Propaganda
Techniques

In Advertising, Media, Politics & Warfare
K-12 Teachers & Students

The techniques of propaganda are used in the military, in the media, in advertising, in politics, and in all sorts of human relationships. Propaganda designers know you are on your guard. To get around your guard, they don't put one message into a piece of propaganda - they put lots of messages into each piece! These messages have been designed to benefit someone, and that someone may not be you!

At the end of this section, you'll find a list of lesson plans full of information for teachers and students about all kinds of propaganda use, including use in advertising and media.

Before we started our unit on propaganda use in advertising, we decided to study some examples of war propaganda, because the messages in war propaganda are relatively easy to spot ... or are they? Can YOU spot the secret messages in the examples on this page? It's not as easy as you might think!

One of the most popular techniques of propaganda is to combine a truth and a lie in one sentence! You know one part is true, so the lie kind of rides along. Take everything apart, and look at each portion separately. Then decide - do I buy this? Do I believe this? Sometimes your answer will be yes! Nothing says that you can't appreciate a good piece of propaganda, and still agree with the messages hidden within it. But, don't be persuaded into doing something that you don't want to do, or into believing something that is not true! To avoid being persuaded in this way, it's important to understand (1) What is propaganda? (2) How are messages hidden? (3) Can you spot these messages?

Table of Contents

What is Propaganda, anyway?

"Sound" propaganda

Secret messages

Propaganda Lesson Plans & Resource Links 

What is Propaganda?  And why do we care?

definitions of propaganda

The word propaganda refers to any technique that attempts to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes, or behavior of a group, in order to benefit the sponsor. The techniques of propaganda are used in the military, in the media, in advertising, in politics, and in all sorts of human relationships.

Much of what you see and hear every day has a purpose and a target, be it an advertising campaign, a political message, or a military campaign.What you see and how you react to a piece of propaganda depends on many things - your personality, your likes and dislikes, your beliefs, and perhaps, most importantly, the timing. A piece of propaganda might only be effective because of what is going on around you. If someone is throwing bombs at you, for example, you'll be far more likely to be receptive to a piece of propaganda literature that says - run!

Propaganda designers know you are on your guard. To get around your guard, they don't put one message into a piece of propaganda - they put lots of messages into each piece! These messages have been carefully designed to encourage you to believe in something, or to do something, that you would not normally believe or do. Most importantly, they have been designed to benefit someone, and that someone may not be you!

It's important to understand the techniques of propaganda!

"Sound" Propaganda!

The secret messages in propaganda can be hidden in many ways!  Some propaganda is structured using sound.

One of my favorite examples of the use of sound was accomplished by the U.S. Army in December, 1989. At that time, there was a dictator, named Manuel Noriega, who lived in Panama (a country in Central America.) The United States wanted Noriega to surrender to the U.S. Armed Forces who had invaded Panama to find Noriega. Noriega was a wanted criminal. They had been sent to Panama to bring Noriega back to the United States, to stand trial for drug smuggling. Noriega did not especially wish to do this. He went into hiding, in Panama.

From information the U.S. Army received from their field agents, they knew where Noriega was hiding. They knew he was hiding inside the Nuncia, which is a Catholic retreat, in Panama. They also knew that Noriega hated rock'n roll music. It drove him crazy!

The U.S. Army could have stormed the Nuncia. Instead, using the information they had received from their field agents, the U.S. Army shipped specially designed vans down to Panama. These vans were rigged to play rock'n roll music, quite loudly. These vans were positioned right outside the Nuncia, where Noriega was hiding. The sound systems were turned on and left on. Rock'n roll music thundered the Nuncia, 24 hours a day, day after day, unrelentingly. The U.S. Army kept this up until Noriega finally surrendered less than two weeks later. (Click here to learn more about Noriega's crimes and the sentence he received.)

This is not to imply that rock'n roll music, played loudly around the clock, was the only reason Noriega surrendered, but it certainly helped. To you, or to someone else, this technique might have been an emotional booster, but to Noriega, it was a hateful experience! This was a very effective use of the techniques of targeted propaganda using sound.

