As propaganda was used during wars in society
For some time as ancient as the existence of wars, the human being has used different tricks and strategies to achieve victory in them. Already then we were aware that the minds of a set of people can be as strong as any tank or submachine gun and that, in effect, that person capable of handling them has a very powerful weapon in their hands. Manipulation, lies and suggestion are part of our history, and have been used countless occasions to influence society, from ancient Egypt or Emperor Julio César, to Napoleon Bonaparte or the Nazis. Thus, we could point to propaganda as one of the main tools to undertake such action. However, before deepening its use in war periods -which is what concerns us after all -what exactly is propaganda?
According to Violet Edwards, whose definition was adopted by the "Institute for Propaganda Analysis": "Propaganda is the expression of an opinion or an action by individuals or groups, deliberately oriented to influence opinions or actions of other individuals or groups for predetermined purposes andthrough psychological manipulations »
The propaganda message, launched by a “X” issuer, intends to reach the public to think or do what the issuer wants, so the operation of this communicative process resides essentially in the issuer and how it responds to the message. However, propaganda is not limited to this: we could say that what characterizes it is that the message is loaded with persuasion and psychological manipulation so that the receiver not only does what the issuer wants, but also the public thinks thatYour decision has totally left of yourself and your reflection. Undoubted?
Be that as it may, propaganda has been used and used in many contexts, although then we will study the relevant to the wars period. Thus, and as Analyzes Pizarroso Quintero (2005), the war propaganda can issue different messages depending on the type of issuer. First, the message can be addressed to the country that emits it, to its soldiers and citizens, to amplify or maintain the combatant moral. It will also be aimed at those who are indifferent, so that they are convinced with national discourse and join him or simply remain in position and do not go to that of the adversary. And finally, there is a type of propaganda that is addressed to the enemy;what is also called "psychological war" and that we will take away.
By simplifying the definition of war propaganda, we can accept that raised by W. AND. Daugherty as follows: «The planned use of propaganda and other actions aimed at generating opinions, emotions, attitudes and behaviors in foreign groups, enemies, neutral and friends, so that they support the fulfillment of national aims and objectives."
So, how is the propaganda message directed to the enemy? For getting closer to the land of the combatant country in which I will focus on this work, I see it necessary to resort to the United States and use it as an example to answer the question. The psychological war has as its main purpose to confuse the adversary and weaken it, through blackmail or to instill fear, for example. It has such relevance that even today, armies have specialized units in psychological and propaganda operations. An example is what we find in the United States Armed Forces, called 4th Psychological Action Group. With the motto "Persuad, change, influence", this military group is responsible for using civilians -oriented propaganda, having access to numerous distribution sources. On several occasions they have carried out operations from the air to distribute on a population pamphlets, propaganda messages, food bags or even options for surrender salvoconducts for the enemy army. His badge, on the maximum verbum Vincet -"The word will beat" -, consists of a gold bamboo crown with a four -leaf clover that is divided into three colors: gray, white and white. The official description of the shield would be: “The badge of the regiment of psychological operations, gray, white and black represents the three classes of psychological operations;White is indicative of purity and truth, the first and favorite type of propaganda;Gray and black colors represent the second and third types of propaganda used by unit when necessary ”
As we can see and specify in the official description itself, the three chosen colors are not randomly, but correspond to the three types of military propaganda that exist and that are used since World War I. Depending on the message you want to convey, we find white, gray and black propaganda (Pizarroso Quintero, 2005). The first has a source or issuer that are known correctly, and has a clear message;In the gray the accuracy of the information and the issuer is not known;And finally the message and the source of the black propaganda are falsified to seem of the enemy, and is addressed to the civilian public of the country itself as well as that of the adversary. In the latter, the safer distribution vehicle is radio, as it is a more difficult source to identify. In fact, the 4th Psychological Action Group unit itself has great qualification analysts in journalistic media such as radio or television for the use of propaganda. We will see numerous examples of this when talking about media manipulation carried out by the United States during the Vietnam War, although before it is necessary to know what this war conflict was, the importance in it of the media, and why its relevancelies in the fact that it was "the War of the living room".
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