The essence of propaganda is to spread a manipulated message with the aim of influencing the masses. The truth is not the most important thing here. Over the centuries the tools for making and spreading propaganda have changed quite a bit, but the goal has always remained the same: to influence as many people as possible. Bram Peters explains.
British World War One recruiting poster, 1914.
Already in Roman times, the emperors used propaganda to spread the message throughout the empire who held the power. Roman emperors had themselves portrayed on coins to reach as many citizens as achievable. In a time without the modern mass media as we know them today, this was quite an effective way to circulate information within an empire the size of the United States (the Mediterranean Sea included). This method is even used to this day: many countries have their heads of state printed on their coins or bills.
The disintegration of the Roman Empire in the early Middle Ages resulted in much more locally oriented society. Cities themselves minted their own coins. However, the invention of the printing press in the late Middle Ages gave propagandists a whole new opportunity to spread their message. Texts no longer had to be copied by hand, but could instead be produced by machines. In addition, the message was proclaimed in the vernacular instead of Latin. This made it possible to reach a much larger audience.
The industrial revolution gave a huge boost to paper production. With the use of steam engines and the switch from cottonpaper to pulppaper, production costs fell significantly and more people than ever had access to printed information.
20th century
In the twentieth century other mass media made their appearance: radio and film. Sound and motion picture could now be used to spread propaganda. The Nazi regime is an excellent example of a government that has been able to make optimal use of new technologies. Famous are the speeches of the specially appointed Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, which the whole country could follow on cheap radios provided by the regime. Citizens could watch propaganda films in cinemas that aimed to influence the masses. Much attention was paid to national symbolism (with a special role for flags), military parades, cheering crowds worshiping Hitler and theatrical music. In the second half of the twentieth century, the role of film was increasingly taken over by television. From now on propaganda came straight into the living room.
The Internet made its appearance at the end of the century, revolutionizing the way messages are conveyed to the general public. Although initially still a fairly static medium, in the twenty-first century the internet has evolved into a platform where new digital technologies have forever changed the way propaganda is created and used. Smart algorithms offer users personalized content based on their search behaviour. Manipulation of images in combination with the framing of information has led to the emergence of reporting referred to as fake news. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used to generate deep fake videos capable of making people say things they have never said. Thanks to AI, anyone with relatively little knowledge can spread propaganda that reaches the entire world. The line between what is real and what is not has become more blurred than ever.
Propaganda has been a way of influencing people for thousands of years. Propaganda makers want to convince their target group and do not take the truth too seriously. What has changed throughout history are the possibilities to reach an ever larger public. With the rise of the internet, the whole world now is the audience. At the same time, AI is more than ever creating the dilemma of what is real and what isn’t. It is of great importance that young generations learn the purpose of propaganda and how to recognize it. Who made something and for what reason? Examples from the past can therefore be useful to study. In a time where it is easier than ever to manipulate everything, we all should take an extra critical look at the information presented to us.
What do you think of propaganda history? Let us know below.
Now read Bram’s article on an approach to racism and Black Pete here.
About the author: Bram Peters is an historian from the Netherlands. He has a MA in political history from one of the major Dutch universities, and specialized in national identity and traditions, as well as parliamentary history, the second world war and war propaganda. He worked for years as a curator at one of the largest war museums in the Netherlands. He likes to get involved in public debate by writing articles for national and regional newspapers and websites.
