Do You Know What is Propaganda???

even Donald Duck play his role..

During my childhood period, newspapers, radio, comics, magazines and television are the only medium for certain organisations especially the government spreading their so called message. But these days, blogs and webs  seems to the best tools for certain organisation including political agents spreading their agenda. Thats ok for me, but the nasty part is when they start playing with rumors, and that is what the lay man said and some who are a little bit educated, they call it propaganda. The question is, did we really know what popaganda is all about and what are the stages? It remain question mark.

The exact meaning of propaganda is constantly debated and no specific definition is completely true. Propaganda is the manipulation of information to influence public opinion. It uses a number of different techniques, such as emphasizing bits of information that support a position and minimizing or excluding those that do not. It is generally carried out through media that is capable of reaching a large amount of people and effectively persuading them for or against the cause.

in simple word..propaganda is a communication means used for the purpose of persuasion

There are different kinds of propaganda, white, grey and black. Most commonly it is seen in politics. You can see propaganda techniques in action when a leader or politician who hold a strategic position spreads false or exaggerated information to frighten the public and get them to obey. Governments have often used it to remain in power, convincing the public there is an impending threat (that may not exist) and only the current them who can keep everyone safe. This type of propaganda is especially common when a leader wants to gain public support for a war, or when there is a social problem and the government wants to blame one group of people for it.

anybody realised???

A good example of propaganda occurred during the Nazi era, when Hitler was able to blame all of Germany's problems on the Jews, who only made up perhaps 5% of the population; he used media, public speeches, fake "medical" studies, and a parade of carefully chosen "experts" to advance his racist theories and make them sound logical to the average person. But it wasn't just the Nazis who used propaganda: there has also been propaganda in a number of countries, America is one of the best and last but not least Malaysia. 

Not every controversial idea is propaganda, however. It should be noted that in political communication, politicians will label any ideas or beliefs they disagree with as a propaganda. A common complaint in any political campaign is that the other side's message is nothing more than propaganda. But on the other hand, the media are sometimes guilty of broadcasting or spreading propaganda, when they rely on only "government sources" or when they favor one side in a controversy and refuse to allow other perspectives to be heard, or when they do not ask tough questions of the people in power.

To sum up, propaganda refers to dishonest or biased or manipulated information used to unfairly influence public opinion. Throughout history, political leaders, as well as religious leaders and advocates for particular causes, have sometimes employed propaganda techniques to win public opinion to their side.