War Propaganda: Then and Now
COM 416
30 March 2017
Introduction
The propaganda of war has been around since the Romans and maybe even before that. The dictionary defines propaganda as “information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.” The term propaganda has significantly altered its meaning throughout history and has only advanced with the technology we are provided with today. The war propaganda that the US uses now is more vocal and less visual. War propaganda was first seen in World War I and was considered critical to the success of the war effort. Technology today has tremendously influenced the way war propaganda is relayed to us. Throughout history, war propaganda was mainly present through radio broadcasts, newspapers, and posters. The posters depicted war as something glamorous and showing men as heroes in our country.
War Propaganda Then
US war propaganda back during World War I & II was blunt. Needless to say that the American population was quite smaller than the present population, so the government needed ways to recruit men to fight. Also, men were the main target back during those times because women were still seen as fragile and that they did not have the ability to fight. Yet, as more and more men went to go fight, women had to join the industrial revolution and there was propaganda that was aimed toward them to join the fight from inside the US. There was two main reasons that the propaganda was effective. The first was that the men going into battle knew that they were going to fight for their country because they feared that they would be next to be invaded. Second was because they knew they were fighting for humanity and they knew that was Hitler was doing was not humane or ethical.
Back during the two World Wars, as stated above, the two reasons men fought was for their country and for humanity. History dates back to even before the French Revolution that proves Americans will always fight for their country. The only difference between the previous wars and the two World Wars was that they were not on their land anymore. Yet, they were still fighting for their country because they had fought so hard to make it theirs and the Germans had progressed through Europe, so there was a fear they would invade America.
Humanity was another major factor on why Americans fought wars back then. They would see a problem or issue of how individuals were treated and they felt the need to help. When war was fought between Americans in the Civil War, it was the North who saw a problem with slavery and they chose to fight, not solely for that particular reason, but it was something they thought needed change. The same realization happened when they went into battle in WW II. They saw the inhumane treatments people were getting at the hands of the Nazis. Again, they went into war for multiple reasons, but they also felt for the ones who were being tortured and dying at the hands of the Nazis.
Propaganda for WW I & II was a necessity in order to get enough men to fight. Men had already fought so much, from the French Revolution, to American Revolutionary War, and even to the Civil War between one's own civilians. Yet it was not a matter of making men fight, because of course there was the draft, it was a matter of getting men’s adrenaline pumping and their morales up. On historians.org, it was stated that propaganda during the World Wars carried popular appeals to make the necessary sacrifices and it added that it seeked American citizens to contribute muscle, mind, and money for the successful prosecution of war. The government needed all of these three things in order to be winners at the end of these wars.
War Propaganda Now
Both government and media entities spread propaganda in the United States. Though there have been significant shifts in media use throughout our nation, propaganda has still remained present and stronger then ever. Qualter (1962), in discussing the techniques of propaganda, said that “the common slogan of the four basic criteria of successful propaganda should be considered: It must be seen, understood, remembered, and acted on.” The term propaganda has been fluctuated a lot throughout history but still remains present in modern day war.
Today’s war propaganda is characterized by psychological operations and disinformation whereas a few decades ago posters and simple films dominated it. The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. were shocking global media events that dominated public attention and provoked reams of discourse, reflection, and writing. The media had the challenging mission to help people understand that events that happened and provide perspectives and understandings of the aftermath. The night of the attacks, Bush promised America a “war against terrorism.” The media uses propaganda to bring controversy to political issues. During this time, Bush had power and authority over American’s as he was speaking for our nation.
President Bush and other western politicians have made it clear that the war in which we are engaged is a war against terrorism- not a war against Arabs or Muslims. Bernard Lewis says, “For Bin Laden and those who follow him, this is a religious war, a war for Islam and against infidels, and therefore, inevitably, against the United States, the greatest power in the world of infidels.” Bin Laden used propaganda in mass media to portray Americans as the enemy and having his country fight with him.
