as allowing the news of terrorist attacks and assassinations to reach many parts of the world within a matter of minutes.

Why does the majority of American consumers fall prey to the propaganda of advertisements, which subconsciously tricks them into believing outrageous claims? To answer this question, we must first understand: what does advertising means, and how these advertiser companies use propaganda to seduce us follow their tricks. Advertising is the act of presenting an idea or product to consumers or audience by using television, radios, social media, or street posters. In the article “Propaganda Techniques in Today’s advertising,” Ann McClintock describes different types advertising techniques in her essay that are used currently by the advertisers and by the politicians. The most efficient and useful propaganda that are used by contemporary advertising companies and politicians are glittering generalities and bandwagon.

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.

You probably aren’t aware of what sort of propaganda is circling its way around, but once you are, you’ll think “wow did I really fall for that”? Propaganda is “information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc” (Dictionary.Com). There are several techniques of propaganda. It can go to anywhere from a glittering generalities commercial with enough colors galore for you to actually purchase it,

Media is something that we use, see, and hear every day, whether we notice it or not. The media surrounds our society in many ways; through social media platforms, magazines, television, advertisements, etc. the media has been always around. The study of media and its effects on society is based on the belief that mass communication has effects on individuals, society, and culture (Perse). The media continues to become more and more relevant in our culture. Many people in our society today use the media daily. Also, there are many studies about social media and its effects on us. The media affects the way we view body image in a negative way.

Propaganda is everywhere. There are several examples of intense propaganda campaigns from the past, notably from WWII, where the citizens of a nation were led into supporting the current regime, no matter what the situation was. Although a heavy influx of propaganda is created during wartime, it is definitely still present during times of peace. The tactics that these nations used are eerily similar to those that modern businesses use to persuade potential customers into buying their products. Both businesses and propagandists use conniving tactics such as distorting information and exploitation of fear to affect their target audiences. Due to this exploitation of people, modern advertising uses the same psychological manipulation as notable propaganda campaigns from today and the past.

With the current atmosphere around politics in the United States, it has been brought to nearly everyone’s attention that the power of the Internet is a strong and dangerous one. World Leaders who wish to maintain their popular sovereignty have flocked to social media sites such as Tumblr, Facebook, or in most cases, Twitter. Specifically, President Trump has been using social media and his free speech to say anything that comes to mind, and have it reach thousands of individuals in an instant. Whether this is a good thing or not has been greatly disputed. Other country’s leaders, such as Prime Minister Trudeau in Canada, have also been outspoken on social media to reach citizens. Trudeau, as of 2016, was the third most followed world

Propaganda is one of the most widespread forms of persuasion and influence. Propaganda makes its subtle appearance in magazines, newspapers, television, books, posters, billboards, numerous other locations. It has been around for centuries seeping into each generation over and over. Finally, we see the effects of propaganda on millions of Americans today as it influences our choices and opinions. Propaganda displays itself in four different forms such as testimonial, assertion, bandwagon, and plain folk. These are different forms, but each one serves an identical purpose. The purpose is to convince and influence. At the same time, each form of

The Canadian philosopher of communication theory, Marshall McLuhan, once said that “advertising is the greatest art form of the 20th century”. Indeed, we are exposed to numerous advertisements every day. They come at us in many different forms and ways through TV screens, billboards, magazines, web pages, door-to-door sales, and even radio. Advertisements are not fundamentally bad, but a lot of them use manipulative tactic and tricks which influence us in ways we do not even realize. Even though you might think you ignore them all the time and they do not really affect you in any way, that might not be necessarily the case. Many people have difficulty accepting the idea that advertisements are manipulative, as we want to believe that we

In advertisement, propaganda is all around. It is in newspaper articles, television ads, movies, and a plethora of other things. Propaganda is a type of advertisement that shows how good or how much better a product is that anything else in that department. “Advertisers lean heavily on propaganda to sell products, whether the “products” are a brand of toothpaste, a candidate for office, or a particular political viewpoint.” (The Longman Writer McClintock’s Essay Pg. 232). There are seven main types of propaganda, Name Calling, Glittering Generalities, Transfer, Testimonial, Plain Folks, Card Stacking, and Bandwagon. Since its first use, most people when they hear propaganda, think only about political ads but that is not all that propaganda is used for. “Although propaganda may seem relevant only in the political arena, the concept can be applied fruitfully to the way products and ideas are sold in advertising.” (The Longman Writer McClintock’s Essay Pg. 232) Two very good examples of using propaganda techniques are a State Farm commercial, and a Farmers advertisement. The State Farm ad is a beautifully done, two minute long commercial that is meant to pull on the heart string of the watcher with a technique such as Plain Folks. The farmers advertisement on the other hand is a think out of the box comical commercial that does not cause emotions to stir but instead makes up it up with a Testimonial. Both ads are very appealing to the eyes and don’t use attacks on another

Media Manipulation is a series of related techniques in which partisans create an image or argument that favors their particular interests. They are different type of media manipulation such as Activism, Hoaxing, Marketing, Political campaigning, Propagandizing, Psychological warfare, Public relations, and Advertising know as Ads. An advertisement is a message printed in a newspaper, or broadcast to individuals, that attempts to persuade consumers to buy a specific product, or agree with a particular idea. Advertising messages are spread through numerous and varied channels of media. The major media are Print Advertising, Broadcast Advertising, direct mail, business publications, outdoor advertising, and Online Advertising also known as Digital. In addition, a significant amount of all advertising is invested in miscellaneous media, such as window displays, free shopping-news publications, calendars, blimps, sky writing by airplanes, and even sandwich boards carried by people walking the streets. They are placed in television, radio, magazines, and can even be seen on billboards by the roadside.

Propaganda, a tool that has been used to influence the beliefs of the masses throughout

Propaganda is a way to influence or persuade one’s opinion. This is a device often used to choose between sides or for a product being sold. There are a variety of ways companies, organizations, and even people use the advertising known as propaganda. One group could insult their competitor, tell lies, or use celebrities to make their product or idea seem more appealing. L'Oréal, for example, uses the latter. They hire beautiful celebrities to be the face of their products, while Dove uses more of an emotional pull to lure in more customers.

Propaganda refers to any form of misleading information that meant to publicize a particular product, a service or an event. It is applicable in many and varied situations for different reasons to communicate to audiences. An unformed judgment would view propaganda as a technique applicable only in politics for posing unfair competition (Gardner). However, the contemporary business environment has recently advanced and perfected the use of propaganda in its numerous forms. The major propaganda techniques include assertion, bandwagon, card stacking, glittering generalities, lesser of two evils, name calling, pinpointing the enemy, plain folks, simplification, transfer and testimonials (Conserva).