Why did we call this page “Propaganda”? It used to be called Philosophy. That was probably the more conventional name. It was also considerably less interesting. So we changed it to PROPAGANDA. Not because we suddenly became propagandists. But because attention is the first step of communication. If a heading makes you stop for a moment and think “Why the hell is this called Propaganda?”, it has already done something important: It got your attention. And once you have someone’s attention, you have the opportunity to get them interested. And once they’re interested, they may want to know more. That’s communication.
Information or Propaganda?
What’s the difference? We live in a world overflowing with information. Governments communicate. Political parties communicate. Companies communicate. Interest groups communicate. Media communicate. And much of what reaches us is designed not simply to inform, but to influence how we perceive something. That doesn’t automatically make it propaganda/ persuasive communication. The interesting question is: Where does information end — and propaganda begin?
How do you make somebody want something they didn’t know they wanted?
