Encountering Propaganda

In only a few weeks, I meet my students in a fully-online course called “Propaganda.” Every time I teach this course, I am challenged in figuring out how to begin it because my students think they’ve enrolled in a course about history. When they hear the word propaganda, they think Nazi Germany and Joseph Goebbels. For many people, propaganda is something associated with totalitarian regimes from the past.

But propaganda is alive and well in the 21st century. We find it in clickbait, sponsored content, conspiracy theories, hoaxed, satire, and parody. Propaganda is sometimes associated with the spread of lies and misinformation, but it can also be found in official-looking reports and policy documents from think tanks and foundations. My students have encountered many purposefully manufactured stories from politicians, governments, businesses, activists, and special interest groups who aim to sway public opinion, quash critics, or sow discord. But they only use the label of “propaganda” when they really dislike a particular news story, social media post, or YouTube video, if it outrages or offends them, or if they think it’s harmful, dangerous, irresponsible, or just flat-out wrong.

Propaganda can be beneficial or harmful to individuals and society as it activates strong emotions, simplifies ideas and information, taps into people’s deepest hopes, fears and dreams, and attacks opponents. Watch this space for more on how our encounters with contemporary propaganda provide opportunities to understand more about the exercise of social power through communication, media and technology.