to what extent does the use of propaganda influence our lives

Propaganda in War Reporting on the U.Due south. War in Iraq

By: David Vidal

The give-and-take �propaganda� comes from the Vatican.� The phrase �congregatio de propaganda fide� (The congregation for the propagation of the faith) was used to back up the cosmic faith in response to the Protestant Reformation (Labash, 20 Dec, 2001).� Propaganda is everywhere and has been around for a long time.� Every newspaper, magazine, news channel, radio station, ad, or any other types of mass media comprise elements of propaganda.� Propaganda is frequently given a negative connotation due to its history of power and control; every bit in the Hitler�south authorities, but in reality the definition is very uncomplicated.� According to Webster�s College Dictionary, propaganda is �information or ideas methodically spread to promote or injure a cause, movement, nation etc, and the deliberate spread of such information or ideas�.� Whether the reader of a media source agrees or disagrees with the content, the purpose of the media is to convey 1 way to wait at a item situation or thought.

����������� Sometimes, propaganda results in no important alter on the reader�due south ethics or morals, like the coverage of a popular new eating house.� The topic does non have much effect considering it is not powerful plenty to significantly alter a club.� The light heartedness of the topic blinds a person to the fact that they are all the same reading a source of propaganda making people non realize how mutual propaganda truly is.� More powerful events, however, such every bit propaganda in the media coverage of a state of war can having a lasting outcome on an individual and may event in changing the way society views the war.� Propaganda�south influence on public opinion tin be the difference between winning and loosing a war.� In his volume �munitions of the Listen,� Dr. Philip Taylor explained the significance of propaganda in war media coverage.� �Propaganda itself is neither sinister nor evil.� Information technology is really no more than the system of methods designed to persuade people to retrieve and behave in a certain fashion, and in wartime that usually means getting them to fight or to support the fight� (Labash, 20 Dec, 2001).� Wartime propaganda is so important that it can frequently be used as a weapon because of the ability that comes with public support.� The ability to win public support tin can be just equally important as the ability to fight the war.

HISTORY OF WARTIME PROPAGANDA

Wartime propaganda has been a major influence in many, if not all, of the major wars.� One of the commencement known uses of war propaganda was past Alexander the Great.� Later beingness forced to retreat in a battle Alexander the Cracking realized that information technology would be a disadvantage to show he was weak and had to retreat.� He overcame this problem past using propaganda to intimidate the opposing army.� Alexander�s ground forces made oversized armor and helmets and left them behind as they retreated.� His intent was that the opposing army would be intimidated and not pursue his army considering the oversized armor made Alexander�s army look like giants (Labash, xx Dec, 2001).

Another occurrence of wartime propaganda occurred in Vietnam where Americans would kidnap and blindfold Vietnamese fisherman.� Then the Americans would take them to an island and tell them that information technology was role of a resistance group called �The Sacred Sword of the Patriot League.� �The fishermen were so returned back to the main state where they would spread rumors of the fake resistance group.� The issue was the Vietnamese concentrating their efforts to destroy a nonexistent grouping (Labash, 20 Dec, 2001).

Ane of the almost well-known propaganda experts in state of war history was Adolf Hitler.� Hitler�s employ of war propaganda resulted in convincing his country of the National Socialism ideals, which ultimately resulted in the Holocaust and the extermination of Jews.� In 1945 Hitler wrote a political statement describing his dislike of the Jewish people and request that after his death people continue to stay strong in their beliefs.� �It is untrue that I or anyone else in Germany wanted war in 1939. It was wanted and provoked solely by international statesmen either of Jewish origin or working for Jewish interests.�� Hitler finished off his political testament stating �Above all, I enjoin the government and the people to uphold the race laws to the limit and to resist mercilessly the prisoner of all nations, international Jewry� (Hitler, 1945).� Hitler�s use of propaganda in spreading his beliefs of National Socialism and his dislike of the Jews resulted in the back up of the his army and state and the breakout of Globe War Two.� Propaganda posters, such equally the i below, were all around Frg.� The text in the poster below says "F�hrer, nosotros will follow you� and was used to proceeds support of the German people.

