EOTO: PROPOGANDA IS EVERYWHERE

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Propaganda is defined by Merriam- Webster as information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. 


It seems simple, doesn’t it? Misleading information. The definition is plain and simple, but often we associate the term with power and control in a negative way (the Hitler regime, communist control in Central Europe, etc.). 


But in the era of the digital age, it is far more complex. Propaganda implies only telling one side of the story, the side you want your audience to know. It also plays into the consumer's emotions, rather than their intellect. This makes propaganda highly persuasive and molds malleable minds to believe one side of the story. Propaganda has the power to sway elections, shape minds, and change the narrative of fact-checked news. 


Propaganda can be a positive thing. It is used to persuade and share information. It was coined as a negative term when politicians began making false claims to get elected. It has been an important piece to elections ever since. 


“Propaganda’s influence on public opinion can be the difference between winning and losing a war.”


One of the most important things propaganda has now turned into is shaping young minds via social media. Many Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter users are around the age of thirteen when they join. That seems young to be viewing political opinions don't you think? But this is more than that. I noticed during the Black Lives Matter movement, how this was truly a phenomenon in how propaganda looks and affects us. I was seeing children ages 13-16 reposting Black Lives Matter or the opposition, All Lives Matter, graphics that were made to persuade the mind to believe one side or the other. A 13-year-old is not going to fact check a social media graphic before pasting it onto their Instagram story and deciding that is what they believe now. In that case, they spread this information to their friends and decide they know what side they have chosen to take. All because of either liberal or conservative propaganda that may be untrue and meant to shape the mind. Propaganda is not a negative word, but it has surely taken a different shape since social media ages have lowered. 


Propaganda affects us all, whether we believe it or not. We use the information we consume, political campaign commercials, social media graphics, and ads; to shape the opinions we come up with. If we are misinformed, we spread this misinformation. But, if propaganda is accurate, it can be positive in spreading information used to inform the public on one side. 


50 powerful examples of visual propaganda and the meanings behind ...





Sources:


https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297a/War%20Reporting%20on%20the%20U.S.%20War%20in%20Iraq.htm 


https://issues.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/OConnor-Weatherall-The-Social-Media-Propaganda-Problem-Fall-2019.pdf 

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