The sound of the music itself wore him down, but what other messages did this music signal? (Click here for the answer)


Secret Messages!

Propaganda does not rely on pictures or words or sound. Color and design can carry many hidden messages. Remember: The word propaganda refers to any technique that attempts to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes, or behavior of a group, in order to benefit the sponsor. The purpose of propaganda is to persuade.

Can YOU spot the secret messages
in the following examples of psychological warfare literature?
Let's find out!

BACKGROUND: Propaganda Literature: Desert Storm/Desert Shield 1990/1991
The United States was invited to join with many countries around the world, to help Kuwait in their war with Iraq. Our troops, along with troops from other countries, were stationed in nearby Saudi Arabia, during the Gulf War. To help win that war quickly, the U.S. Army created several pieces of outstanding psychological warfare literature. Here are a few examples.

PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE
Campaign: Desert Shield, 1990/1991

Source: United States
Author: U.S. Armies Department of Psychological Warfare
Target: Iraqi troops
Distribution: Airdrop propaganda literature
Each piece below was dropped by the many tens of thousands

This image of Saddam Hussein was designed as a wanted poster, on light weigh paper, for airdrop distribution. What was it's purpose? We'll tell you this one, to get you started thinking like a psychological warfare analyst. This was created to relieve the guilt, if any, felt by Iraqi soldiers, and to encourage them to blame everything bad on Saddam Hussein since he is a criminal. Thus, they might not fight with as much enthusiasm or determination.



The example below is another clever way of blaming everything that happened on Saddam Hussein. It shows the blood splashed flag of Kuwait with Hussein saying, in arabic, that he didn't know how this happened. What else might this imply? How about: Is he a thoughtless leader? Does he take responsibility for his actions? Does he realize what he's doing to his people, and to other people? Does he care?




This is one of my favorite pieces. This cartoon shows Saddam Hussein cutting off his own head with his sword. This image shows how Iraq would suffer because of Hussein's warlike and thoughtless actions. What else might this imply?
(Click here for some secret messages.)



This interesting piece of propaganda is a type of psychological warfare. This piece was dumped over areas of the front that were scheduled to be carpet bombed. It informs, in arabic, that this area is scheduled to be bombed. In order to survive, the soldiers need to run away. It is not known how effective these were since reliable figures for desertion in the Iraqi army have not yet been established. What else might this imply? If you guessed this, you're right!




This next example is a very nice piece of work. It has been reduced in size for the web. It was designed in the same shape and size as Iraqi money. It looked like Iraqi money to encourage people to pick it up and to easily disguise it when carried. On the back, it is headed and ended with the phrase "Safe Conduct Pass" in both english and arabic, along with a quick description, in arabic, of the caring and generous treatment an Iraqi soldier would receive if he deserted or surrendered. These were dropped later in the bombing. Many Iraqi soldiers carried this piece when they did surrender, so some effect must have occurred.  (Click here to move to the next piece.)

IN THE PERSIAN GULF WAR, DID SADDAM HUSSEIN USE PROPAGANDA?
Absolutely!
 Here are two examples.

This one backfired.

Topic:  Hussein "showed" U.S. POW's on Baghdad television. It was obvious from the appearance of our POW's that they had been beaten. They also appeared drugged. (Our POW's were released after the war and came home.)

Purpose: (by Hussein): To encourage U.S. citizens to protest against the war. He expected our reaction to be one of fear.  

Result: This did not instill fear in Americans. It made us angry, and bolstered American support for this war. This shows how propaganda can backfire if you don't understand your audience.

This one was far more clever.

Topic:  One of the many highly publicized incidents during this war was the U.S. bombing of what Saddam Hussein announced was an infant milk factory. Did the U.S. bomb a milk factory? Our intelligence agents reported that this was a chemical warfare factory. The Iraqi government insisted it was a milk factory. To prove their point, they escorted the CNN news team to the site of this bombing. The CNN team was not allowed inside the building, as it was severely damaged. However, on the side of the bombed building was a big sign (huge sign, undamaged) that said MILK FACTORY. Oddly, this sign was not written in arabic. It was written in english!