(Source: http://world wide web.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/posters2.htm)

In his volume Mein Kampf, Hitler dedicated an entire department to the word of war propaganda.� He described the purpose of war propaganda was to support Federal republic of germany in the state of war and bring help bring victory.  Hitler had the ability to use propaganda as a tool that he could use for the control of the masses.� His use of propaganda acquired a motion confronting the Jewish people, which somewhen led to the holocaust and the extermination of millions of Jewish people.� Hitler described his idea of propaganda in his autobiography Mein Kampf:

�The function of propaganda is, for instance, not to weigh and ponder the rights of different people, but exclusively to emphasize the one right which it has set out to argue for. Its task is not to make an objective report of the truth, in then far every bit it favors the enemy, and so set it earlier the masses with academic fairness; its chore is to serve our own correct, always and unflinchingly� (Hitler, chap V1).

����������� Propaganda was then important to Hitler and Hitler�southward try that he assigned a human being named Dr. Joseph Goebbels to the official position of �National Propaganda Leader�.� In a collection of writings from 1939 to 1942 Hanz Schwarz Von Beck described Dr. Goebbels a very adept speaker and announcer who continually updated the people on the state of the war making low-cal of the mistakes of the enemy and the power of Germany (Beck ane).� When asked nigh propaganda Dr. Goebbels answered "Propaganda? Certainly! Proficient propaganda for a good crusade!" We make propaganda not in the pay of forces or men in the background; rather we make propaganda for our own honest convictions. We annunciate for our own ideal, and therefore we fight using all practiced means to make good propaganda to win the soul of our people" (Fritzsche, 1934).� Dr. Goebbels perceived propaganda as an honest tool, which brings the people together for their country.�

Dr. Goebbel, with his speaking skills and power, was able to convince Germany of Hitler�s National Socialism and he was looked upon every bit a leader of the country.� Eugen Hadamovsky, a German radio announcer described Dr. Goebbels as a German hero.� "Nether the vivid leadership of Dr. Joseph Goebbels, the master of political propaganda, the neglected weapon of German language politics became a creative art� (Fritzsche, 1934).� With the back up that Dr. Goebbels had from the media it is no surprise that his employ of propaganda lead to changing Frg�s view of the Jewish people.

(Source: http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/ib27.htm)

����������� Dr. Goebbels did not stop at just promoting National Socialism, he continued his successful propaganda campaign during the state of war effort in order to keep the government support from the German language people.� In a 1939 article given to the German people Dr. Goebbels gave a response to the criticisms that the Americans were giving the Germans. �It was propaganda articles similar this that blinded the German people to the eventual destruction that resulted from National Socialism.� In his article Dr. Goebbels wrote:

�The American printing takes particular pleasance in criticizing Germany on grounds of humanitarianism, civilisation, human being rights and culture. It has every right to do and then. Its humanity is shown past lynchings. Its culture is shown in economic and political scandals that stink to high heaven. Its human rights are displayed past eleven or twelve million unemployed, who apparently chose to be so. And its culture exists just considering it is e'er borrowing from the older European nations. Such a nation is certainly justified in sneering at ancient Europe, whose nations and peoples looked back on centuries, even millennia of cultural achievements even before America was discovered.

The American printing replies to our complaints past saying that they have nothing against Germany, only against National Socialism. That is a poor excuse. National Socialism today is Germany's guiding political idea and worldview. The entire German language nation affirms it. To criticize National Socialism today therefore ways to criticize the unabridged German nation� (Goebbels, 1939).

����������� Propaganda has been used in wars throughout history and volition continue to be a major tool in the future struggles.� Without all the facts propaganda articles similar Dr. Goebbels anti-American article can turn an entire country confronting another.� Today, propaganda is seen in a different light because of the increased mobility of the media.� The media is at present embedded straight in the gainsay of the state of war giving the people a near first hand view of what is happening.

