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Propaganda in the United States - Wikipedia
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Tangentially relevant to AI safety discussions around misinformation, AI-generated propaganda, and the governance of AI in information ecosystems; provides historical and structural context for understanding propaganda mechanisms.
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Summary
This Wikipedia article provides a comprehensive overview of propaganda in the United States, covering both government and non-government sources from World War I to the present. It examines domestic and international propaganda efforts, relevant legislation, and theoretical frameworks like Herman and Chomsky's 'Manufacturing Consent' that analyze systemic media bias as a form of propaganda.
Key Points
- •The U.S. government has historically used propaganda for both domestic and international audiences, with bans frequently circumvented through bureaucratic workarounds.
- •Herman and Chomsky's 'Manufacturing Consent' (1988) argues U.S. mass media functions as ideological propaganda through market forces and self-censorship rather than overt coercion.
- •Some academics argue Americans are especially susceptible to propaganda due to a pervasive culture of advertising.
- •Large-scale government propaganda began in WWI and has evolved through successive conflicts and political periods to the modern information environment.
- •Non-government entities, including corporations and political groups, also play a significant role in spreading propaganda in the U.S.
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Propaganda in the United States - Wikipedia
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An American propaganda poster from World War II produced under the Works Progress Administration
In the United States, propaganda is spread by both government and non-government entities. Throughout its history, to the present day, the United States government has issued various forms of propaganda to both domestic and international audiences. The US government has instituted various domestic propaganda bans throughout its history; however, some commentators question the extent to which these bans are respected. [ 1 ]
In Manufacturing Consent published in 1988, Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky argue that the mass communication media of the U.S. "are effective and powerful ideological institutions that carry out a system-supportive propaganda function, by reliance on market forces, internalized assumptions, and self-censorship , and without overt coercion". [ 2 ] Some academics have argued that Americans are more susceptible to propaganda due to the culture of advertising. [ 3 ]
Domestic
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Politico noted the ineffectiveness of domestic propaganda bans. "Officials get around the restriction on publicity agents by giving public relations staff such titles as “health communications specialist” or they outsource the spinmeister work to private communications firms. During an effort to cut back on PR in the administration of Harry Truman, the Air Force even classified some public affairs officers as chaplains." [ 1 ]
World War I
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World War I fundraising poster
The first large-scale use of propaganda by the U.S. government came during World War I . During the Reconstruction era, newspapers and illustrated engravings helped shape a reunified national narrative, leveraging the wartime communications infrastructure for peacetime persuasion and identity-building rather than purely military propaganda. [ 4 ] The 1915 film The German Side of the War was compiled from footage filmed by Chicago Tribune cameraman Edwin F. Weigle . It was one of the only American films to show the German perspective of the war . [ 5 ] At the theater lines stretched around the block; the screenings were received with such enthusiasm that would-be moviegoers resorted to purchasing tickets from scalpers. [ 6 ]
World War II
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Main article: American propaganda during World War II
See also: Office of War Information and Why We Fight
World War II propaganda poster
During World War II, the official policy of the United States was to not produce propaganda, but the Roosevelt government circumvented it by various means. One such propaganda tool was the publicly owned but government-funded Writers' War Board (WWB).
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