The Bittersweet Language of Propaganda
Exploring the Not-So-Bad Side of Propaganda
“Did Ram Janmabhoomi (dispute) happen after we came to power? Was it not the Congress party that obstructed a resolution? Was it not done for vote bank politics?” (“Congress Delayed Resolution”). Prime Minister Modi spoke these lines about the Ayodhya dispute in the Jharkhand elections of 2019. He has repeatedly vilified the opposition party publicly on many occasions to spur a certain kind of nationalistic sentiment. This kind of vilification is often used by leaders around us to mismanage the emotions and disrupt the independent thought-process of the audience in picture. Essentially, we are part of a world that is popularized by leaders who embody mass persuasion tactics for furthering their appeal in societies. We live in a world where our minds are continuously governed through the conscious use of rhetoric and discourses. The projected use and abuse of rhetoric and discourse thus, has captured our everyday lives and continues to govern our thoughts and behaviour without our knowledge.
Propaganda is a subset of this rhetoric that leads men to the desired set of actions unconsciously, or without their informed consent. The word “Propaganda” in the current context, has become increasingly synonymous with manipulation and deception of the masses. However, it is essential to note how historically there have been instances of its positive and favorable use.
This notion is evident in the claim that Mahatma Gandhi used certain words repeatedly, such as non-violence, peace, independence, so that such ideas got embedded in the minds of Indians who were ardent on breaking the shackles of colonialism. This provides us with a small yet significant example of the positive use of propaganda. Through this Op-Ed, I will discover and uncover the particularities in each of these two meanings of propaganda and derive an answer to the question: Are all kinds of propaganda techniques bad? If used cautiously, can these techniques be used in a good way? I will also argue that propaganda techniques, if understood and deliberately used in the right way, can create a lasting positive impact.
It is first important to understand what propaganda is and what all it includes. The word “propaganda” has its origins in 1622 when the word was used in a religious frame of reference to spread Christian faith in the world. The etymology of the word also stems from the Latin word propagare, which means to spread or to disseminate(Fellows 180). Since then, “we have had an instance of a shift in meaning from a religious to military and then to a political context, during a period of less than two hundred years” (Fellows 188). In 1962, Qualter defined propaganda as “the deliberate attempt by some individual or group to form, control, or alter the attitudes of other groups by the use of the instruments of communication, with the intention that in any given situation the reaction of those so influenced will be that desired by the propagandist. The propagandist is the individual or group who makes any such attempt” (Qualter 27).
Sumanat and Dispanya assert that “it is important to highlight propaganda techniques to people in an effort to help them better understand the propaganda in which they are being exposed to. They also emphasise that it aids individuals in becoming aware of the existence of propaganda and understanding the intended message behind the propaganda. An individual is thus, eventually able to “make decisions wisely without being victims of the propaganda that they are subjected to” (Sumanat and Dispanya 138). In 1937, seven propaganda devices or techniques were invented, which included name-calling, glittering generalities, transfer, testimonial, plain folk, card stacking, and bandwagon (Gambrill, 1934).
Name-calling refers to the deployment of labels to portray sentiments towards specific individuals, groups, nations, races, policies, or practices. Glittering generalities create views associated with virtue words to appeal to emotions, such as the encouragement of thoughtless judgment. Transfer as a technique aims to favor causes through the influence of celebrities. Testimonial is employed along with the utilization of an idea or program. Its effectiveness relies on who or what the quote is and the credibility of the source of knowledge. Plain folk means that the individual using propaganda presents a clear identity as part of an ordinary person’s narrative to communicate a favorable impression about their ideas and proposals. Card stacking is a technique of omissions and distortions that manipulates information to distort the original ideas of proposals. The final technique is Bandwagon, which encourages people to follow the crowd and accept ideas or plans that everyone agrees to. This technique may be associated with the groups of individuals who share the same nationality, religion, race, region, sex, or even profession (Sumanat and Dispanya 140).
