I think that when people hear the word propaganda, the first thing that typically comes to mind is war posters. In your post, you mention that advertising is the most common form of propaganda that we are exposed to on a regular basis. This being said, I think that most people don’t associate the two. Advertisements are aimed at influencing the attitude of a community towards something but they are not often trying to influence people towards a cause (like the war posters). I think that propaganda has a negative connotation to it because it involves loaded messages and manipulating peoples attitudes and people don’t usually see advertising as having the same kind of “loaded” intentions. How can we be mindful of the difference between the types of propaganda that are being employed and how can people use that to their advantage when forming an opinion? Furthermore, what are other sources of propaganda that are commonly used in the modern era?
Another thing I thought was interesting was your section about choosing a medium. I think that this is probably something that has changed recently due to advancements in technology. I think that the medium chosen can have a significant impact on whether the message is believed as well. For example, online propaganda is probably less effective in some ways now because of the popularity of things like fake news. As people have become more aware of how easy people can create and manipulate online content, people have become more conscious about the credibility and trustworthiness of the things they are seeing. Meanwhile, people are probably less skeptical about information that is given over the radio or on television because fewer people have the means to manipulate those mediums.
Great job overall, I really enjoyed the style of your post. The “how to” tutorial was unique and a fun way to learn about propaganda.
I do agree that the term propaganda does have a negative connotation to it, but in truth it really doesn't mean that modern advertisements aren't propaganda. As I defined in my post propaganda is "the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person." Most if not all advertisements aim is to help the product they produce sell better. The only thing that might be different between propaganda and what we would define as advertisements is that advertisements don't necessarily spread ideas or information to support their product.
I think to be mindful of the propaganda that is being employed we need to either become educated consumers or accept that some aspects of our life are okay to manipulated. To speak to the latter, I buy Colgate toothpaste, and I am okay with this as my toothpaste product, but I do not truly care one way or the other about what toothpaste I buy. In this sense I am okay with the brand of toothpaste I buy to be manipulated by different advertisements and propaganda. I think that if most people analyze their everyday lives they will not have really hard opinions for or against something and in turn shouldn't mind being manipulated in those aspects of their lives.
Besides advertisements, I think that media itself has taken on the role of propaganda. If we look at different modern news networks they are not just reporting the news or facts about stories. They are reporting the facts and their own opinions on the story itself, actively trying to psuade people one way or the other. This take on the news serves as the propaganda in many of our own lives.
Great post! I like the "how to" style as well! One thing that would have been fun to see included in this is examples of propaganda, in the different types that you talked about in your post. Not only would examples be helpful for someone who was actually setting out to make propaganda, it would also help to demonstrate how effectively propaganda can be used.
I did provide some examples of historical propaganda in the links near the end of the post so be sure to check those out. Otherwise, this is a great article that talks about manipulation in modern media: https://www.activistpost.com/2014/03/6-examples-of-media-manipulation.html
I think that when people hear the word propaganda, the first thing that typically comes to mind is war posters. In your post, you mention that advertising is the most common form of propaganda that we are exposed to on a regular basis. This being said, I think that most people don’t associate the two. Advertisements are aimed at influencing the attitude of a community towards something but they are not often trying to influence people towards a cause (like the war posters). I think that propaganda has a negative connotation to it because it involves loaded messages and manipulating peoples attitudes and people don’t usually see advertising as having the same kind of “loaded” intentions. How can we be mindful of the difference between the types of propaganda that are being employed and how can people use that to their advantage when forming an opinion? Furthermore, what are other sources of propaganda that are commonly used in the modern era?
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I thought was interesting was your section about choosing a medium. I think that this is probably something that has changed recently due to advancements in technology. I think that the medium chosen can have a significant impact on whether the message is believed as well. For example, online propaganda is probably less effective in some ways now because of the popularity of things like fake news. As people have become more aware of how easy people can create and manipulate online content, people have become more conscious about the credibility and trustworthiness of the things they are seeing. Meanwhile, people are probably less skeptical about information that is given over the radio or on television because fewer people have the means to manipulate those mediums.
Great job overall, I really enjoyed the style of your post. The “how to” tutorial was unique and a fun way to learn about propaganda.
I do agree that the term propaganda does have a negative connotation to it, but in truth it really doesn't mean that modern advertisements aren't propaganda. As I defined in my post propaganda is "the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person." Most if not all advertisements aim is to help the product they produce sell better. The only thing that might be different between propaganda and what we would define as advertisements is that advertisements don't necessarily spread ideas or information to support their product.
DeleteI think to be mindful of the propaganda that is being employed we need to either become educated consumers or accept that some aspects of our life are okay to manipulated. To speak to the latter, I buy Colgate toothpaste, and I am okay with this as my toothpaste product, but I do not truly care one way or the other about what toothpaste I buy. In this sense I am okay with the brand of toothpaste I buy to be manipulated by different advertisements and propaganda. I think that if most people analyze their everyday lives they will not have really hard opinions for or against something and in turn shouldn't mind being manipulated in those aspects of their lives.
Besides advertisements, I think that media itself has taken on the role of propaganda. If we look at different modern news networks they are not just reporting the news or facts about stories. They are reporting the facts and their own opinions on the story itself, actively trying to psuade people one way or the other. This take on the news serves as the propaganda in many of our own lives.
Great post! I like the "how to" style as well! One thing that would have been fun to see included in this is examples of propaganda, in the different types that you talked about in your post. Not only would examples be helpful for someone who was actually setting out to make propaganda, it would also help to demonstrate how effectively propaganda can be used.
ReplyDeleteI did provide some examples of historical propaganda in the links near the end of the post so be sure to check those out. Otherwise, this is a great article that talks about manipulation in modern media: https://www.activistpost.com/2014/03/6-examples-of-media-manipulation.html
ReplyDelete