How did propaganda work?

Answer 1

Propaganda works in various forms to either promote an idea or influence attitudes and beliefs that will serve to the propagandist, wanting to achieve a certain outcome or response to the message being portrayed. It has its beneficial aspects as well as its disadvantages, although people who are under propaganda themes, subjected by a government or constitution, become disllusioned and under false impressions. Some attainments rest in the hands of the propagandist and, if powerful enough, the impact can be profound and effective to whoever the propaganda is aimed at (large groups of people). Its major campaigning and resourceful publishing allow the propaganda to be promoted, often serving the purpose to whom the propagandist is and what they are attempting to influence.

Today propaganda is active in different communist constitutions such as China. The government uses these methods to blacken out certain truths and information the public of China should not know about. For example, media and news outside China is censored; meaning information and details the government do not wish to be exposed is simply removed. These are essences of propaganda and cenorship, working together with the Chinese government that control and influence information that should not reach the minds of the public.

There are such devices of propaganda used in Great British history. The First World War saw the vast amount of propaganda published and produced throughout the Empire and colonies to across the nation. It influenced people's minds, urging them to become part of the War, using techniques of heavy persuasion and motivation - illustrating the War to be an adventure, heroic and glorious not to mention it would "be over before Christmas." The British government managed to control and monitor propaganda effectively, encouraging the public to support the War effort whilst in addition motivating the young generation to be involved during the War. Propaganda publications such as newspapers, leaflets and pamphlets were used as well as posters (the government printing 50million one year) with the extensive range to target audiences wherever and whenever possible. It proved an enormous benefit to the government, recruiting over 2.5million volunteers to serve their "King and Country." On the other side of the world at the time Austrialia led a wartime recruitment campaign too, raising 5million volunteers to join the War effort. These such schemes were all under the use of propaganda and it was incredibly powerful and furthermore successful in terms of its original aims.

In answer to the question, propaganda worked in various forms to help promote certain beliefs and ideas that would serve the purpose of the propagandist/s. In modern terms you could relate propaganda to advertisements except on a greater and more effective scale, although propaganda does have the ability to hide certain truths and even create lies to promote that cause. In other words, propaganda gives a version of the truth to serve its purpose and help support whatever the propagandist is promoting. The scale of which propaganda can work on depends upon the amount and scale of what you are promoting. In the past it has proven misleading and had an impact on socities and culture. Today to promote these sort of beliefs it would be much more difficult and dangerous to the public, with potential outcomes of War etc. To serve the use of propaganda well there are always other points and likely outcomes to consider, in relation to your initial purpose.

In short: It basically persuades people to do stuff coz they say other dudes do stuff that's bad. E.G: "Hate terrorists coz they stick kids hedz on spikes." but i cant say that's true coz ive never even seen a terrorist.

Answer 2

Yes propaganda did and does work, the Nazi's used it to capture ALL of Germany and most of Europe... (Almost the entire of the World) They captured the media, (Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.) there's a certain news magnate (now under serious investigations) who controls the majority of what is reported as news in major countries today including US... Here's Hitler's take on propaganda and the ideologues are using now in US politics currently:

MEIN KAMPF:

"Propaganda must always address itself to the broad masses of the people… All propaganda must be presented in a popular form and must fix its intellectual level so as not to be above the heads of the least intellectual of those to whom it is directed… The art of propaganda consists precisely in being able to awaken the imagination of the public through an appeal to their feelings, in finding the appropriate psychological form will arrest the attention and appeal to the hearts of the national masses. The broad masses of people are not made up of diplomats or professors of public jurisprudence nor simply of persons who are able to form reasoned judgment in given cases, but a vacillating crowd of human children who are constantly wavering between one idea and another. (….) The great majority of a nation is so feminine in its character and outlook that its thought and conduct are ruled by sentiment rather than by sober reasoning. This sentiment, however, is not complex, but simple and consistent. It is not highly differentiated, but has only the negative and positive notions of love and hate, right and wrong, truth and falsehood. (….)" John L. Carriker A Voice from Kansas