THE USE OF PROPAGANDA IN Iraq

����������� Today, in the war on Iraq, propaganda is more apparent so always due to the number of media sources embedded in the war.� More than 600 Journalists are in military units reporting on the progress of the war (Maass, twenty Mar, 2003).� Peter Maass wrote an article for the New Commonwealth magazine describing a set-up consequence where almost 100 journalists filmed British tanks rolling upward in a V formation and soldiers running to assault.� The purpose of the media event was to �bolster back up dorsum dwelling house� however Maass couldn�t help just see right through the V germination �money shot� and await at the result every bit propaganda (Maass, 20 Mar, 2003).� After the consequence Maass spoke with Colonel Chris Vernon, the spokesman for the British war machine, who stated, �We�re showing what we�ve got, and nosotros would like the bulletin to go out to the people and to the government of Republic of iraq� (Maass, xx Mar, 2003).� This planned out consequence to effects Iraq�s government is propaganda at its all-time.

����������� Some other obvious example of propaganda in the war on Iraq is the United Country�s dropping of leaflets and radio broadcasts all over Iraq. �These leaflets and broadcasts put blame on Saddam for the suffering of the people of Iraq.� They also tell people not to fight, to become home, and not to assail the coalition forces.� The propaganda has the purpose of minimizing casualties.� Judith Kipper, a Eye East expert quoted in the Christian Science Monitor, explained that one problem is that the people of Iraq don�t trust the U.Due south. and that they "blame the U.Due south. as much for their suffering in the past x years as they do Saddam" (Tyson, 30 Jan, 2003).� The use of propaganda is very complicated.� The people of Iraq take propaganda letters coming from all different sources making it difficult to know which one is correct.� The effort to collectively modify peoples opinions is not an easy game and comes down to a psychological war every bit much as a war of fighting.

(Source:http://www.centcom.mil/galleries/leaflets/showleaflets.asp)

����������� Another aspect of state of war propaganda in Iraq that complicates the war is the media�s reporting.� Media sources, like CNN, take grown to so influential on public opinion that they tin can force the unlike parties at state of war to focus on sure issues by raising public awareness of the result.� This has become to be known equally �the CNN effect� (Maass, twenty Mar, 2003).� Governments tin can�t ignore issues that the public has strong opinions nigh.� With the media now imbedded in the war and getting real time footage, the government can�t tell the media what the government wants the people to focus on.� The media choosing an issue to focus on can modify public opinion and force governments to do something nigh it.� Equally Colonel Chris Vernon put it, � State of war is not just tanks and armor.� Information technology�south as well psychological.� Hearts and minds.� The other guy�s move is affected by what he sees happening or thinks is happening.� I think the American defense secretary has a very good understanding of it.� He has read the books.� He said warfare is psychological.� Spot on.� Not many politicians get that� (Mass, 20 Mar, 2003).

����������� With all of the propaganda and psychological aspects involved in a war it is sometimes hard to believe what nosotros read in the mass media.� Walt Whitman once wrote �the real state of war will never get in the books� (Lears, 28 Aug, 2002).� Whitman�s statement makes one wonder what is the �existent� state of war and does anyone have knowledge of the real war?� Certainly anybody must have some bias due to the plethora of media information out there taking i side or another.� Most of the media sources nosotros read accept a natural and, i could fence, unavoidable bias.� For example the media embedded in the troops in Iraq accept probably gone through a survival course by the U.S. army, and because they are traveling with U.S. troops the troops are protecting them, feeding them and living with them.� Peter Maas, subsequently witnessing the British tank propaganda event, wrote �the insurrection de grace to our withering claim of neutrality�with the prospect of selected outlets being given privileged and controlled admission so they can participate in a deadly game of psychological warfare aimed at toppling an enemy regime, the instance for journalistic independence is becoming clumsily difficult to sustain� (Maass, 20 Mar, 2003).

