What is Propaganda?

What is Propaganda?
propaganda
prpand/
noun
1. 1.
information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a
political cause or point of view.
"he was charged with distributing enemy propaganda"
synonyms:

information,promotion,
advertising,advertisement,
publicity,

Propaganda is official government

communications to the public that are
designed to influence opinion. The information
may be true or false, but it is always carefully
selected for its political effect.

Lesson objectives

Learning outcomes

To gain an understanding of By the end of the lesson you

what propaganda is and to
will have recorded what
know what its objectives
propaganda is and to know
are.
what its objectives are.
To be able to use visual
You will have analysed a
literacy to analyse a
selection of propaganda
selection of propaganda
posters using your visual
posters.
literacy skills and
descriptive language.

Keywords:

Source primary
secondary accuracy
reliability relevance colour intention
bias propaganda context composition

 Every day we are bombarded with one

persuasive communication after another.
These appeals persuade not through the
give and take of argument and debate,
but through the manipulation of symbols
and of our most basic human emotions.
For better or worse, ours is an age of
propaganda.
(Pratkanis and Aronson, 1991)

Propaganda:
agitate emotions
exploit insecurities
use ambiguous language
bend the rules of logic

 Most people associate propaganda

with the campaigns of WWII.
This included posters by all countries
involved which used various
techniques to persuade people to
support the war cause.
World War II saw continued use of
propaganda as a weapon of war, both
by Hitler's propagandist Joseph
Goebbels and the British Political
Warfare Executive.

Consider:
Which country
does this come
from?
What symbols
are used?

What emotive
words are used?

Consider:
Which country
does this come
from?

What message is
being conveyed?
How is the
woman
represented?

3
The Nazi Party was
also waging a
propaganda
campaign against
the Jewish people
in Germany.
This is a poster for
an anti-Jewish film.
How are Jewish
people represented
here?

Consider:
Which country
does this come
from?
How is the enemy
represented?
What is suggested
by the message?
What emotional

Other countries
also used
propaganda
techniques.
Which country
does this come
from?
How is Hitler
represented
here?

Consider:

What techniques
are used to portray
the enemy in a
negative way?

Consider:
Which country
does this come
from?

What message is
being conveyed?
How is Japan
being
represented?

What do you thinks

this poster is
promoting?
Look at the
representations and
symbols used?

One Battle
One Victory

Consider:
What is the
purpose of the
poster?
What symbols are
used?
What is suggested
about the enemy?
How does this
poster appeal to

What are people being asked to change?

What are people being persuaded to do?

What information are they given? What is the source of this

information?

What appeals are used?

Write your own definition of propaganda.

What are people being asked to change? Thinking, opinions, lifestyle,

attitudes, values,
beliefs, views ..

What are people being persuaded to do?

Take action e.g. join army, buy bonds,
keep quiet

What information are they given? Biased, exaggerated, misleading,

simplistic

What is the source of this information? Government, one source, one

opinion

What appeals are used? Emotional e.g. fear, patriotism, need to

belong,

Write your own definition of propaganda.