News Propaganda

When I hear the word propaganda, my mind first goes to my years of history classes, and the many examples of war propaganda I was shown. When I automatically think about war propaganda, I start to realize that today there is propaganda around us everywhere we go. There are still people out there who are trying to persuade the masses to behave a certain way or to think a certain way.

Propaganda is defined as influencing the opinions or behaviours of large numbers of people (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda). Another term used for propaganda is "perception management"; the process of transforming public opinion to conform to a premeditated political agenda (http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=5058). This is what has always been understood: we see advertisements or articles that are put somewhere by companies or organizations in hopes of persuading the masses to buy their product or take their side.
Governments today use propaganda, it is just not as harsh or as obvious as the propaganda that was used during the First and Second World Wars. They use propaganda to persuade the public to believe what they believe and to support what they wish to accomplish. Politicians use propaganda throughout elections to enhance the public opinion of themselves and to increase the number of supporters they have. Also, propaganda is used by today's politicians to tarnish the public's perception of their opponents.

I feel that the biggest people that are putting propaganda out into the public today are the people of public relations. People within the PR business are hired by companies and corporations to boost the reputation and image of said companies or corporations. A person in PR takes the positive attributes of the company they are representing and releases them in a positive advertisement or article to the general public to enhance the company's image. PR people present facts selectively, so they are not technically lying to the public, they are just omitting facts that may not act in a postive way for the company they are representing.

Although the news put out as propaganda isn't false, the information may not be all there. The full picture is not being portrayed, therefore the full story is not being seen. Propaganda is used to enhance the image or reputation of a product, company or corporation. This means that only the good will be shown, and it will be up to the audience to discover the truth about the product. Propaganda only implies the good qualities of the product or company involved; the bad is hidden as to keep the reputation of the company or product in high standards.

Overall, propaganda is not bad; it is not something that should be avoided, because honestly that would prove difficult. However, the audience needs to be aware that what they are reading or seeing may not be the full picture, and that further research could show the other side of the product or company that is not included in their propaganda advertisement.