����������� The utilize of propaganda besides exists within a authorities or authorities.� Recently the historian Zachary Shore published a study describing the terror within Hitler�due south regime.� Officials within the regime used propaganda when carrying information up the chain of control.� Data would merely pass on if it would impress Hitler.� This had a negative effect on Hitler, because he would non see the whole pic of the war (Greene, 25 Mar, 2003).� The same may be true for Saddam�s authorities.� Saddam�southward government, like Hitler�s, too terrifies people under him.� Many Iraq people accept been killed and many of those were close to Saddam for example Saddam�due south son, Uday, shot Saddam�southward half brother Watban and killed Watban�s son (Greene, 25 Mar, 2003).� The terror throughout the authorities could upshot in uses of propaganda to make higher officials happy to avoid getting killed.� This hurts the regime considering information may non be accurately passed on to Saddam himself.

PROPAGANDA IN THE U.S. MEDIA

����������� Oftentimes the media claims that the purpose of the media is to offer a non-biased view of current events.� This is virtually impossible to achieve considering equally of writing takes some angle on an outcome.� Johann Galtung, a professor of peace studies, is studying how the media plays a role in the violence and misery around the world.� He focused on some of the things that media sources do that causes them to take 1 side or another which ofttimes results in convincing the public of the aforementioned view.� Galtung laid out 12 of the main things that the media does wrong when reporting violence.� When reading media sources about the state of war in Iraq it is easy to option out these flaws for example the tertiary point on the list �Manicheanisms� is everywhere in U.S. mass media including the above pamphlet dropped over Iraq.� Saddam is looked upon as the �evil� dictator while the U.S. is coming in to free Iraq from the evil.

l. �Decontextualizing violence:  focusing on the irrational without looking at the reasons for unresolved conflicts and polarization.

two. Dualism:  reducing the number of parties in a conflict to two, when often more are involved. Stories that just focus on internal developments often ignore such exterior or "external" forces as foreign governments and transnational companies.

three. Manicheanism:  portraying i side equally expert and demonizing the other as "evil."

4. Armageddon:  presenting violence as inevitable, omitting alternatives.

5. Focusing on individual acts of violence while fugitive structural causes, similar poverty, authorities neglect and military or police repression.

vi. Confusion:  focusing merely on the conflict loonshit (i.due east., the battlefield or location of violent incidents) but not on the forces and factors that influence the violence.

vii. Excluding and omitting the bereaved, thus never explaining why there are acts of revenge and spirals of violence.

8. Failure to explore the causes of escalation and the impact of media coverage itself.

ix. Failure to explore the goals of outside interventionists, especially big powers.

l0. Failure to explore peace proposals and offer images of peaceful outcomes.

xi. Disruptive end-fires and negotiations with actual peace.

12. Omitting reconciliation:  conflicts tend to reemerge if attention is non paid to efforts to heal fractured societies. When news about attempts to resolve conflicts are absent, fatalism is reinforced. That tin can aid engender even more violence, when people take no images or information about possible peaceful outcomes and the promise of healing.�

����������������������������������������������� (source: Schechter, 18 July, 2001)

�����������

The mistakes of the media often change the public stance of the people of the U.S.� It is interesting to wait dorsum to the start of the war on Republic of iraq and realize that the original reason that the U.S. went to war was for the protection of the U.Southward.� The U.S. regime and the U.S. media reported that nosotros were going to War because of the threat of biological weapons being produced in Iraq.� Noam Chomsky, a famous linguistics professor at MIT, explained to frontline magazine �Now if people genuinely believe that Iraq has carried out major terrorist attacks against the United States and is planning to do and then again, people will back up the war. �Information technology is a truly spectacular achievement of propaganda� (Kennedy, 17 April, 2003).� The focus in the media, however, inverse subsequently the state of war started.� Eventually the state of war became an effort to free Iraq.�

In 1997 a group of journalists, students, and media experts got together and discussed issues journalism.�� Included in their writings was an outline of how the media prepares the country for war.� The media get-go prepares the country by bring up issues of poverty and dictatorship such as the instance with Saddam.� In the �justification stage� the media calls for urgency such as in the case of protecting the U.South. from the Republic of iraq biological weapons.� The implementation stage is similar to the control that the media has over the public view of the state of war on Republic of iraq, and the aftermath is already being portrayed by the media starting to not focus on the war as much equally in the beginning.

