The Woz Report: Unveiling Global Propaganda and Historical Insights

Bruce Springsteen rocked East Berlin in 1988

Welcome back to the revamped Woz Report! On Tuesdays and Fridays, I’ll bring you important global stories. On Sundays, paid members and I dive deep into complex topics. This Sunday, we’ll uncover the world’s propaganda machines designed to either undermine democratic values, or to support them. The 80th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy is upon us, and it's a timely reminder why democracy matters. Let's start with a definition and a brief history of propaganda.

Defining propaganda and a brief history

Propaganda, defined by the Oxford Dictionary as 'information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view,' has been used by empires like the Assyrian, Greek, and Roman to mobilise armies and demoralise enemies.

The Assyrian, Greek, and Roman empires cultivated storytelling, poems, religious symbols, monuments, speeches, documents, and other means of communication to mobilise their armies, and in many cases to demoralise their enemies.

According to several sources, including the American Historical Association, the term “propaganda” first came into common use in Europe as a result of the missionary activities of the Catholic church. In 1622 Pope Gregory XV created in Rome the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. This was a commission of cardinals charged with spreading the faith and regulating church affairs in heathen lands. A College of Propaganda was set up under Pope Urban VIII to train priests for the missions.

During the American Revolution, figures like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington skillfully used propaganda to garner public support. Moving into the 20th century, the use of propaganda became even more sophisticated.

George Washington advocated the release of information "in a manner calculated to attract the attention and impress the minds of the people." American Foreign Relations.

20th Century Propaganda

Readers may be more familiar with acts of propaganda during the Great War of 1914-1918, and later World War 2. Military recruitment posters were powerful weapons of the British Governments during those periods of global conflict.