There are various instances where there is a deliberate use of these techniques in an unfavorable or negative manner. A 2019 analysis of President Trump’s tweets have indicated linkage to violent events and individuals that have used his name and messages to commit crimes (Perry 2). There is also a claim that, in his tweets, he assigns vilifying names to his opposition and descriptive words to express disdain or affirmation towards a group (Perry 16). In the research paper, Perry states that “in Kansas, the three men arrested for plotting to bomb the Somali refugee apartment complex used Trump’s rhetoric as part of their defense. They said Trump’s words and hysteria over immigration caused them to fear for their lives and react by trying to take the lives of others first” (Perry 27). She then goes on to classify and demonstrate how the five primary propaganda techniques- name-calling, glittering generalities, testimonial, plain folk, and card stacking are used extensively by Trump in his tweets (Perry 28).
However, these propaganda techniques can create positive change in society if applied in the right way. In the analysis conducted by Sumanat and Dispanya, which studied and investigated propaganda techniques employed by Aung San Suu Kyi’s political discourses for attaining democracy in Burma or modern-day Myanmar, there was evidential use of the above-mentioned devices and techniques such as Transfer and Name-Calling. These techniques helped evoke a sense of patriotism in the individuals that gave rise to a collective movement for democracy.
Another example of a favorable use of propaganda technique is expressed when Marlin argues that John J. Mearsheimer provides compelling examples of government leaders who have lied not to advance a private benefit (selfish lies) but to serve the public good (strategic lies) in cases where telling the truth or remaining silent would foreseeably lead to significant harm. “For instance, when US President John F. Kennedy lied about having made a deal with the Soviets that in exchange for the latter removing missiles in Cuba aimed at the United States, he would remove US missiles in Turkey aimed at the Soviet Union. The deal was important for avoiding conflict that could escalate to nuclear war, but straightforward admission to the deal would have provoked anger from the political right in the United States” (176). Here, the Card Stacking technique was employed by omitting certain information for the greater good, and the Testimonial technique was used to transfer a credible person’s opinion to the masses.
Propaganda is all around us and in today’s age of information bombardment it is impossible to escape it. Propaganda in itself can be value neutral and one must not out rightly accept or reject all propaganda, specifically by political leaders. An awareness of its techniques gives us the opportunity to identify its usage as well as the purpose for which it is deployed. As a result, we can make informed choices about the intention of the political leadership in deploying propaganda.
We, as a society, should be wary of what propaganda techniques are used to accomplish the various agendas of individuals and, more specifically, political leaders. After looking at some favorable use of propaganda, one can possibly conclude that Propaganda also consists of techniques that can create positive change if used in the right way. These techniques are value-neutral and can be used in both positive and negative ways, but conscious and deliberate use of it can produce a lasting impact.
Read Let’s Dress Up But Be Lite by Vinithra Rajendran
Works Cited
- Press Trust of India. (2019). “Congress delayed resolution of Article 370, Ayodhya for vote politics: Modi.” Business Standard, 3 Dec 2019, https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/modi-attacks-cong-over-art-370-and-ayodhya-says-it-presided-119120301069_1.html
- Fellows, Erwin W. “‘Propaganda:’ History of a Word.” American Speech, vol. 34, no. 3, 1959, pp. 182–189. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/454039. Accessed 15 May 2020.
- Marlin, R. (2002). Propaganda and the ethics of propaganda. New York: Broadview Press.
- Qualter, T. (1965). Propaganda and psychological warfare. New York: Random House.
- Lasswell, H. (1935). The person: Subject and object of propaganda. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,179, 187–193.
- Sumanat, Wanitcha. (2016). Propaganda Techniques of the Political Discourses of Aung San Suu Kyi. ELT VIBES — International E-Journal for Research in ELT. 2. 137–148.
- Gambrill, E. D. (2012). Propaganda in the helping professions. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Perry, Stephanie, “Trump and his Tweets: Presidential Propaganda and its Potential Influence on the Actions of Others” (2019). Honors College Theses. 238.
About the Author
Manali Amitav is a recently graduated Young India Fellow who is deeply intrigued by the study as well as the use of propaganda and identity politics. Additionally, she loves to spend her time reading philosophical texts and has developed a new found love for psychology during the lockdown. She currently works with a fin-tech firm. Needless to say, her life is pretty multidisciplinary.
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