The photo above is a screenshot from a video recording taken on September 12, 2001. The picture shows Bin Laden along with three other lieutenants sitting cross—legged, with an AK-47 assault rifle by one of the lieutenant’s side. This is an example of how propaganda was used to threaten Americans with further attacks. He broadcasted this to Muslims across the world to encourage them to pick up arms and fight with Al Qaeda.
When there is a terrorist attack within any ally country, it only strengthens people’s feelings on the war on terrorism. Propaganda is used to unify these allies. During the 9/11 attacks, President Bush stated that “America is united” and we were one. During this tragedy, American citizens mourned together, raged together, and resolved together. At the end of the day, Al Qaeda’s intentions were not to kill Republicans or Democrats, their goal was to kill Americans. Through videos, photographs, and media articles, we felt the emotion and devastation that the terrorist attacks brought to our country as a whole. While viewing the planes crashing into the buildings or seeing the people jumping from the highest floors, we feel that emotion as one.
About a week after September 11, 2001, the Anthrax attack occurred. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several different news offices and two Democratic U.S. Senators, killing five people and infecting seventeen others. Al Qaeda was immediately blamed for these attacks and falsely accused in the media. News channels and articles were targeting Bin Laden for being responsible for this, which created all sorts of propaganda in our nation. Once the media released this news, Americans all over the world turned to fear and rage against Muslims.
War propaganda today has advanced significantly with the forms of technology provided to us. All you have to do is open social media on your phone or turn on the television to see forms of propaganda being used. Decades ago, the powerful sources of propaganda were portrayed through print and radio whereas today we have phones, computers, social media and more. It’s much easier to communicate propaganda today, especially with all the war and terrorism that is present. Once media sources hear an important event or tragedy, they immediately broadcast with the news they have received which causes it sometimes to be fake news, or not credible. Media sources today are more focused on their business and being the first to report more than relaying the correct news.
Comparison
Most of the propaganda can compare to the KONY 2012 movie we saw for class. Even though in KONY 2012, he was trying to stop a war, there are similar comparisons. Mostly when he seeks the public's help and tries to rally mostly young adults in fighting a monster.
Contrast
The main difference between US war propaganda between the past and present is the different channels that it was/is used through. During WW I&II, the main channels propaganda was used through were in the form of print or radio. Print propaganda consisted of fliers or newspapers and since most people still did not have televisions, radio was the main form of communication before, during, and after the World Wars.
Using print propaganda is difficult because in the past they did not have the fancy and advanced graphic machinery that we do now. They had to create slogans and visuals that would immediately catch someone’s eye and make them want to sign up right then and there. Radio was difficult too, in the sense that people had to be persuaded through the tone, pitch, and volume of the speaker.
The channels in which propaganda are spread now are vast and can be spread across the world. Along with print and radio (which is used mostly for music in present day), war propaganda has the ability to be shared via social media, email, television, podcasts, etc. Yet, with these channels propaganda does not necessarily need to come in the form of a visual, it can come in the form of an audio, or maybe of a visual of a quote that was spoken. The deaf have the ability to read the propaganda and the blind have the ability to hear it. As stated in the paper before, the propaganda between then and now is the fact that it was more visual in the past than it is now.
Conclusion
Propaganda has been present for many years and its definition has shifted tremendously. We were first introduced to propaganda during World War I mainly through posters and radio broadcasts. We see today how much the term has altered and how much propaganda is involved around us in our everyday lives. It’s extremely interesting to learn how much war propaganda has shifted from the past to the present and how what new sources we receive information from. The way war propaganda was used in history is completely different than how we view it today and only going to advance more. The main differentiation between war propaganda in the past and war propaganda today is the different channels it's portrayed through.
References
https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/uncle-sam-army-recruitment-poster/10169
https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/gi-roundtable-series/pamphlets/what-is-propaganda/war-propaganda
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/nyregion/bin-laden-aide-began-qaeda-propaganda-day-after-9-11-us-says.html
https://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/essays/911terrorspectaclemedia.pdf
