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The Use of Propaganda and the Media by Political Groups

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Submitted By rgibson
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January 20, 2012
The Use of Propaganda and the Media by Political Groups Propaganda is a tool that is used all over the world to influence how people think. Propaganda has fittingly been referred to as “the weapon of mass persuasion” by the Canadian Broadcasting Channel. Propaganda can be defined as communications with the goal of influencing the opinion or attitude of a population in favor of the ideology of oneself or one’s group. The messages behind propaganda are almost always political. Governments and militaries around the globe have used propaganda again and again to control their followers. Famous examples of aggressive propaganda campaigns are those of the United State Military, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Emperor Hirohito of Japan and Joseph Stalin. In the past, printed media was the main form of spreading war propaganda. As society and technology evolved over the decades, so did propaganda. The messages hidden in modern media are far more difficult to identify than ever before. The use of propaganda has always had specific motives, but are the reasons behind war propaganda harmful towards society? What are specific ways that propaganda has affected the populations of the world? There are many negative examples of ways that the global population has been influenced by propaganda during war times throughout history. Propaganda produced by the government is almost always under-handed and one sided. There seems to be a formula for the perfect war campaign using propaganda that has proven successful for political powers to achieve their eventual goals withoutobjection from their respective populations. In the case of Adolf Hitler, his personal mission for domination began with his image as a politician. In post-World War I Germany, moral of the nation was low as people lived poorly after facing defeat, global humiliation and the burden of

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