I hear it used all the time, but noticed I don’t know exactly what it means. The actual definition of it is very broad.
“The spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.”
However, this doesn’t quite feel like how the word is often used. I’ve only ever seen it used with a negative connotation. If I were to spread information about climate change for the planet, am I spreading propaganda?
In: Other
If the target of the message, be it a foreign adversary or an ethic group or a political party, is BOTH an existential threat to the body politic (such as “the American way of life”) AND incredibly weak, stupid, and feeble, it’s propaganda.
Examples include: how transgender people are both going to “trap” the unsuspecting heterosexual AND “so stupid, they aren’t fooling anyone”; Fox News saying that Harris going to destroy American values AND is totally reliant upon DEI to get anywhere; MSNBC saying that the GOP is a threat to American democracy AND Trump is a buffoon. Once you start looking for it you can’t help but see it everywhere.
If you want more, see Manufacturing Consent by Chomsky.
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