The Negative Connotations Of Propaganda

What does it say about our country when we can't ever believe our own media sources and stories? Our nations' news as present is full of propaganda, which in most cases is funded by our own government. The most essential questions would be How would you define propaganda? What connotations does propaganda have? Can propaganda be not perceived as negative? How does propaganda affect it's audiences? What role does propaganda play in our own lives? Psywar provides some excellent examples on how to answer these questions.

So what is propaganda? As defined by Dictionary.com propaganda is "information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group,movement, institution, nation, etc". Propaganda has negative connotations if used in certain ways because it can warp a persons ideals, perception management, and opinions. For example in Psywar propaganda was used extensively to promote the war in Iraq by selling false stories when the soldiers were actually bombing or raiding a city. "Psychological Operations or PSYOP are planned operations to convey selected information and indicators to audiences to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and
ultimately the behavior of organizations, groups, and individuals" (Psywar Film).As another example Psywar starts off with American soldiers as they explained a little later in the film, tearing down Saddam Hussein ,who is the president of Iraq. Turns out the whole campaign of rebellion against Saddam Hussein was a staged by the Psyop group.

There are very few ways propaganda can be used that is not perceived as negative.
As an example large brand companies rely on propaganda to get consumers to buy, such as Apple, Android , Sprint, etc. These large brand companies only show the best and positive aspect of their brand. My own cellphone was bought from At&t for the exact reason of seeing all the best aspects of the iPhone from At&t's commercial. Most commercials are not perceived as negative because they only show the positive images, aspects, or ideas of whatever that company is trying to sell. As another example the ending of Psywar is on consumers, without propaganda companies would have a difficult time selling their products because no-one wants to buy anything when they know the both negative and positive points on
it.

Propaganda affect audiences drastically. With the help of propaganda any leader in a how power position can warp and affect the minds of their audiences. For example Psywar tells how president Woodrow Wilson helped cast the propagandistic George Creel Commission which would pave the way for the US to enter World War I by planting false atrocity stories, stoking fear in Americans and calling on them to fight the good fight for democracy (Metanoia Films Psywar). Another example is how with whatever message the propaganda is releaseing created the perception of how the audience perceives something, so if a county like the U.S for example only shows the bombings in certain cities than the U.S as the audience will only see that certain city as a dangerous place with no positive attributes.

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In conclusion As defined by Dictionary.com propaganda is "information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group,movement, institution, nation, etc". Propaganda affect audiences drastically, and the most essential questions would be How would you define propaganda? What connotations does propaganda have? Can propaganda be not perceived as negative? How does propaganda affect it's audiences? What role does propaganda play in our own lives? Psywar provides some excellent examples on how to answer these questions.