Propaganda

in
totalitarian
regimes
What is propaganda?
● Propaganda is a tool used to control society in order to serve a political cause
● One of the main goals of using propaganda is to manipulate a group of people by the
use of disinformation so that a leader’s ideology is accepted
● The use/misuse of information to influence an audience and to induce it into a desired
pattern of thought, behaviour or action
● Propaganda is responsible for conveying a message (doctrines, opinions, ideas, etc.)
to persuade or persuade people about a topic or problem, so that they become aware
or sensitized about it.
● For this reason, we can say that it does not seek to convey the truth about a problem,
but rather to convince its audience. Its ultimate goal is to skew general opinion, to
influence the values ​of the population, so it has an essentially moral purpose.
Types of propaganda
● White propaganda: openly reveals its source and intentions
● Grey propaganda: has an ambiguous or undisclosed source and intentions
● Black propaganda: published by the enemy or is intended to give the impression that
it was created by those it is intended to discredit. It was mostly used by totalitarian
regimes.
How does it take place in the human psyche?
The intellective functioning of the mind is achieved through a wide network of neural
pathways which can be created, reinforced by repetition or atrophied by lack of stimulus

through subliminal messaging or repetition, propaganda creates or reinforces specific

neural connections, invisible associations of ideas and conceptual links in your brain;
associations and links that normally do not correspond to the truth as the reality lived and
observed by the individual
Propaganda nowadays
● Nowadays we can see a great example of propaganda
in Russia regarding the war in Ukraine
● Russian press is censored and it is used to misinform
people and tell them that the war is just because the
russian army is freeing Ukraine from an oppressive
and fascist government
● Russian soldiers are being told that what they are
doing in Ukraine is a military exercise and not an
actual war
Successful propaganda examples
● In Poland:
● A different vision of history - according to polish government Red Army liberated us from
german occupation and helped rebuild Poland on the economic and industrial level as
brotherly nation. The communist government downplayed the merits of polish historical
heroes (like Joseph Pilsudski) who ever fought against Russia.
● In Romania:
● National Communism - a term referring to a form of nationalism promoted in the Socialist
Republic of Romania which developed as a result of the cultural revolution initiated by
Ceausescu. It upholds the fact that Romania was always fighting its neighbours for 2000
years to achieve unity and independence under the oversight of a Leader. A lot of historical
rulers of Romania were transformed by the party into commist figures that suit the party’s
ideology.
Successful propaganda examples
● In Spain:
● The celebration in december 1976 of the referendum to approve the Law for the political Reform,
constituted a fundamental moment in the transition towards democracy in Spain. The future of spanish
democracy depended toa great extent on its success or failure,threatened by pressure from military
sectors nostalgic fot Francoism and the rejection of a still clandestine opposition, and all this in a
growing climate of violence and terrorist actions. Threrefore, the Suarez goverment turned to a
propaganda and support form your initiative, even using resourcesclose to counterpropaganda.
● In Italy:
● Fascist propaganda was the instrument for the total control of information and culture and for the
creation of the consensus of the masses around the ideals and works of the fascist regime. It was
centered on the exaltation of the values ​of strength, youth, energy and greatness of the Italian people,
which had manifested themselves in the past in the Roman Empire and in the present were embodied in
the figure of the Duce
Successful propaganda examples
● In Greece:
● Due to propaganda and dissemination of false information
through the mass media it was, and still is by many citizens,
believed that the dictatorship had a positive impact on the
country’s economy and that only during those times laws
were followed.
THANKS FOR WATCHING
Team members:

Hania Michalska PL

Helena Rymwid-Mickiewicz PL

Konrad Trzeciak PL

Monica Arcos Montilla SP

Andrei Dan Gogan RO

Yannis Oplasenis GR

Antonio Di Stasio ITA