Description

Today the word propaganda has a negative connotation, suggesting dishonest tactics, but originally that was not the meaning intended for the term. Propaganda apparently comes from the Latin name of a group of Roman Catholic cardinals, the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith). This committee called Propaganda for short was established by Pope Gregory XV in 1622 to supervise missionaries. Gradually, propaganda came to mean any effort to spread a belief.