4 ms·

Why on Earth would propaganda always need to be false? The best lies contain a kernel of truth, after all. Yes, if you define propaganda as "intentional lies"

Why on Earth would propaganda always need to be false? The best lies contain a kernel of truth, after all. Yes, if you define propaganda as "intentional lies" then the media doesn't put out much of it. But that category also excludes things like "look at our wonderful town of Pripyat, the future of our glorious union!" and other such classic propaganda. (Would you describe a WW2 era poster of a Japanese soldier with a bayonetted baby as propaganda? After all, that kinda happened, and quite a few times) But I fail to see much difference between "news generated with the express purpose of changing people's minds" and "have an agenda and to select from the facts”.

jacquesm 7y ago
Propaganda wraps a large lie in a small kernel of truth. The wonderful town of Pripyat can be ignored easily, the demonization of another country's inhabitants less so. Propaganda: The press is lying to you. Journalism: All news organizations have an agenda and will bias their writing to suit that agenda.
- DuskStar 7y ago
  Still seems like you're describing a spectrum and not two distinct things. Both journalism and propaganda - as you've described them - twist the truth to make you believe something else. Which is why I say everything on that spectrum is some variety of propaganda, and the difference between journalism and propaganda is objectivity.
  - jacquesm 7y ago
    It is a spectrum, but the extremes of that spectrum are easily labelled. In the middle, much less so. There are some orthogonal components as well though: for instance, one form of propaganda could simply be labelled as distraction, a bunch of feel-good happy-go-lucky stuff that serves to take your attention away from the stuff that actually matters. It can all be totally objective and still be propaganda, just like trolls that stir up the pot can be part of a propaganda machine, even if some of the stuff they write is true. In the end, in propaganda the ends are what matters, much less the facts. In journalism the facts are what matters, and the ends - if there are any - much less so.

jacquesm 7y ago

Propaganda wraps a large lie in a small kernel of truth. The wonderful town of Pripyat can be ignored easily, the demonization of another country's inhabitants less so. Propaganda: The press is lying to you. Journalism: All news organizations have an agenda and will bias their writing to suit that agenda.

DuskStar 7y ago
Still seems like you're describing a spectrum and not two distinct things. Both journalism and propaganda - as you've described them - twist the truth to make you believe something else. Which is why I say everything on that spectrum is some variety of propaganda, and the difference between journalism and propaganda is objectivity.
- jacquesm 7y ago
  It is a spectrum, but the extremes of that spectrum are easily labelled. In the middle, much less so. There are some orthogonal components as well though: for instance, one form of propaganda could simply be labelled as distraction, a bunch of feel-good happy-go-lucky stuff that serves to take your attention away from the stuff that actually matters. It can all be totally objective and still be propaganda, just like trolls that stir up the pot can be part of a propaganda machine, even if some of the stuff they write is true. In the end, in propaganda the ends are what matters, much less the facts. In journalism the facts are what matters, and the ends - if there are any - much less so.