Rachael Cullen

Propaganda COM416- Professor RobbGrieco

Leap 3

Top 5 Insights of Propaganda: COM416

I think everyone has experienced propaganda before, especially with technology nowadays, as it allows it on TV, radio, social media, billboards, and magazines just to name a few outlets. I think the use of social media and its accessibility to it, has increased propaganda opportunities to their maximum capabilities. Throughout this semester we were exposed to all forms of propaganda, and honestly, before taking this class I wasn’t aware of how much propaganda is out there. It’s everywhere we look, especially with the rise of social media today. The propaganda sections we focused on in class were the history and rhetoric of propaganda, the dark side of propaganda, education and entertainment, PR and journalism, conspiracy theories, patriotism and nationalism, activism, and advocacy, and finally terrorism as propaganda. As we learned in class, the definition of propaganda can change over time as technologies change, and new forms of propaganda will be invented to influence public opinion and exercise social power. Today I can say that propaganda consists of a variety of communication techniques that create an emotional feeling towards a belief or opinion, adopt a certain behavior, or perform a specific action.

The top five most meaningful insights about propaganda that I learned from this class are why propaganda was created, how to recognize it, what is considered harmful propaganda, propaganda in entertainment and education, and conspiracy theories. It was hard to narrow it down to only 5, as most of the topics have been eye-opening and impactful. We had covered so much material during this semester, but all of it was extremely interesting and equally important. I have learned an enormous amount about the features and techniques that make up propaganda, and how it can be so influencing and intriguing. I now can confidently say that I will be much more aware of what I am consuming moving forward. I highly recommend this class to every student, as it really was beneficial. Please check out the link to my full essay below for more details about my top 5 insights into propaganda.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nw72bbo3b6Ox_5WH_bS7n6UHwbaBnWegYAC6Ak5HntY/edit?usp=sharing