Purpose: (by Hussein): This clever piece of propaganda by Hussein was designed to encourage english speaking people to protest the war, or, at the very least, to feel guilty or to blame the United States for needless acts of aggression. What else might this imply? How about: Does the United States take responsibility for their actions? Do we realize what we're doing to people? Do we care? (Does this sound familiar?)

Result: Our eyes are used to reading things in the english language. Some Americans, who watched the CNN broadcast, might overlook the fact that this sign was posted on a building in Iraq, and might react with their hearts and not their heads. Certainly, this sign might have been specially posted so that the cameras would identify this building as a "milk factory" to english speaking viewers. But, because the sign was written in english, instead of arabic, it clearly shows it was a staged effect. This piece of propaganda personalized the war via the association of babies, of innocents. Thus, for many Americans, it was an effective piece of propaganda whether you believed the infant milk factory story or not.



IS PROPAGANDA ALWAYS NEGATIVE?

People often think of propaganda as something negative, as in a con or a lie. But propaganda really doesn't have anything to do with negative or positive. It's a technique. The word propaganda refers to any technique that attempts to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes or behavior of a group in order to benefit the sponsor.

In a war, when you use propaganda to encourage your own side, this technique is often called reverse propaganda or reverse psychological warfare. If propaganda is negative, then "reverse propaganda" must be positive, right? Nah. No matter what you call it, it's still propaganda, and its purpose is unchanged. The purpose of propaganda is to persuade (in order to benefit the sponsor.)

Here's are two examples of "reverse" psychological warfare. Can you spot the secret messages hidden in these pieces of propaganda? Let's see!



EXAMPLE OF REVERSE PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE
Campaign: Desert Storm/Desert Shield 1990
Source: United States
Author: U.S. Armies Department of Psychological Warfare
Target: U.S. military personnel in Saudi Arabia and their families at home
Distribution: Freely distributed to U.S. troops

This very clever piece of reverse psychological warfare was a postcard, created by the U.S. Army, and freely distributed to U.S. troops. It had three main purposes.
Purpose #1: It was created to encourage soldiers to write. Soldiers who write and receive mail are happier.

Purpose #2:
It was designed to instill confidence and a warlike spirit to people who see them. The use of a circle around a map implies global effort and containment. This emblem or logo-like design also images global power and world leadership.
Purpose #3:
It was worded to provide a touch of humor to lighten the mood of those sending and receiving these postcards. What messages do you think are hidden in this card that might support the phrase "Summer Tour 1990"? (Click here for the answer)




ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF REVERSE PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE
Campaign: Desert Storm/Desert Shield 1990
Source: Kuwait
Author: Kuwaiti Ministry of Information
Target: English speaking troops in Saudi Arabia
Distribution: Freely distributed to the troops

This piece of propaganda is very well done. It was produced by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information. This postcard was freely distributed to all english speaking troops in Saudi Arabia, including U.S. military personnel. It is bordered with the flags of the many countries who supported Kuwait during this conflict, and is a great example of reverse psychological warfare.

This particular card has been though a lot. It has also been reduced in size, to save loading time, as have all the examples in this section. In the center of this postcard is a poem. We've typed the poem next the card, so that you can read it more easily.

TO THE HEROES OF DESERT STORM:
Dear Courageous Soldier:

On August 2nd as everyone Knows,
Our former brothers became our foes.
They invaded our land at night as we slept,
Over our borders by the thousands they crept.
In helicopters and trucks and in tanks they came,
The evil warriors of Saddam Hussein.
But then YOU came and brought hope to us all,
That Kuwait would be free and Saddam would fall.
We'd like to thank you for your courageous stand,
To expel the Iraqis and free our land.
You're in our hearts
this Valentine's Day,
And you're in our prayers
EVERY day.

Sincerely,
The Kuwaiti People 

Do you think this striking border display of national flags (of the many countries who supported Kuwait in this conflict) was designed for a purpose other than color? What do you think about the contents of the poem, or the use of the words heroes, Valentine's Day, or our name for this conflict, Desert Storm? How about the jet flying overhead? Or the use of a dark sky at the top of the card, compared to the bright clear sky over a Kuwaiti mosque in the picture in the bottom left hand corner?

