Propaganda
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Propaganda is information. This information has been designed to make people feel a certain way or to believe a certain thing. The information is usually political.
It is hard to tell whether the information is true or false. Very often, the information is confusing and unfair.
The word 'propaganda' comes from Latin. At first, it meant 'ideas to be spread around'. But in First World War, it came to mean 'political ideas that are supposed to be misleading'.
Propaganda is like advertising in some ways. But advertising is usually trying to sell something and propaganda is usually political and used by states or political parties, not private companies.
Propaganda is often used during wars. There it can be very useful. It can take the form of posters, TV advertisements, and radio announcements. Sometimes it keeps the people of a country happy - telling them that their country is fighting well and telling them how important it is that the enemy is defeated. Sometimes it tries to begin hatred to the enemy. The information could tell people that the enemy is evil or make them seem not human. Sometimes a government gives propaganda to the enemy - telling them that the war is going badly for them and that they should stop fighting.
When a country is not at war, propaganda can still be used. The government may use propaganda to change what people think about a political situation. A group may try to change the way people act towards an issue.
Propaganda under regimes is used along with censorship. While propaganda tries to give people false ideas, censorship forces the ones who disagree with propaganda to keep quiet. Then the propaganda can say everything, because nobody can question it in public.
Propaganda is also used to win people by tricking them. Some people say that cults use propaganda to get people to join them.
Examples for propaganda:
- English propaganda against Germany in the First World War.
- German propaganda against Poland to start the Second World War, see Attack on Sender Gleiwitz