�The Preliminary Phase - during which the country concerned comes to the news, portrayed as a cause for "mounting concern" considering of poverty/dictatorship/anarchy;

The Justification Stage - during which big news is produced to lend urgency to the case for armed intervention to bring well-nigh a rapid restitution of "normality";

The Implementation Sta ge - when pooling and censorship provide control of coverage;

The Aftermath - during which normality is portrayed as returning to the region, before it once again drops down the news agenda.�

����������������������������������������������� (Source: The Peace Journalism Option, 1997)

�����������

����������� Adolf Hitler once stated �all that matters is propaganda� (Labash, 20 Dec, 2001).� This may non have been state literally merely when it comes down to it if someone tin can command public opinion then they take all the power.� A government cannot have power if it does non have the back up of the public.� In gild to gain support of the public propaganda is used to promote the government and the ideals backside it.� The bug apropos propaganda are complex and numerous but it is known that propaganda can be one of the main weapons used in psychological warfare and can significantly affect the outcome of a state of war.� Propaganda can influence people to believe a certain ideology whether that ideology is right or incorrect.� Hopefully future uses of propaganda will serve to limit fighting and be used to avoid wars rather than starting wars and promote hate every bit in Hitler�due south regime.

Bibliography

Beck, Hans Schwarz Von. On the Art of Speaking to the Earth. 1998.����������������������������������������������� <http://www.calvin.edu>

Hans Fritzsche, "Dr. Goebbels und sein Ministerium," in Hans Heinz Mantau-Sadlia, ���� Deutsche F�hrer Deutsches Schicksal. Das Buch der K�nder und F�hrer des ��������� dritten Reiches (Munich: Verlag Max Steinebach, 1934), pp. 330-342. ��� <http://www.calvin.edu>

Goebbels, Joseph. "Was will eigentlich Amerika," Die Zeit ohne Beispiel (Munich: �������� Zentralverlag der NSDAP., 1941), pp. 24-30. <http://www.calvin.edu>

Green, Robert Lane. �The Earth Know Contest� The New Republic. 25 Mar, 2003 �� <http://www.tnr.com> viewed 11 May, 2003

Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf. Vol one. Chapter V1 �������� <http://www.stormfront.org/crusader/texts/mk/mkv1ch06.html>

Hitler, Adolf. My Political Testament. Berlin, 29 April, 1945 ���� <http://world wide web.adolfhitler.ws>

Kennedy, Rob. �How The states Media Served War Propaganda� The Liberty of Information �������� Center 17 April, 2003 <http://www.foi.missouri.edu> viewed 2 June, 2003

Labash, Matt. �The Power of Propaganda� The Weekly Standard. 20 Dec. 2001 ����������� <http://www.weekelystandard.com>� viewed 7 May, 2003.

Lears, Jackson �Fighting Words.� The New Commonwealth. 28 Aug, 2002 �� <http://www.tnr.com viewed 11 May, 2003.>

Maass, Peter �Kuwait City Acceleration Pressed.� The New Republic. twenty Mar, 2003. ������ <http://www.tnr.com>

Schechter, Danny. �How Should Media Handle Conflict?� MediaChannel.org. xviii July, 2003 <http://world wide web.mediachannel.org> viewed 2 June, 2003.

�The Peace Journalism Selection� Buckinghamshire UK. Aug 25-29 1997. ��������� <http://www.poiesis.org/pjo/pjotext.html> viewed two June, 2003

Tyson, Ann Scott. �Hearts, Minds, Leaflets: Wars Psychological side� The Christian ���� Scientific discipline Monitor. 30 January, 2003 <http://www.csmonitor.com> viewed 2 June, �� 2003.

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Source: https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297a/War%20Reporting%20on%20the%20U.S.%20War%20in%20Iraq.htm

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