Describe the ways that propaganda was used to mobilise the minds of the nation towards war.

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                Patrick McGrath , 10M

Describe the ways that propaganda was used to mobilise the minds of the nation towards war.

Propaganda is a specific type of message presentation aimed to manipulate the opinions of individuals into a particular point of view, rather than to merely communicate the facts about something.  At its root, the denotation of propaganda is to propagate, actively spread, a philosophy or viewpoint.  Advertising, religious preaching, etc. are also propaganda, as well as, in today’s world, TV talk shows.

For example, propaganda might be used to garner either support or disapproval of a certain position, rather than to simply present the position.  What separates propaganda from "normal" communication is in the subtle ways that the message attempts to shape opinion.  For example, propaganda is often presented in a way that attempts to deliberately evoke a strong emotion.

The most common use of the term is in political contexts.  During World War One, propaganda was used to manipulate Britons into thinking that the war was a good thing and that there was a good reason for fighting, so eligible men would join the army and others would help to support.  To get people to support the war, they used propaganda to stir up hatred and other emotions towards the enemy.  The government also used it to incite the feelings of neutral countries against the enemy and also to keep them friendly with ourselves.

All types as propaganda was used during the war to mobilise the minds of the nation towards war.  They can be split into two groups: the state’s propaganda and the private sector’s.  Poster campaigns are an example of state propaganda.  In the private sector there would be products such as toys and cigarettes which would have been made by private companies.  These products would include the use of propaganda in order to sell as much as possible to Britons.  They would have patriotic images, and also games which involve defeating the enemy.  Private film companies are another example of private propaganda.

In order to succeed in the war, the government thought it necessary that the public supported the war fully.  The Defence of the Realm Act gave them power to control all types of mass media, and allow the government to become more deeply linked with the public’s life.  Only with the public’s backing could the government get the troops, weapons ammunition and equipment demanded by the war.

It was in the year 1916 when propaganda was used frequently.  Before that year, there were politicians, preachers and all of the newspapers who were all doing a good job on keeping Britons happy about the war, so propaganda was not really needed.  By 1916, Britons were getting fed up of hearing about the war which they were told would end almost one and a half years ago.  They wanted not to have to think about it all the time so the government decided to increase the amount of propaganda which they were using.

There were three different audiences that propaganda was aimed at, one of them being the enemy.  This prop was organised by the War Office.  The idea was to manipulate what the enemy thought about the war.  They were trying to get them to surrender by making the German public think negatively about the war.  The Propaganda Centre was set up by Gilbert Parker.  British propagandists tried to influence the Germans, by sending two million leaflets to be dropped on German towns, into giving up.

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Another audience were the neutrals; countries not participating in the war.  The idea of using propaganda for them was to influence them into joining the Allies in order to have a stronger army against the Germans.  Like the people of Britain, propaganda was used to stir up what they felt towards the enemy into a negative perspective.  The centre headed by Gilbert Parker had an aim to persuade the USA to join the Allies.  They went about this by sending pamphlets, books, and leaflets to the editors of local newspapers of the USA.  British propagandists used the fact that 128 ...

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