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-Propaganda in WWI---

What is Propaganda? Some say it's good, some say it's dishonest and evil, but there's no use pretending that propaganda isn't effective. Propaganda promotes an idea or image that the government wants its people to believe. They're looking for the people to behave a certain way, and propaganda helps them achieve that. It is extreme campaigning at its most cutthroat. To avoid propaganda, you must look into the accuracy and source of the the information. Next, look at the motives and people promoting it. Will it actually benefit you? All these things should be questioned when suspicious new information is displayed to you.

How was Propaganda used in WWI? How did it impact the people? Propaganda techniques vary; some say that everyone is doing it, so you should too. Other techniques let a person with much power tell the people what to do. People listen to those who they look up to. Frequently, propaganda will use emotional words to make you feel a certain way, and will repeat the product or idea numerous times for effect. Propaganda posters were popular during WWI. The posters were patriotic to their home country and encouraged the viewers to also act patriotic and help their country to support the war. Posters often included children and attractive women to entice the viewers (though, especially in WWI, women were more than just a pretty face; they were included in the war effort). Every country involved in WWI used propaganda posters as a military campaign. Britain had a professional army, but no policy of national service, so they used propaganda posters to help them. Many posters were recruitment posters, and many others were to buy war bonds. The U.S., who joined the war slightly later than most, produced the most propaganda posters. At the time of America's entrance to the war, its nationality was suffering a little. The posters and other forms of propaganda helped to bring the country together and make them strong. American posters often had to do with food and rationing: saving their food for the soldiers, and not wasting anything.

=Here are some examples of prevalent propaganda during WW1=



Propaganda was used to enlist people, help them support the war effort, buy war bonds, send/save food for the soldiers and increase nationality. Propaganda really started to become popular in political tactics around WWI. There weren't just posters, propaganda speeches were also made. The speeches were often broadcasted on the radio, but posters were more powerful because everyone saw them, not just those who happened to be listening.

The Committee on Public Information (CPI) was created to influence the public of the US to participate in WWI, whether by supporting the war or enlisting in the war. The CPI was created by President Woodrow Wilson, but was led by journalist George Creel, a muckracker. The CPI didn't straight out lie, but it twisted the truth around a little sometimes, as most propaganda does. In 1917, the CPI organized a draft, in which they recruited 75,000 "Four Minute Men." They were called this because these men spoke at social gatherings to promote the war for about four minutes, the approximate human attention span. These men had targeting their prey down to a science.

 All In All..... ﻿There's no denying that propaganda wasn't powerful in WWI. Its posters will be remembered forever as trademarks of the war and people who helped. Men and their families lives were changed forever by a single poster. Without propaganda, the outcome of WWI may very well not have been what it is today. It's a tactic still used in our present-day society, one that will continue to be used in political and social issues in years to come. Good or bad, you can decide, but influential is one thing that propaganda surely is.

Bibliography:

 "German Propaganda Among Negroes." GWPDA. Web. 7 Feb. 2011. .

"The Bryce Report." GWPDA. Web. 7 Feb. 2011. .

Encyclopedia of Politics, the Media, and Popular Culture. Brian Cogan and Tony Kelso. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2009. p353-354.

 Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity. Ed. Dinah L. Shelton. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. p85-86.

 Encyclopedia of Politics, the Media, and Popular Culture. Brian Cogan and Tony Kelso. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2009. p134-176.

 Hoffmann, Peter. "Hitler, Adolf." World Book Student. World Book, 2011. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.

Ross, Stewart Halsey. Propaganda for War: How the United States Was Conditioned to Fight the Great War of 1914-1918. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1996. 62. Print. Turner, John. Britain and the First World War. London: Unwin Hyman, 1988. 183-84. Print.