Propaganda And Persuasion Paper

Throughout the first half of the semester we were introduced to two concepts: Propaganda and Persuasion. Often times, these two terms are used interchangeably by those who do not have an accurate definition of the terms. The purpose of the first half of the semester was to teach us an accurate definition of propaganda and persuasion, and how to distinguish the two apart when faced with information intended to sway the receiving audience. So far I have been introduced to various definitions of the term propaganda but the one that I agree with the most comes from Jowett and O’Donnell (2006) which states: “Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist” (pg. …show more content…
While there will never be a completely neutral form of reporting, there are ways to determine whether the source falls more on the propaganda or persuasion side. For the source of the information to lean towards propaganda it must fall under one of three categories: white, gray, or black propaganda. White propaganda comes from a source that has been identified correctly, and the information tends to be accurate. According to Jowett and O’Donnell (2006) “white propaganda attempts to build credibility with the audience, for this could have usefulness at some point in the future” (pg. 16). Black propaganda is when the source is masked or credited to a false authority and spreads lies, fabrications, and deceptions. Gray propaganda falls somewhere between white and black propaganda. The source of the information may or may not be correctly identified, and the accuracy of the information may be undetermined. If the source does not seem to fall under any of the three categories mentioned it should be safe to assume that the source is