Showing results for "Propaganda" in Politics & Government

A seminal and controversial figure in the history of political thought and public relations, Edward Bernays pioneered the scientific technique of shaping and manipulating public opinion, which he famously dubbed the "engineering of consent". During World War I, he was an integral part of the US Committee on Public Information, or CPI, a powerful propaganda apparatus that was mobilized to package, advertise, and sell the war to the American people as one that would "Make the World Safe for Democracy".

Propaganda and Persuasion gives you a one-of-a-kind opportunity to explore the powerful, fascinating, and at times dangerous world of influence. Taught by Professor Dannagal G. Young of the University of Delaware, these 12 eye-opening lectures arm you with the tools of effective communication and the insight to understand—and perhaps resist—persuasion in all its forms.

In today’s chaotic world, where the multiplication of information sources creates competing narratives, credibility is the key to winning the war of ideas. This is the reason why governments and corporations resort to astroturfing - creation of ostensibly grassroots movements set up to advance political agendas and commercial campaigns. The democratization of information and polarization of politics offer a perfect storm.

We live in a world of influence operations run amok, a world of dark ads, psy-ops, hacks, bots, soft facts, ISIS, Putin, trolls, Trump. We've lost not only our sense of peace and democracy - but our sense of what those words even mean. As Peter Pomerantsev seeks to make sense of the disinformation age, he meets Twitter revolutionaries and pop-up populists, 'behavioural change' salesmen, Jihadi fan-boys, Identitarians, truth cops and much more.

In Propaganda, Edward Bernays offers a groundbreaking exploration of how public opinion is shaped in modern society. First published in 1928, this influential work argues that the conscious and intelligent manipulation of the habits and opinions of the masses is a central feature of democratic life.

First published in 1928, Edward Bernays’ Propaganda may be the single most important work on public relations ever to appear. Bernays (1891-1995), a nephew of Sigmund Freud, shaped the management of public opinion at a time when the modern media were beginning to take their present shape. Propaganda today has a negative connotation, but Bernays uses the term in a neutral sense. Writing in the 1920s, he redefined what he called the “new propaganda” as public relations—a name that has stuck ever since.

In How Propaganda Works, Jason Stanley demonstrates that more attention needs to be paid. He examines how propaganda operates subtly, how it undermines democracy - particularly the ideals of democratic deliberation and equality - and how it has damaged democracies of the past. 

"Propaganda," penned by Edward Bernays in 1928, delves into the mechanics of shaping public opinion. Bernays, often dubbed the "father of public relations," argues that propaganda is an essential tool for guiding public thought in a democratic society. He outlines strategies for manipulating public perception, drawing from psychological and sociological principles. While his work is credited with pioneering modern public relations, it has also drawn criticism for its potential to be used for manipulation and control.

For decades, Rupert Murdoch's global media empire has shaped political landscapes, influenced elections and fuelled public opinion. But behind the headlines lies a darker story – of targeted campaigns, smear tactics and relentless attacks on those who don't fit the Murdoch mould. From LGBTQI communities and women's rights advocates to progressive politicians, human rights defenders and even conservatives deemed 'not right enough', Getting Murdoched: How Murdoch's Media Wields Power and Punishment exposes how dissent is silenced and reputations destroyed.

Until recently, propaganda was a top-down, elite-only system of communication control used largely by state actors. Today, as Samuel Woolley argues, social media has democratized propaganda, allowing nearly anyone to launch a fairly sophisticated, computationally enhanced, propaganda campaign. Woolley shows how social media, with its anonymity and capacity for automation, allows political groups to create the illusion of popularity through computational tools.

Because we are continuously taking in information from a variety of sources, we are under constant threat from those who would intentionally (or accidentally) misinform - from foreign operatives, advertisers, politicians, and general scammers to our own friends and family. To better prepare you, IREX (International Research & Exchanges Board) has teamed up with The Great Courses to provide a guide for navigating this tricky landscape with this eight-lecture course designed to arm you with the skills you need to be a savvy media consumer.

Propaganda, an influential book written by Edward L. Bernays in 1928, incorporated the literature from social science and psychological manipulation into an examination of the techniques of public communication. Propaganda explored the psychology behind manipulating masses and the ability to use symbolic action and propaganda to influence politics, effect social change, and lobby for gender and racial equality.

What if the greatest weapon of modern power isn't a bomb, a bullet, or an army—but the story you believe? The Propaganda Playbook pulls back the curtain on the hidden machinery of influence, revealing how governments, corporations, financial institutions, media organizations, and powerful individuals shape public perception—and how easily narratives can become accepted as truth.

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A fearless and urgent exposé of technofascism – and a road map to resistance. When Silicon Valley ‘moves fast and breaks things’, the world interprets the chaos as a necessary cost of innovation. Gil Durán reveals something far more sinister afoot: a...

This is the incredible untold story of four women who helped win World War II by generating a wave of black propaganda. Betty MacDonald was a 28-year-old reporter from Hawaii. Zuzka Lauwers grew up in a tiny Czechoslovakian village and knew five languages by the time she was 21. Jane...

The Octopus of Global Control is a controversial, nonfiction book detailing how those in positions of power are able to manipulate society for their benefit, why they believe that they are entitled to impose their warped world view of reality on mankind, and how we can break free from their grip. The eight tentacles of control that are wrapped around humanity are the Military, Governmental, Covert, Physical, Financial, Media, Spiritual, and Scientific.

Noam Chomsky’s backpocket classic on wartime propaganda and opinion control begins by asserting two models of democracy—one in which the public actively participates, and one in which the public is manipulated and controlled. According to Chomsky, "propaganda is to democracy as the bludgeon...

THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER FORTNUM & MASON'S DEBUT FOOD BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 A TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 AN ECONOMIST, DAILY MAIL, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING and AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONE'S BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 Chosen by the...

My Life in Propaganda is Magda Stroińska’s personal account of growing up with communist propaganda in Eastern Europe. She compares the beliefs of her family with what she was taught at school, learning early on about double interpretations and ambiguities through language. Through her chosen field of linguistics, she analyzes ways in which propagandistic language, such as ‘doubletalk,’ Orwellian ‘Newspeak,’ ‘weasel words,’ and, more colloquially, ‘bullshit,’ is used to distort reality. The book demonstrates that democracy can never be taken for granted.

When you see your nation's flag fluttering in the breeze, what do you feel? For thousands of years flags have represented our hopes and dreams. We wave them. Burn them. March under their colours. And still, in the 21st century, we die for them. Flags fly at the UN, on the Arab street, from front porches in Texas. They represent the politics of high power as well as the politics of the mob.