Propaganda

Propaganda

Animal Farm

Propaganda

Overview

Neil Postman once wrote that of all the words we use to talk about talk, the word “propaganda” is the most mischievous. That’s because the word has a wide variety of definitions. Consider the definitions that follow to identify common features of propaganda and notice how the definition has developed and changed over time (pay attention to the dates): 

Animal Farm

Draw

Draw your definition of propaganda below.

Propaganda is a form of information that panders to our insecurities and anxieties.

-Jacques Ellul, author of Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes, 1962

Propaganda is one means by which large numbers of people are induced to act together.

-Bruce Lannes Smith and Harold Lasswell, authors of Propaganda, Communication and Public Opinion, 1946

Propaganda

Animal Farm

Example 2

Example 1

Open Ended

Which definition does your group like best? What elements contributed to your decision?

Propaganda is intentionally-designed communication that invites us to respond emotionally, immediately, and in a either-or manner.

-Neil Postman, author of Technopoly, 1994

Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.

-Garth Jowett and Victoria O'Donnell, authors of Propaganda and Persuasion, 1986

Propaganda

Animal Farm

Example 4

Example 3

Open Ended

Which definition does your group like best? What elements contributed to your decision?

Propaganda is indifferent to truth and truthfulness, knowledge and understanding; it is a form of strategic communication that uses any means to accomplish its ends.

-Walter Cunningham, author of The Idea of Propaganda, 2002

Propaganda is a form of purposeful persuasion that attempts to influence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and actions of specified target audiences for ideological, political or commercial purposes through the controlled transmission of one-sided messages (which may or may not be factual) via mass and direct media channels.

-Richard Alan Nelson, author of A Chronology and Glossary of Propaganda in the United States, 1996

Propaganda

Animal Farm

Example 6

Example 5

Open Ended

Which definition does your group like best? What elements contributed to your decision?

Propaganda appears in a variety of forms. It is strategic and intentional as it aims to influence attitudes, opinions and behaviors. Propaganda can be beneficial or harmful. It may use truth, half-truths or lies. To be successful, propaganda taps into our deepest values, fears, hopes and dreams.

-Steven Luckert and Susan Bachrach, authors of The State of Deception, 2009

Propaganda is a form of communication aimed towards influencing the attitude of a population toward some cause or position.

-Wikipedia, entry on propaganda, 2008

Propaganda

Animal Farm

Example 8

Example 7

Open Ended

Which definition does your group like best? What elements contributed to your decision?

Open Ended

Why might the definition of propaganda change over time?

Open Ended

Create a custom definition of propaganda using elements from the definitions to express your personal understanding of the concept as it is relevant to the 21st century.