Sunday, April 25, 2010

Propaganda explained

How do you define "propaganda"?. What distinguishes propaganda from the legitimate exercise of free speech? Give modern examples of both legitimate political free speech and of propaganda.

To me, propaganda is when a group has an agenda that they want to push to influence toward a cause that they support, believe in. Propaganda is an opinion and while it may be truthful, it is not, necessarily, the whole truth. It is kind of like when you are in an argument you use all the facts that support your idea but neglect to mention anything contradictory so that your argument is all that stronger.

The ways in which propaganda and the legitimate exercise of free speech differ is that propaganda has an agenda that is promoted with the intention of changing people's opinions/views on a widescale basis and is very opinionated, while the legitmate use of free speech, or freedom of speech, is something that people exercise everyday, something that is their right. I suppose, in a way, propaganda is like freedom of speech on roids in that it is organized on a larger scale but with the intention of swaying peoples thought/opinions/beliefs to a specific cause.

A modern example of propaganda can be seen on PETA's youtube channel, or in a presidential campaign ad. Examples of propaganda surround us in our everyday lives. We see it on TV, on the internet, the newspaper, and in our communities. Freedom of speech allows idiots like this to makes videos about the the new healthcare plan. Maybe the guy is a part of some larger organization but I think he just has a lot of time and likes to hear himself talk.

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