Propaganda through media

The definition of propaganda is always open to discussion, and it is most commonly defined as “information,” especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. To explain the close associations between media and propaganda, Richard Alan Nelson observed propaganda as a form of persuasion with intention with the aid of controlled transmission of single-sided information through mass media. Mass media and propaganda are inseparable.

Mass media as a system for spreading and disseminating information and messages to public plays a role in amusing, entertaining and informing individuals with rules and values that situate them in social structure. Thus, propaganda is a necessity for alleviating conflicts between different classes in society. In a media-saturated modern society, mass media is the main channel for the carrying out the propaganda action and fulfill the propaganda practices.

Modern propaganda includes using a variety of media in order to spread messages. This could include using press, radio, television, film, computers, fax machines, posters, meetings, door-to-door canvassing, handbills, buttons, billboards, speeches, flags, street names, monuments, coins, stamps, books, plays, comic strips, poetry, music, sporting events, cultural events, company reports, libraries, and awards and prizes.

The origins of propaganda through media
"Propaganda" was a term that was commonly used in 1914, the beginning of the World War, though its origin can be traced back to the ancient Greece. In Athens, the original place of civilization as well as the centre of humankind culture, the citizen class was conscious and well informed of their interests and public affairs. Thus, conflicts and divergence on individual interests and other religious matters demands propaganda. Without the modern mass media such as newspaper, radio and televisions functioning as a medium for information spreading, a series of alternatives can play a role for propagandizing values and beliefs to shape and mould the opinions of men. These can include dramas, games and religious festivals. Additionally, another tool for propaganda in an oral-biased society is articulation.

Propaganda today is endowed with negative connotative meanings in a political context, despite that the word entered language with religious origins. Pope Gregory XV established an institution for spreading the faith and addressing a series of church affairs, which is namely the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. Further, a College of Propaganda was set up under Pope Urban VIII to train priests for missions. Throughout the historical stages, propaganda has always been evident in momentum social movements such as American independence, the French Revolution, and especially during wartimes. Wartime propaganda is often demanded for shaping public opinions to gain more allies on am international level, as well as calling for citizens to make a contribution and sacrifice to the war on a domestic level. Governments during the First World War devoted massive resources and huge amounts of effort to producing material designed to shape opinion and action internationally. As Clark claimed, posters in wartime with some visual codes are powerful tools to make people adapt to the new conditions and norms arising from the wars and to accommodate the needs of the war. During the Second World War, the power of propaganda came to the extreme, under the horrors of Nazi Germany. And since then, the word carries more negative connotations than neutral.

Nowadays, the term is used in journalism, advertising, and education mostly in a political context. In non-democratic countries, propaganda continues to flourish as a means for indoctrinating citizens, and this practice is unlikely to cease in the future.

In its origins, “propaganda” is an ancient and honorable word.

Propaganda on social media
Social media become a powerful tool for propaganda as the Internet is unprecedentedly accessible for each individual, and interactive social networking sites provide a strong platform for debate and sharing opinions. Propaganda, in forms of a video uploaded to YouTube, a post on Facebook or Twitter, or even a piece of comment, has far-reaching effectiveness to disseminate certain values and beliefs.

Youtube Propaganda
As it is reported in New York Times, A propaganda video is released by North Korea on YouTube mainly depicting a United States aircraft carrier and a warplane being destroyed in computer-generated balls of fire, the latest salvo in an escalating war of words between the two. The video released by a state media outlet is narrated by woman and including images of North Korea’s military. According to the video, North Korea’s missiles will be “stabbed into the throat of the carrier,” and the jet will “fall from the sky,” it warns.

In regards of the event of Westminster terrorism attacking, YouTube is also an important tool for ISIS terrorism propaganda. ISIS flooded YouTube with hundreds of violent recruitment videos with terrifying visual or audio effects to promote and awake Westminster terror attack to capitalise on the atrocity. As The Sun reported, "many of the videos glorify terrorist Khalid Masood while others feature beheadings and extreme violence carried out by children."

Terrorism propaganda on Twitter
"Using little-known content uploading services, anonymous text-pasting sites and multiple backup Twitter accounts, a select group of ISIS operatives managed to evade administrators’ controls to spread the Cantlie video, titled Lend Me Your Ears, around the web within a few hours."

In another example of propaganda, Abdulrahman, the operator al-Hamid used the techniques of hashtagging in a Twitter post to gain the heat of the topics to disseminate the information. A great deal of followers of Hamid on Twitter were demanded to find the highest trending topics in the UK and popular account names they could jump on to get the largest possible reach. As @Abu_Laila wrote: “We need those who can supply us with the most active hashtags in the UK. And also the accounts of the most famous celebrities. I believe that the hashtag of Scotland’s separation from Britain should be the first.”