PROPAGANDA

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A seminal and controversial figure in the history of political thought and public relations, Edward Bernays (1891–1995), pioneered the scientific technique of shaping and manipulating public opinion, which he famously dubbed “engineering of consent.” Bernays believed people are rubber stamped with “mental clichés” that shape their thinking in irrational ways. If we want to be influential, we must understand their existing clichés and what images they connect to certain words, like “hospital.” 6. Propaganda Will Survive: The methods of communication are always changing, but human psychology does not sectetur adipiscing elit. Nam lacinia pulvinar tortor nec facilisis. Pellentesque dapibus efficitur laoreet. Nam risus ante, dapibus a molestie consequat, ultrices ac magna. Fusce dui lectus, congue vel laoreet ac, dictum vitae odio. Donec aliquet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam lacinia pulvinar tortor nec facilisis. Pellentesque dapibus efficitur laoreet. Nam risus ante, dapibus a molestie consequat, ultrices ac magna. Fusce dui lectus, congue vel laoreet ac, dictum vitae odio. Donec aliquet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

School superintendents and teachers throughout the country were glad to encourage the movement as an educational aid for schools. Practice among school children as part of their art courses was stimulated. Contests were held between schools, between school districts and between cities. High-spotting is a public relations technique where you direct public attention to specific things, things you want to represent your whole reputation. You could organize a dramatic visual demonstration, build an outstanding flagship product, or take a strong symbolic stand. 5. Mental Clichés: Provoking a mass reaction starts with understanding people’s pre-existing ideas

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Often described as “the father of public relations,” Edward Bernays (ThoughtCo.com) was an American business consultant and pioneer in the field of publicity. To reach new customers. In the 1920’s, the economy was shifting to mass production, which provides a benefit of lower priced goods, but a problem that factories need to maintain a steady production.

For example, Chomsky explained how the opinions presented in the dominant media channels are kept within careful limits: “The beauty of the system, however, is that such dissent and inconvenient information are kept within bounds and at the margins, so that while their presence shows that the system is not monolithic, they are not large enough to interfere unduly with the domination of the official agenda.” Professor Robert Cialdini is probably the world’s #1 expert on the psychology of influence. In his book Pre-suasion, he agrees that rational argument is usually not very persuasive. Instead, we need to pointing people’s attention in the right direction and set the right “psychological frame” for our message. Bernays's most extreme political propaganda activities were said to be conducted on behalf of the multinational corporation United Fruit Company (renamed Chiquita Brands International in 1984) and the U.S. government to facilitate the successful 1954 coup against the democratically elected president of Guatemala, Jacobo Arbenz Guzman. Bernays's propaganda (documented in the BBC documentary The Century of the Self), branding Arbenz as communist, was published in major U.S. media. According to a book review by John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton of Larry Tye's biography of Bernays, The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays & The Birth of PR, "the term ' banana republic' actually originated in reference to United Fruit's domination of corrupt governments in Guatemala and other Central American countries." [4] Hygiene edit Bernays once engineered a "pancake breakfast" with vaudevillians for Calvin Coolidge in what is widely considered one of the first overt publicity stunts for a US president. The ideas of the new propaganda are predicated on sound psychology based on enlightened self-interest.The newer salesmanship, understanding the group structure of society and the principles of mass psychology, would first ask: "Who is it that influences the eating habits of the public?" The answer, obviously, is: "The physicians." The new salesman will then suggest to physicians to say publicly that it is wholesome to eat bacon. He knows as a mathematical certainty, that large numbers of persons will follow the advice of their doctors, because he understands the psychological relation of dependence of men upon their physicians. Bernays applied Freud's observations to convince the public, among other things, that bacon and eggs was the true all-American breakfast. [3] Political propaganda edit

It is chiefly the psychologists of the school of Freud who have pointed out that many of man's thoughts and actions are compensatory substitutes for desires which he has been obliged to suppress. A thing may be desired not for its intrinsic worth or usefulness, but because he has unconsciously come to see in it a symbol of something else, the desire for which he is ashamed to admit to himself. A man buying a car may think he wants it for purposes of locomotion, whereas the fact may be that he would really prefer not to be burdened with it, and would rather walk for the sake of his health. He may really want it because it is a symbol of social position, an evidence of his success in business, or a means of pleasing his wife. In the book, a character says “the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought” so that people literally don’t have the words to express ideas that go against the government. Like we can’t talk about “freedom” if we never learned the idea or the name for it. By controlling language, people in power could forcibly stop many of our mental clichés, even positive ones. The Invisible Government: Propaganda makes life in a democratic society more organized and practicalFor politics. He believed that politicians had a duty to be leaders, not just followers of popular opinion. And the most effective way to lead public thought is not with direct argument, but using propaganda techniques like dramatic demonstration and group association. The recent practice of propaganda has proved that it is possible, at least up to a certain point and within certain limits. Mass psychology is as yet far from being an exact science and the mysteries of human motivation are by no means all revealed. But at least theory and practice have combined with sufficient success to permit us to know that in certain cases we can effect some change in public opinion with a fair degree of accuracy by operating a certain mechanism, just as the motorist can regulate the speed of his car by manipulating the flow of gasoline. Propaganda is not a science in the laboratory sense, but it is no longer entirely the empirical affair that it was before the advent of the study of mass psychology. It is now scientific in the sense that it seeks to base its operations upon definite knowledge drawn from direct observation of the group mind, and upon the application of principles which have been demonstrated to be consistent and relatively constant. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. The only difference between ‘propaganda’ and ‘education,’ really, is in the point of view. The advocacy of what we believe in is education. The advocacy of what we don’t believe in is propaganda. [1]