Propaganda in WWI

Propaganda is misleading information that is used to promote a cause or a point of view. It is targeted at a selected group of people and influences their thoughts and opinions on something important. WWI sparked an increased use in propaganda.

An example of propaganda in WWI were posters, these posters were made to make the army look exciting and make them want to enrol in the army. These posters were made to make the viewer feel like it was their duty to join the army, and that everyone would be proud of them for joining If they didn’t they were left to feel guilty for not joining or embarrassed for not joining the army. This was a way for them to get more recruiters in the army, from lying to them and manipulating them.

The poster on the left used the face of Lord Kitchener to encourage and persuade men to join the army. The poster on the right brought people together from different backgrounds and jobs.

Some reasons propaganda was used for was to convince the population on a cause, to strengthen the support of the allies, to enlist the support of allies etc. These were some of the ways propaganda was used in WWI and how they affected people and countries.

Propaganda was used by Governments to shape their national identity, to get support from other international governments. Newspapers, books and cartoons were made to influence both neutral and enemy countries.

These posters were used for a non-smoking campaign, the one on the left used a classic atari game pong, where the cigarette was a paddle and the ball ticks away at the lungs one hit at a time. The one on the right is a more modern-day example of this old-age campaign.

Propaganda now can be used in advertisements to promote their products or their service. Ads competing over other companies is an example of propaganda. The government today can use propaganda to convince the public on an opinion.

Some different ways propaganda is used in advertising are card-stacking propaganda where they hide all information that can affect their image, name-calling propaganda where they try to lure the rival companies, customers, by portraying them negatively, bandwagon propaganda where the companies make you know that their service or product is popular and is bought by lots of people, and the viewer ‘jumps in the bandwagon’.

What we can learn from all of this is that we need to create a future where we are not lied to by our own government to do things we don't want to do. Hiding information that can affect them affects us a lot, as no one is told what the truth is. Some governments still use propaganda to lie to the citizens about current events, and it can affect how they think.

Creating a better future where only the truth is told can change how we think about government.

Podcast for physiological warfare in World War I:

Psychological warfare — Propaganda in WW1

YouTube video on propaganda in WWI: