Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed to INFLUENCE the
opinions or behavior of large numbers of people.
Instead of impartially providing information, propaganda in its
most basic sense presents information in order to influence its
audience.
The most effective propaganda is often completely truthful, but
some propaganda presents facts SELECTIVELY to encourage a
particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce
an emotional rather than rational response to the information
presented.
The desired result is a change of the cognitive narrative of the
subject in the target audience.
A message does not have to be untrue to qualify as
propaganda.
The message in modern propaganda is often not blatantly untrue. But
even if the message conveys only "true" information, it will
generally contain partisan bias and fail to present a complete and
balanced consideration of the issue.
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.
Garth S. Jowett and Victoria O'Donnell, Propaganda And
Persuasion
Education is valuable, commendable, enlightening, instructive.
Propaganda is insidious, dishonest, underhanded, misleading.
- Public relations pioneer Edward L. Bernays
The Opposition Parties should do more to inform the general public
about propaganda. Don't let them fall prey to propagandists and
become propaganda victims. List alternative political, economic and
social online news websites.