Remember, propaganda is designed to benefit the sponsor. The sponsor in this example is Kuwait. The benefit to Kuwait is freedom. The overall goal is to encourage continued help to gain and maintain that freedom.

Your job is write three messages hidden in the design of this postcard, and the purpose of each of those messages. (Hint: There are many messages in the poem, as well as in the picture!) Then state whether you believe this postcard is an effective piece of propaganda for you. Justify your answer.

Purpose #1. _______________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Purpose #2. _______________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Purpose #3. _______________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

In your opinion, is this an effective piece of propaganda?  ____________

Why or why not? _____________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

BONUS QUESTION: Choose the best answer.

Propaganda is designed to _____.
lie ridicule win con persuade


BONUS QUESTION: Choose the best answer.

The secret messages in propaganda can be hidden in _______.
pictures words sound color design just about anything



Hidden Messages!
Answer Section


Hidden Messages (Rock'n Roll Music, around the clock): How about: We know you're there. Take your time. No rush. We'll wait. You might as well give up and come out because we are not going to go away. Click here to return to where you were.  

___________________________

Hidden Messages (Cartoon of Hussein) This one is devious. Did you notice the use of the english words "oops" and "THUD"? Arabic has words that mean the same thing, so why the use of english? Are we laughing at Hussein? Certainly we don't expect the Iraqi soldiers to laugh with us, but...have you ever had someone tell you something rotten or lousy about a person you looked up to? It probably made you mad, so mad that you kept thinking about it. Later on, if this person you looked up to, did something that upset you, what might come to mind?

This cartoon uses the propaganda technique of name-calling, through pictures. It implies that Hussein is a showboat and a fool. He's such an idiot that he cut off his own head. This is your leader. Do you really think he has any idea of what he is doing? There's more! Look at the use the shadows around Hussein's feet. This is not one moment in time; this cartoon implies that he has been a fool more than once. Look at the body shape, especially the arms. Does he have any muscle? What is Hussein wearing? Is he wearing anything? Stripped down, take a look at the real Hussein. What is important to him - his rank or his people?

This piece of propaganda is loaded! Yet, it is deceptively simple in appearance, as if its only purpose is to make you laugh. That is possibly why they used "oops" and "THUD".  Remember, we airdropped this piece in huge numbers over Iraqi troops. If an Iraqi soldier found one of these pieces on the ground and picked it up, it would probably make him angry. He might think that this was something we first distributed to ourselves, to have a good laugh. He might show it to another soldier, to share his anger. In the process, he would be helping to distribute this incredibly well done piece of carefully designed propaganda.

With all the messages packed into each piece, you can see why a good propaganda campaign might work. Spooky, isn't it? And these are only some of the secret messages hidden in this piece.

Want to try something neat? Try putting your arms and hands in the same position that Hussein's arms and hands are positioned in any one of these three cartoon images of Hussein. How does it make you feel?

Go back and take another look. Or, click here to move to the next piece.

___________________________

Hidden Messages (Carpet bomb) If you guessed - We don't want to hurt you. We're nice guys - you're right! But the real purpose of this piece was to encourage Iraqi soldiers to desert.

Click here to move on to the next piece.

___________________________

Hidden Messages (Summer Tour 1990). How about: the sea, the sand, the red, white & blue banner colors in the lettering? This was also designed to appeal to the musical interest of young U.S. troops. Bands have "Summer Tours". Propaganda does not rely on pictures or words or sound. Color and design can carry many hidden messages.

Go back and take another look. Or, click here to move to the next piece.

___________________________

Answer to bonus questions on this page:
(1) Propaganda is designed to
persuade.
(2) The secret messages in propaganda can be hidden in just about anything, including body movement and facial gestures!

Keep your eyes and ears open, and question everything! Three good questions to ask yourself are:

One of the most popular techniques of propaganda is to combine a truth and a lie in one sentence! You know one part is true, so the lie kind of rides along. Take everything apart, and look at each portion separately. Then decide - do I buy this? Do I believe this? Sometimes your answer will be yes! Nothing says that you can't appreciate a good piece of propaganda, and still agree with the messages hidden within it. But, don't be conned into doing something you don't want to do, or into believing something that is not true! The techniques of propaganda are used in the military, in the media, in advertising, in politics, and in all sorts of human relationships. All propaganda is designed to benefit someone, and that someone may not be you! So, keep your eyes and ears open, and question everything!


