PROPAGANDAWhat is it?

DEFINITION:In general, a message designed to

persuade its intended audience to think and behave in a certain manner. Thus, advertising is commercial propaganda. It can also refer to the institutionalized and systematic spreading of information and/or disinformation, usually to promote a narrow political or religious viewpoint.

Originally, propaganda was an arm of the Roman Catholic church responsible for'de propaganda fidei,' propagation ‘spreadingof the faith’. It acquired negative connotations in the 20th

century when totalitarian regimes (principallyNazi Germany) used every means todistort facts and spread falsehoods.

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In 1938 the Institute of Propaganda Analysis identified 7 major propaganda techniques, which are still considered highly influentialin modern advertising and political campaigns.