Propaganda

Conclusion

Words are powerful. It is important to know how language is used to influence you if you want to gain some control over your ability to resist. Ask yourself these questions when you are confronted with anything that you suspect is propaganda. By asking these questions you will be less likely to be wrongfully convinced if you take personal responsibility to fight propaganda and false information.
  • What is the message?
  • Who does this benefit?
  • Is the information based upon fact or opinion?
  • Who or what is the source of the information?
  • What biases does the source represent?
  • What techniques are used to impart the message?
  • Am I simply dismissing this as propaganda or is it the truth?
     In the final chapter of his book, Propaganda & The Ethics of Persuasion, Randal Marlin calls for action from his readers and asks them to protect themselves against propaganda by asking such questions as these (302-303).

     It is the responsibility of the individual citizen to fight propaganda and false information. Talk to your friends and colleagues about important issues that we all face. Join a group and talk with others who feel as you do. Don't be part of the faceless crowd. You don't have to have the answers as long as you get yourself and others to ask questions and start thinking. In the closing of his book Marlin concludes: "This will require much more effort than the comfortably ensconced television viewer is accustomed to, but democracy worthy of the same name demands nothing less. Complacency leads to servitude; hard-won freedoms are easily eroded through inattention" (306).

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