War, Propaganda and the Media

http://www.globalissues.org/article/157/war-propaganda-and-the-media#globalissues-org

• by Anup Shah
• This Page Last Updated Thursday, March 31, 2005

We must remember that in time of war what is said on the enemy’s side of the front is always propaganda, and what is said on our side of the front is truth and righteousness, the cause of humanity and a crusade for peace.

— Walter Lippmann

Probably every conflict is fought on at least two grounds: the battlefield and the minds of the people via propaganda. The “good guys” and the “bad guys” can often both be guilty of misleading their people with distortions, exaggerations, subjectivity, inaccuracy and even fabrications, in order to receive support and a sense of legitimacy.

This web page has the following sub-sections:

1.  Elements of Propaganda

2.  Propaganda and War

1.  Propaganda when Preparing or Justifying War

2.  Military Control of Information

1.  Information Operations

2.  Embedded Journalists: An Advantage for the Military

3.  Dilemma of Journalists and Wartime Coverage

3.  Wider Propaganda

4.  Propaganda in Democracies

5.  Why Does So Much Propaganda Work?

1.  Wanting to believe the best of ourselves

2.  Fear-mongering and distorting facts

3.  Media management and public relations is very professional

4.  Disseminating prepackaged, even fake news

5.  Smear tactics are increasing in sophistication

6.  Narrowing the Range of Debate

6.  Some Detailed Examples

Elements of Propaganda

Propaganda can serve to rally people behind a cause, but often at the cost of exaggerating, misrepresenting, or even lying about the issues in order to gain that support.

While the issue of propaganda often is discussed in the context of militarism, war and war-mongering, it is around us in all aspects of life.

As the various examples below will show, common tactics in propaganda often used by either side include:

• Using selective stories that come over as wide-covering and objective.
• Partial facts, or historical context
• Reinforcing reasons and motivations to act due to threats on the security of the individual.
• Narrow sources of “experts” to provide insights in to the situation. (For example, the mainstream media typically interview retired military personnel for many conflict-related issues, or treat official government sources as fact, rather than just one perspective that needs to be verified and researched).
• Demonizing the “enemy” who does not fit the picture of what is “right”.
• Using a narrow range of discourse, whereby judgments are often made while the boundary of discourse itself, or the framework within which the opinions are formed, are often not discussed. The narrow focus then helps to serve the interests of the propagandists.

Some of the following sections look into how propaganda is used in various ways, expanding on the above list of tactics and devices.

Propaganda and War

At times of war, or build up for war, messages of extremities and hate, combined with emotions of honor and righteousness interplay to provide powerful propaganda for a cause.

The first casualty when war comes is Truth

— U.S. Senator Hiram Johnson, 1917

Many say that it is inevitable in war that people will die. Yet, in many cases, war itself is not inevitable, and propaganda is often employed to go closer to war, if that is the preferred foreign policy option. Indeed, once war starts, civilian casualties are unfortunately almost a guaranteed certainty.

In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.

— Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister during World War II