Propaganda in World War One
6/21/2016
What is Propaganda?
• Propaganda is a specific type of
message presentation aimed at
serving an agenda.
• The spreading of ideas to promote a
certain cause or to damage an
opponents cause.
• Can take the form of books, posters,
pamphlets, songs, movies,
newspaper articles or radio
addresses.
• Propaganda was used to recruit
troops, vilify enemies, and create
support for the economy.
Why do we use Propaganda?
• Each of the nations that
participated in World War One
from 1914-18 used propaganda
posters.
• They used posters to:
– justify their involvement to
their own populace
– As a means of recruiting men
– A way to raise money and
resources to sustain the
military campaign.
– To urge conservation
Why Posters?
• Television had not yet been
invented
• Not everyone owned or had
access to a radio
• Posters were the most
effective means of getting a
message across
Government Support
• Quite often propaganda is
connected with negative
emotions
• During the Great War the
governments needed money for
the war effort so they focused
their efforts on posters aimed at
raising money from citizens for
the war effort
Seven Tricks of Propaganda
• Name Calling: links a
person, or idea, to a
negative symbol.
• Examples: commie,
fascist, yuppie
Seven Tricks of Propaganda
• Card Stacking: is a
propaganda technique that
seeks to manipulate
audience perception of an
issue by emphasizing one
side and repressing another.
• Examples: a snack food is
loaded with sugar (and
calories), the commercial
may boast that the product
is low in fat, which implies
that it is also low in calories.
Seven Tricks of Propaganda
• Band Wagon: makes the
appeal that “everyone else
is doing it, and so should
you.”
• Examples: an ad states that
“everyone is rushing down
to their Ford dealer”
Seven Tricks of Propaganda
• Testimonial: a public
figure or a celebrity
promotes or endorses a
product, a policy, or a
political candidate.
• Examples: an athlete
appears on the Wheaties
box; an actor speaks at a
political rally
Seven Tricks of Propaganda
• Plain Folks: Propagandists
use this approach to
convince the audience that
the spokesperson is from
humble origins, someone
they can trust and who has
their interests at heart.
• Examples: an ordinary
father talking about the
war.
Seven Tricks of Propaganda
• Transfer: a device by which the
propagandist links the
authority or prestige of
something well respected and
revered, such as church or
nation, to something he would
have us accept.
• Example: a political activist
closes her speech with a prayer
Seven Tricks of Propaganda
• Glittering Generality: Vague,
sweeping statements and slogans
using virtue words; the opposite
of name calling, i.e., links a
person, or idea, to a positive
symbol.
• Examples: democracy, patriotism,
family
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