The Role Of Propaganda In The United States

Propaganda is the intentional manipulation of the public, which is proven through the delbracy involved the creation of propaganda. This manipulation is often perpetuated through the use of language. The sensationalism of information often leads to a biased picture being presented to the audience. To the heads of the government propaganda serves as a simple way of changing the opinions of the public. When compared to the time and exorbitant amount of money necessary to attempt to convince the public of their opinion through speeches using facts and evidence, propaganda, the presentation of biased information, seems like the more reliable path. For this reason, the United States government adopted the policy of government- sponsored propaganda

in World War One through the formation of the U.S. Committee on Public Information. Success in World War One depended on the propagation of ideology, which means the opinions of the public were crucial and since the government did not trust the people to understand the magnitude of the issues faced by the country and that “their proper solutions were bound up with the permanent safety of America,” propaganda was seen as the only way to win the war (Creel). The distrust of the public present displays that the government did not believe that the public would form the conclusion that they believed was correct and then they must compensate for the decisions that the public was inclined to make. The average employee of For this reason, countless newspapers, posters, wireless broadcasts were used to share America's reason for the war and the solution deemed correct by the government (Creel). The purposeful use of constant exposure and the persuasive language shows that the committee was set on changing the opinions of the public and their way of thinking. The various types of propaganda produced a biased picture of the war and America’s part in it through their use of language. According to George Orwell, the language used in propaganda “is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and give an appearance of solidity to pure wind,” so it serves as calculated method to present information in a biased, deceiving way (Orwell). This manipulation of language to convince the public to believe in the opinions of the government displays the delibracy involved in creating propaganda.