User:Hegedusj/Propaganda

Definition
Propaganda in the modern day is defined as the spread of ideas, usually in a biased or misleading nature. The term propaganda is used typically when political statements are discussed. The goal of propaganda is to persuade a group of people into believing a certain idea or concept in order to benefit another person or group.

History of Propaganda in the United States
Throughout American history, propaganda has been used in the war effort, Civil Rights Movement, and gender equality in attempts to improve these issues. During the first and second World War, "Uncle Sam", a figure that was used to represent the US federal government, was put on many propaganda posters to convince males to join the US army. There were also many posters in newspapers that asked for US citizens to purchase war bonds to support the war effort.

During the Civil Rights Movement in the US during the 1940s and 1950s, propaganda posters were used to promote integration in schooling systems. In 1942, a "Women in the War" poster was created to promote the role of women in World War ll.

In the present day, propaganda is still focused on social injustices such as racism and inequality. Although propaganda has shifted to technology rather than newspapers and posters, the role is still the same, to fix a problem in society.

Modern Day Propaganda
In the present day, propaganda takes on new forms of media following the start of the Information, or New Media Age that began in the 1970s. The concepts of insecurity, loneliness, and anxiety have led to a reliance on technology, making it easier for individuals who manipulate media to brainwash large groups of people. "Our standards of credulity, our standards of reality, tend to be set by these media rather than by our own fragmentary experience", says Wright Mills, American sociologist. Propaganda has set social structure in mass society and sets societal standards. Prior to and during the 20th century, propaganda was used to promote nationalistic ideas such as supporting one's nation. On the other hand, propaganda in today's society has become more normalized in the sense that people use social media as a way to voice their opinions and attempt to persuade others to support their opinions.

Robert K. Merton discusses propaganda in the music industry with singer Kate Smith, who sang at a War Bond Drive in the 1940s to try to increase the nation's participation in the bond drive. In 2020, rapper Dominique Armani Jones, otherwise known as "Lil Baby", released a song in response to the death of George Floyd. Lil Baby used his platforms to inform and persuade his listeners that each and every person is equal in life and that we should all be created the same way.

It is clear that in today's society there are several forms of media that are used to create propaganda. The intentions of modern day propaganda is similar to 20th century propaganda, to persuade others of a certain perspective on a particular subject or conflict.

Psychological Propaganda
According to Eunice Belbin of Cambridge University, there are many psychological roots within propaganda. A study done in 1956 by Belbin investigated recollection and how individuals recalled information. Participants were shown road safety posters while in a waiting room and the effects that each poster had on the participants were observed. The information retained were measured by the amount of information that participants applied during the interpretation of the photographs and the amount of information included on each poster that was able to be recalled. The results of the experiment showed that the subjects used the information from the posters regardless of if they remembered seeing the poster. This study was done to demonstrate the psychological aspect of propaganda. In regards to propaganda, this experiment shows that when people see propaganda, they apply the information that they learn even if they don't remember seeing it. This can lead to citizens taking the side of a political party after seeing a political cartoon or a citizen believing misinformation about a group of individuals after seeing it on propaganda. In the United States, psychological propaganda was used to convince men and women to join the war effort during World War ll. Harry R. Hopps created a cartoon that showed a enlarged ape holding onto a young woman, with the caption "Destroy this mad brute". This cartoon was created to depict Nazi Germany as a 'brute' that was inflicting violence on young woman in order to motivate people to enlist in the US army.

Propaganda in Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany
During the 20th century, the 'totalitarian', or dictatorships of Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany, used propaganda as a weapon. Propaganda was a means of social control and political persuasion. The main source of propaganda was films and newspaper cartoons or articles. These forms of propaganda depicted the enemies of each nation in a negative manner to increase nationalism - believing one's nation is superior over all other nations. In Nazi Germany, propaganda even assisted in Hitler's rise to power. Hitler and his political party created cartoons that made Jewish people look like Germany's enemy. Hitler was able to convince the German citizens that he was the right political candidate to fix the economic problems that were occurring at the time. Eventually successful, Hitler continued to create hate cartoons against Jewish people with his publishing of the "Jews are lice; They cause typhus", propaganda cartoon created in 1941. Similarly, in Soviet Russia, propaganda cartoons and films were created to promote the nation and more specifically the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Lead
The original article did not contain misleading information, but did not contain all of the necessary information when examining propaganda and the history of propaganda. The information added to the article was the history or propaganda in several countries as well as psychological propaganda.

Article body
In order to enhance the understanding of different forms of propaganda, several aspects such as Psychological and Modern Day propaganda were added. On top of this, the history of propaganda in the United States and in Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany are crucial when learning about propaganda.