Propaganda is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as ‘the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person’.
Whether the effects of propaganda on society are negative or positive is subject to opinion. Propaganda has been used throughout history, taking different forms and using different techniques, and is still surrounding us and our society. Propaganda affects us by appealing to our emotions and to the conformist in all of us. For better or worse, it influences us to bend our thinking to the perspective of the propagandist, be it a perspective regarding a governmental policy, a political cause, or a corporate issue.
When people hear the word ‘propaganda’, a negative image automatically seems to pop up in their heads. Propaganda generally revolves around hiding the whole story with information often being provided in a biased or misleading fashion.
In the United States during World War II, propaganda was everywhere. There were …show more content…
Even the example regarding World War II could be seen as negative in the eyes of an Axis supporter. However, in the eyes of the common person, it’s a good thing. There are still things seen as negative aspects of propaganda. For example, the American propaganda that used racial slurs against German and Japanese people to get the American people to hate them. Even more destructive were the German pieces of propaganda that slandered Jews and portrayed them as thieves of money and arrogant, elitist sub-humans; these inspired support for the deaths of 6 million Jews in Europe. However, for those who choose to support the causes others see as negative, the propaganda does not seem so bad to them. It is not a question asking if it is a good thing or a bad thing, for there will be no concrete answer without objective proof regarding propaganda’s negativity or positivity in regards to its effect on human
Whether the effects of propaganda on society are negative or positive is subject to opinion. Propaganda has been used throughout history, taking different forms and using different techniques, and is still surrounding us and our society. Propaganda affects us by appealing to our emotions and to the conformist in all of us. For better or worse, it influences us to bend our thinking to the perspective of the propagandist, be it a perspective regarding a governmental policy, a political cause, or a corporate issue.
When people hear the word ‘propaganda’, a negative image automatically seems to pop up in their heads. Propaganda generally revolves around hiding the whole story with information often being provided in a biased or misleading fashion.
In the United States during World War II, propaganda was everywhere. There were …show more content…
Even the example regarding World War II could be seen as negative in the eyes of an Axis supporter. However, in the eyes of the common person, it’s a good thing. There are still things seen as negative aspects of propaganda. For example, the American propaganda that used racial slurs against German and Japanese people to get the American people to hate them. Even more destructive were the German pieces of propaganda that slandered Jews and portrayed them as thieves of money and arrogant, elitist sub-humans; these inspired support for the deaths of 6 million Jews in Europe. However, for those who choose to support the causes others see as negative, the propaganda does not seem so bad to them. It is not a question asking if it is a good thing or a bad thing, for there will be no concrete answer without objective proof regarding propaganda’s negativity or positivity in regards to its effect on human