Post #8 EOTO #2:

Have you ever been persuaded to do something from seeing an advertisement or a tv commercial? Have you ever seen posters promoting a certain event or cause? Well, that would be considered propaganda. Propaganda is the spreading of either true or false information to the public. Propaganda can influence and manipulate people into believing and doing things that they never intended on doing in the first place. The term propaganda was originally introduced in 1622. It began as a term, but then grew to become a manipulative tool that people still used today. 

Propaganda can be both good and bad. Most people that think of propaganda only think of the bad forms. For instance, like posters promoting and advertising a war or a tv commercial that tries to make a certain president look bad. Most of the time what would be considered the bad propaganda is usually the only propaganda that the world sees. This type of propaganda is not only false advertisement, but this type of propaganda can also cause arguments within families and friends. One side may agree with a certain type of propaganda, while the other side may disagree and vice versa. The bad propaganda can also harm the younger generations. Millennials I would say, have more common sense on what is real and what is fake when it comes to the world than the up and coming generations. Why do I believe this? Of course, Millennials have been around longer, seen more, and have experienced more than, lets say, Gen Z. The younger generations are being raised around more technology and have more access to social media. Social media and the abundant use of technology can be harmful. Anything and everything is posted on social media and the amount of propaganda that is floating around on the internet is outrageous. When something is posted on an account that you really like, or your favorite celebrity is trying to promote something, all of that would be considered propaganda. Propaganda can also affect the majority and minority by causing diversity within different populations. It also affects the rich and the poor because the rich can use propaganda to their advantage and have more resources to promote it, whereas, the poor are more likely to believe it because of their lack of financial resources. With that said, not all propaganda is bad and corrupting. There are examples of good propaganda, such as, a promotional add for Taco Tuesday or a Rosie the Riveter poster because these examples are promoting good and helpful things. 

Propaganda can also influence the decisions you make on a daily basis and it can also change the way you make decisions. Propaganda can be very deceiving and I often find myself trying to distinguish what is real and what is fake when it comes to the world and the information surrounding it. I am one to get on social media often and a lot of what is on social media is fake news. Sometimes I get drawn into the deception of propaganda. Not only am I sometimes blinded by the propaganda, it really affects everyone in society. Propaganda is never ending and it is not going anywhere anytime soon. That is why society is going to continue to get persuaded by either fake or real news or information. 

 

In the end, you can be 80, 15, male, female, rich, poor, and so on, but you are still going to face propaganda. Propaganda will continue to grow, the real question is, is the world going to continue to abuse the power of propaganda, or are they going to use it to benefit society?