Literature review assignment assignment (approx. 1000 words)


Name: Golodniuk Ivan
1. Introduction
Propaganda is one of the most powerful and underestimated weapons in
the XXl century. With the appearance of social media and the
development of technologies, propaganda was able to spread quickly
and widely around the world. Now it can in
fl
uence public opinion,
behaviour, and attitudes to the variety of issues. Currently it is essential to
recognise propaganda and analyse information that we get. The idea to
describe what propaganda is, was basically motivated by Walton (1977)
who o
ff
ered the criteria for the identifi cation and the analysis, with the
following evaluating of argumentation used in propaganda. 

2. Literature review

As we know, the role of propaganda is essential. For example, it can
participate in the formation of public opinion. Propaganda can be used to
form a certain opinion in the society about political, social, economic and
other issues. For instance, it is a good way to create a positive image of
the government and its representatives. This can include a certain
propaganda campaign aimed at highlighting the positive qualities of the
rulers and their achievements. Moreover, propaganda practices to cover
up negative aspects of governmental performance. This can include
ignoring the negative or even distorting information to hide the nonappropriate
consequences of making decisions. In his surveys Walton
(1977) commented that propaganda is an instrumental type of discourse
that is justi
fi
ed by the use of argumentation and consequences. Such
arguments are not necessarily fallacious, but care is needed to watch for
dialectical shifts in using.
The issues of analysing the use of propaganda were also popular with
other scientists. According to Mull et al. (2013), for the majority of people
propaganda conjures up thoughts about bad actions and evil
manipulation due to the information. While this may be partially true,
propaganda in the simplest form is the selective presentation of
information in such a way as to promote a particular training of thought.
While propaganda can sometimes be an extremely powerful tool of
persuasion, it is by no means always e
ff
ective and is not necessarily a
deceptive tool used exclusively by those with malicious intentions.
However, propaganda is better categorised as a sub-set of public
diplomacy, rather than being equivalent to public diplomacy. Obviously,
propaganda is not always lying. Walton (1997) described that sometimes
Literature review assignment assignment (approx. 1000 words)


Name: Golodniuk Ivan
it is a use of argumentation that is not directed towards the truth of a
matter.
Prominent researcher Jewett (1940), who suggested two main types
propaganda. First is considered to be "Black and white propaganda". It is
a type of propaganda where the world is presented as bipolar: there is
only a "right" and a "wrong" side. This type of propaganda is often used
to promote hatred and manipulate people's emotions. Second is
considered to be "Informal propaganda". It is a type where messages are
communicated informally, such as through social networks, discussions
among friends or communities. The purpose of this type of propaganda
is to in
fl
uence people's opinions by using their personal connections and
interactions with others. 

De
fi
ning propaganda can be complicated. It can take multiple forms and
use a variety of methods to manipulate people's minds. If we speak
about identi
fi
cation of propaganda and analyse it, we should mention
again Jewett (1940) who used other vital important techniques such as
content analysis, discourse analysis and critical thinking. He searched for
patterns in the language and images used in propaganda, and examined
the underlying messages and values conveyed. To detect propaganda,
Jewett (1940) practised usage of a variety of methods, such as analysing
media content, tracking the spread of ideas and messages across
di
ff
erent platforms, and observing the e
ff
ects of propaganda on
individuals and groups. The author also studied the history of
propaganda and its implementation in various contexts, including
political campaigns, advertising and war.
Overall, these methods were interdisciplinary, the involve knowledge from
such
fi
elds as communication studies, psychology, sociology and
political science. The prominent scientist Lee (1945) also mentioned this
chain in his investigation. The aim of his work was to promote critical
thinking and awareness of propaganda and to provide tools and
strategies to counter its e
ff
ects, but regarding another survey of
propaganda scrutiny he argued that it is important to train people to think
critically and analyse information to recognise propaganda techniques
instead of being in
fl
uenced by them. In general, the author admitted that
propaganda can be a dangerous and destructive force in the society, and
that it is important to combat it through education, critical thinking and
free public speaking. 

Literature review assignment assignment (approx. 1000 words)


Name: Golodniuk Ivan
Even these days, with a big amount of sources, сertain countries are
su
ff
ering from propaganda imposed on them by the government.
According to Aron (2015), Russian Federation using more than half billion
dollars per year in order to achieve their goals. Their channel RT is aimed
not to sell what could be called «the Russian brand», but to devalue
notions of democratic transparency and accountability, to undermine
trust in objective reporting, littering the news with half-truths and quartertruths.
Unfortunately, the big percentage of the Russian population
absolutely follow the thought that has been imposed on them by the
government thanks to propaganda. 

3. Conclusion
In conclusion, my survey shows that propaganda is an extremely
dangerous weapon, that can impose a controversial thought, stir up
con
fl
ict on a peaceful ground, make people believe in a lie. It is important
to have your own knowledge and opinion in order not to succumb to it.
Before we start to believe in the information, it’s better to check all
recourses, be attentive and sustainable because propaganda could be
very persistent and repeat over and over again to convince people that it
is correct. However, the available research has some limitations, such as
using obsolete and quantitative data. The research usefulness has been
severely decreased because of this. To sum up, everyone can choose
himself what to believe, but it is important that a person does not live in
the world of illusions that propaganda has created for him.
4. Reference list
Mull, C., & Wallin, M. (2013). Propaganda: a tool of strategic in
fl
uence.
American Security Project.

Walton, D. (1997). What is propaganda, and what exactly is wrong with it?
Public A
ff
airs Quarterly, 21(4), 383-413.

Aron, L. (2015). Russian propaganda: ways and means. American Enterprise
Institute.

Jewett, A. (1940). Detecting and analysing propaganda. The English Journal,
29(9), 679-685.

Lee, A. (1945). The analysis of propaganda: a clinical summary. American
Journal of Sociology, 50(2), 126-135.

Taylor, W. (1942). What Is propaganda? College English, 3(6), 555-562.

Literature review assignment assignment (approx. 1000 words)


Name: Golodniuk Ivan