Return to the index at the top of the page.

Visit neat pages on the web about propaganda techniques in advertising, media, politics, and more!


Definitions of Propaganda

When we need a definition of a word, we check at OneLook Dictionaries, a valuable online resource.

At OneLook, we found many definitions for the word propaganda, definitions used by the military, by the medical profession, in politics, fables, and more. We encourage you to check these out yourself. We think you'll find them interesting. In the meantime, here are two definitions of propaganda that we found at OneLook Dictionaries:

DOD Military Terms, Joint Doctrine Division, J-7, Joint Staff (DOD) "propaganda: Any form of communication in support of national objectives designed to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes, or behavior of any group in order to benefit the sponsor, either directly or indirectly..."

Political Dictionary, Fast Times, Inc:  "propaganda: a latin word that was first used by Pope Gregory XV in 1622, when he established the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda, a commission designed to spread the Catholic faith worldwide. Since then propaganda has taken on a much broader meaning, and refers to any technique, whether in writing, speech, music, film or other means, that attempts to influence mass public opinion..."


Propaganda Lesson Plans
for K-12 teachers & students (interesting information!)

Propaganda lesson plans from GEM (grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)
Propaganda Techniques 2-3 week UNIT (3-8)
Propaganda Techniques, Television (Lesson Plan)
Convince Me! Lesson Plan (4-6)
Messages & Meanings UNIT
Ad Attack! (Lesson Plan, K-8)
Advertising Gimmicks: Teaching Critical Thinking (Lesson Plan)
Propaganda Techniques Loaded Words Lesson Plan (7th)
Buyer Beware! A Mass Media UNIT (3 weeks, 8th)
Propaganda Techniques - Word Games (Lesson Plan)
Worksheet: Reading Between the Lines
Comic Book Characters from Media Awareness (grades 5-7)
Cartoon Analysis Worksheet (grades 4-8)
What's in a Word? with worksheets (grades 5-7)
Pulling the Plug on the Power Myth (grades 5-7)
Don't Believe Everything You Read! (from Score)
Media Awareness (Stereotyping, Tobacco, more) Lessons (K-12)
BADAdvertising: Lesson Ideas: Tobacco (K-8)
Prevention Dimensions: Get the Message UNIT with worksheets (4-9)
Advertising & the Media (themes, lesson plans)
Advertising Analysis (6-12)
A word from our sponsor
Propaganda & Political Parties (Lesson Plan)
Campaign Advertising: Whose Vote Do They Want? Lesson Plan
Propaganda, Name-Calling (Lesson Plan)
The 30-Second Candidate Political Advertising (PBS)
Think Quest: Propaganda in Advertising (grades 6-12)
Teaching Media - Units, Handouts, More!
Advertising & Gender Roles (HS)
Propaganda Lesson Plan &
Student Handout: Types of Propaganda (HS)
Power of Persuasion: Paul Revere & modern times (Grades 5-11)
Common Sense: The Effectiveness of Well Written Propaganda (HS)
Use of Propaganda in Wars (Lesson Plan HS)
Power of Persuasion, Poster Art WWII (Lesson Plans)
Middle School Propaganda Lesson Plan (WWII) - webquest, lesson


This page has been structured for easy transition to
computer lab and/or classroom use, designed for grades 5-9.
It was created to preface a unit on the use of propaganda techniques
 in advertising and media.

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For other units, lesson plans, activities & resources,
by many authors, on many subjects, see...

Mr Donn's Site Index




Propaganda Resource Links

News Media Propaganda
Propaganda & Advertising (article)
K-12 Resources: Access Indiana - Guide to Propaganda
Propaganda Lesson Plans (for teachers & students) - on this page

Link about the Persian Gulf War
Persian Gulf War Link (Washington Post)



Thanks for visiting! Have a great year!

Lin and Don Donn
and Maxie the Magnificent, of course!

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This page created November, 1998