Let’s start with the (pre-)

conceptions
• Propaganda is about lying or, at best, half-truths
• It is about playing to emotions rather than
reason
• It is a ‘dirty trick’ designed to get people to do
something they might not otherwise have done
• It is only done by ‘them’ i.e. dictators who fear
public opinion – ‘we’ tell the truth
• It is only done in wartime by democracies
• It is an abuse of communications processes
 What it really is
• It is a process of communications/persuasion
between sender and recipient
• As such, it is value-neutral
• It depends for its success upon credibility
• It lies on the spectrum of communication of who
says what, when, how and with what effect.
• To distinguish it from other forms of
communication, it needs to add why
• Therefore the question of intent is critical
 PROPAGANDA – NATO
DEFINITION
ANY INFORMATION, IDEAS,
DOCTRINES OR SPECIAL APPEALS,
DISSEMINATED TO INFLUENCE THE
OPINIONS, EMOTIONS, ATTITUDES
OR BEHAVIOUR OF ANY SPECIFIED
GROUP IN ORDER TO BENEFIT THE
SPONSOR, EITHER DIRECTLY OR
INDIRECTLY
• Propaganda is the deliberate and
systematic attempt to shape
perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and
direct behavior to achieve a response
that furthers the desired intent of the
propagandist.

– Jowett & O’Donnell

 COHESIVE PROPAGANDA
• CREATE GOODWILL
• PROMOTE FRIENDSHIP
• RAISE MORALE
• STRESS COMMON INTERESTS
• GAIN CO-OPERATION
 DIVISIVE PROPAGANDA
• LOWER MORALE
• CREATE APATHY, DEFEATISM &
DISCORD
• PROMOTE DISSENTION, PANIC
SUBVERSION, RESISTANCE,
DESERTION, SURRENDER &
DEFECTION
 PROPAGANDA PRINCIPLES
IS MOST EFFECTIVE WHEN
• IT IS BASED UPON CREDIBLE TRUTH
• PRESENTED IN AN ATTRACTIVE
FORM
• IT AROUSES A NEED
• IT SUGGESTS SATISFACTION