Chapter-7, page-195

     
 
Propaganda and Hidden Evaluations
Chapter-7, page-195

The definition of propaganda is the manipulation of public option for the benefit of the propagator. However, one thing is certain about propaganda that is showing no respect for truth and rational argument.

Such British newsreels as The battle of the Somme of world war 1 were propaganda because they only showed the war from their own perspective, though it can be argued as being more honest and objective than more recent war documentaries.

 Their photographers remained on their front lines, therefore presenting at least some truth. According to Furhammar and Isaksson, it was Russian filmmakers who were the "masters of momtage" who discovered film's power to create convincing illusion with cutting, rhythmic editing, and a didactic approach. 

When sound became possible, documentaries could be all the more politically powerful with the use of speakers' voices and music.  In Nazi Germany, newsreels were just as important as feature films, while in Fascist Italy propaganda was mostly limited to documentaries.

 A comparison of the first three installments of the American series why we fight and the Nazi documentary Sieg im western demonstrates how convincing even two opposing interpretations of the same events can be. 

However, Americans create 57% of the world's advertising while representing only 6% of its population; half of our waking hours are spent immersed in the mass media. Persuasion has always been integral to the democratic process, but increasingly, thoughtful discussion is being replaced with simplistic sound bites and manipulative messages.

Drawing on the history of propaganda as well as on contemporary research in social psychology, Age of Propaganda shows how the tactics used by political campaigners, sales agents, advertisers, televangelists, demagogues, and others often take advantage of our emotions by appealing to our deepest fears and most irrational hopes, creating a distorted vision of the world we live in.

This revised and updated edition includes coverage of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, recent election campaigns, talk radio, teen suicide, U.F.O. abductions, the Columbine shootings, and novel propaganda tactics based on hypocrisy and false allegations.

Hence, the goal of modern propaganda is not to inform and enlighten but rather to move the masses toward a desired position or point of view. The first step is take control of the situation and establishes a favorable climate for the message that is called pre-persuasion