Toby Fecik

Humanities 11

Emma Boone

11/2/23

Defining and Understanding Propaganda

Propaganda is everywhere, spreading information that is biased to influence specific

people or groups. In almost every form it takes, propaganda is used as deception and in turn is

usually recognized as being unfair. But could it also be argued that if the propaganda being

spread is used for good, is it still immoral? Deception, lying, and manipulation are all traits with

negative associations, propaganda isn't as simple and singular to categorize it all as bad. So even

if propaganda is used for the betterment of something it could still be looked down upon due to

the formula it follows.

It has to be questioned where the line draws between what is considered to be propaganda

and what is simply the accidental spread of misinformation. The definition of Propaganda is,

“Propaganda is the more or less systematic effort to manipulate other people’s beliefs, attitudes,

or actions by means of symbols (words, gestures, banners, monuments, music, clothing, insignia,

hairstyles, designs on coins and postage stamps, and so forth).” (Smith). So propaganda is

essentially based on the intentional factor of specifically wanting to manipulate other people or

groups of people, which is different from simply spreading misinformation due to the intention

behind the inaccurate information. Because of this, by definition, technically not all propaganda

could be considered negative, but what matters more, the aftermath or the process?
 1842 saw the beginning of a series named “Why We Fight” which was produced by the

United States Government as a form of war propaganda during World War II, displaying

ghoulish depictions of Germany, Japan, and Italy (Spiegelman). Looking at the series of films in

the modern day, it is clear from the start that these movies are in fact propaganda and inherently

manipulative in the way they inaccurately portray other countries fighting in World War II.

Despite this, at the time these were released, they had a majorly successful grip on the general

public. Earlier in 1835, about a decade before the release of “Why we Fight,” a different film by

Leni Riefenstahl named “Triumph of the Will” was a film produced in Germany in order to

glamorize Adolf Hitler and the atrocities he was committing while having rule over Germany

(Riefenstahl). Both films are made by their different respective countries, both aim to show the

opposing country in distorted depictions while also dignifying the actions of their own

governments. In a descriptive writing piece reviewing “Why we Fight”, contributor Eric

Spiegelman writes, “‘Prelude to War,’ Chapter I of Frank Capra's ‘Why We Fight’ series,

describes World War II as a battle between the ‘slave world’ of fascism and the ‘free world’ of

American liberty” (Spiegelman). While all contributors in war have their own individual losses

and gains, the use of propaganda on either side may be inherently unjust when used to

manipulate civilians. It is likely for both countries that if the public better knew the truth of the

situation, there would have been much more pushback aside from a few outliers.

In more recent times, specifically with the advancements of the internet and technology,

more now than ever regular people can spread propaganda and misinformation from their

devices (Woo). In earlier history, communication over long distances wasn't a commodity most

had, so most if not all propaganda was being made by people or establishments with power, but

with the advancements of the Industrial Revolution the evolution of communication has become
more and more accessible (Woo). With this it means that the spread of information digitally is

now at an all-time high, and along with this the consumption of misinformation. In 2021 during

the COVID-19 pandemic that swept over the world, as vaccines started to come out to the public

there were many outlandish claims being made, one popular one being that Bill Gates was using

the COVID vaccines to plant microchips into anyone who took it (Woo). Clearly, this was not

true, the rumor having been started when Bill Gates had replied to a thread on the social media

platform Reddit saying it would be efficient to digitally mark who took the COVID-19 vaccine

as a better way to track who was and wasn't vaccinated (Woo). This relatively harmless idea soon

morphed into something it was not after an article written on a website created the

aforementioned tracking chip claim. It is to be wondered whether or not as this rumor continued

to be spread, was this simply people being misinformed or did it become more of a propaganda

piece to convince people not to take the vaccine? Well, it is likely that the widespread rumor was

a mixture of both, the propaganda having succeeded in misinforming large groups of people and

in turn leading to it being spread.

All of the former instances of propaganda mentioned come from vastly different time

periods, but there are some similarities between the two. In the Bill Gates Covid example Roger

Stone, who at the time was Donald Trump's advisor and tied to government officials, publicly

backed the untrue Covid-19 vaccine misinformation. In an article by Knowable Magazine titled,

How Online Misinformation Spreads, author Marcus Woo writes, “Misinformation is amplified

even more when those super-spreaders, such as media personalities and politicians like Donald

Trump (until his banning by Twitter and other sites), have access to millions of people on social

and traditional media.” Another thing both examples have in common is that while the

motivations were to spread misinformation as propaganda, the propaganda was furthered by

innocent consumers who had no negative intention when spreading the information.

Positive propaganda is as self-explanatory as it sounds, using the defined term of

propaganda for what may be considered a good cause rather than a bad one. An example of

positive propaganda that may come to mind as this point is brought up is the infamous “We Can

Do It!” poster that was by Howard J. Miller in 1942 to encourage women to join the workforce

during World War II. The message was simply meant as a brief advertisement in the sudden drop

in workforce employees as many men were sent out to the war. It was soon turned into an icon

poster representing women's power and encouraging the ever-running race of women's patriotism

(Smithsonian). Although this positive message was encouraged and interpreted as it is now and

despite the impact of the piece, after the war ended women were soon encouraged to leave the

workforce once again. While this art piece remained an inspiration and empowering for many

women and others alike, when it was made the intention was likely more so for economic gain

over anything else.

In the end, propaganda truly is up to the consumer to recognize and process its intentions,

and only relevant to some people as it could be completely absent of meaning to others.

Propaganda is everywhere and will probably continue to be anywhere humanity touches, and

even if aware of its existence the likelihood of not being swayed in any way due to it is not

likely. Even if propaganda is used as a method to promote unjust wars, or to promote the

betterment of women’s rights, either way, propaganda is and will remain subjective.
 Works Cited

Pashayan, Angela R. “Propaganda’s Progression.” Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy, 1 Feb.

2021,

foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/01/propaganda-russia-trump-misinformation-capitol-riot/.

Woo, Marcus. “How Online Misinformation Spreads - Knowable Magazine.” How Online

Misinformation Spreads, Knowablemagazine , 11 Feb. 2021,

knowablemagazine.org/article/society/2021/how-online-misinformation-spreads.

Spiegelman, Eric. “Why We Fight: Prelude to War : Frank Capra : Free Download, Borrow,

and Streaming.” Internet Archive, 1 Sept. 2005, archive.org/details/PreludeToWar.

Smith, Bruce Lannes. “Propaganda.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica,

inc., 31 Oct. 2023, www.britannica.com/topic/propaganda.

Seemela, Ontlotlile. “Positive Propaganda: A Double-Edged Necessary Tool.” Arts Help,

Arts Help, 2 Sept. 2022,

www.artshelp.com/positive-propaganda/#:~:text=Positive%20propaganda%20is%20utilize

d%20to%20stir%20up%20those,unity%2C%20solidarity%20and%20harmony%20among

%20people%20during%20conflicts.

“‘we Can Do It!’” National Museum of American History,

americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_538122. Accessed 2 Nov. 2023.

Goodman, Flora Carmichael and Jack. “Vaccine Rumours Debunked: Microchips, ‘altered

DNA’ and More.” BBC News, BBC, 2 Dec. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/54893437.