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Posted by
Ali Raza December 6, 2019 -
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Propaganda is a planned attempt to shape perceptions or to influence others behaviors, emotions and attitudes to get a desired response, action or a result from the target. So, we can define propaganda as designed and by an intent act to shape opinion.
By the definition we get that propaganda is almost everywhere in every kind or form of communication, in this modern web world of communication we just can’t avoid propaganda. In general life almost everyone is involved in a propaganda, like when people try to influence others by saying words or by giving signals.
But the word or the term propaganda in mass communications can’t be used when a propagandists target only one or only a few few persons. The word Mass means huge so the mass communication when combined it means communication with a huge number of people. The word or term propaganda in mass communication is generally referred only when when propagandists target are a huge number of persons.
Like if someone is a blogger, he OR she must have created a propaganda by themselves to influence their target audience through their blogs. Every propagandist have a certain target or specific target in their mind and then he plans to spread that message which could be through any channel or medium of communication to his target group of society it may be a particular age group, any specific ideology or any specific gender to create response or reaction among the target which could be any of them or even it can be for all of them. in propaganda, it also includes reinforcing of a segment of a society with a particular beliefs, changing mindsets or for provoking.
But propagandist can't impose itself on its target at the end it is on the independent judgment of a target that they get carried away by the propaganda or they do not come into that propaganda. But the propagandists do to stop them from being independent judgment is to present some facts, figures and may be by quoting some historical events to get its target to think and response in a way that propagandists want.
Propaganda is not always based on truth or real facts. By this statement I do not want to say that propaganda is always based on false facts or it is always wrong. Propaganda can be true or false it depends on the propagandists that what, how and why they want to create a propaganda and what they want to achieve from that propaganda. If a propagandists wants mislead or it is creating a propaganda for a wrong reason, they might quote wrong facts, figures and historical event to get their targets response the way they want by misleading them. And If the propagandists wants to create a propaganda for a right reason and they will obviously quote some real facts, figures and events.
Before the invention of current technologies like Internet, TV or Radio in past propaganda took a longer time to spread and in that too in a smaller areas. As technology got advance the more faster and the more area and amount of people were reached. As the times passed the use of propaganda is increasing.
Now the use of propaganda have gone much further than a person or group of person creating a propaganda to reach its target, now it is the countries or even group of countries creating a propaganda against the other countries. The era we live in is in the fourth generation warfare era and propaganda is a very important part of the fourth generation warfare. In this era the countries or do not send their ground troops or foot soldiers to conquer or to fight wars now by spreading propaganda in other countries people. We don’t have to go far for in history let’s see the example of when US spread propaganda through different mediums about Iraq that it has weapon of mass destruction, through this propaganda USA and its allies invaded Iraq. I am not going into the political side that it was good or bad I’m just giving example that without doing propaganda USA could not make it’s way to go to Iraq. This is the importance of propaganda in communication.
Propaganda is also used by advertisers they use propaganda as a tool to make people buy their products. Even followers of religions have used propaganda to spread their religion or by doing propaganda against other religion.
Like any aspect propaganda has its own goods and bads it could be for betterment of society or to destabilize a society. It can be used for public awareness on other hand it can also be used for character assassination.
By this I completed my point that I made in start that propaganda is everywhere in all aspects of our daily life. Propaganda in mass communication is very important and will always remain relevant, in fact it's importance will keep getting more and more.
