By propaganda one understands the purposeful and organized spreading of a message or an ideology, usually in the political surrounding field. The propaganda-driving has the goal of affecting the social acting and thinking of others in the own sense. Concretely in each case spread information can be correct or wrong.

Occasionally "„propaganda designated"” also the advertisement in the economy ("„product propaganda"” in the GDR).

Turned around also economic terms are used in place of "„propaganda"”, e.g. "„the Social marketing"”, approximately within the ranges environmental protection ("„I was a box"”) and public health policy ("„give to AIDS no chance"”). Also "„Feel good"” - campaigns, which publicise political tendency change without clearly defined action appeal, are summarized under the term Social marketing.

Particularly perfide, denunziatorische and propaganda is called frequently .

Propaganda and information

In many cases it is difficult to separate information and propaganda clearly since there is no pure information in human communication. Without exception each information exchange between humans is distorted and has a certain orientation, is subjectively colored and by the transmitter already filtered. The only objectivity, which exists in human communication, consists of representing the subjective point of view of a person as neutrally and completely as possible. Functioning one for the public "„reliable"” propaganda communicates the information in subtle way distorted. Propaganda uses this separate skillfully, in order to affect the public opinion.

Quantitative information distortion takes place always then, if a slight fact is stepped broadly, or turned around an important is down played.

Qualitative information distortion however refers to the point of view, which is obtained during communication. A classical example is the difference between the optimistic and the pessimistic Propagator. That one will call a halffilled jug "„half empty"”, these as "„half fully"”. In both cases the information communicated is the same, the point of view communicated however affects the Rezeption by the receiver of the message.

Word history

Latin propagare is called originally "„spreads, expands, reproduces"”. As verb graft (during the plant refinement) the term in the Botanik already early into German one took.

With the Gerundivum of this verb Gregor became XV of Pope. in the year 1622 a church Kongregation named Sancta congregatio de propaganda fide production, thus the jesuitische "„holy society for the spreading of the faith"”, whose purpose was it to promote the Missionierung and spreading of the catholic Christianity. Derived from the designation of this organization the expression propaganda was transferred to most languages.

Political propaganda

Biblical time

In the representation of the like a Christian coined/shaped secondary literature of the Hebrew Bible (original) most stories of the old will can be interpreted also as propaganda. They unite everything that constitutes effective propaganda: Justification (legitimacy) of contradictory actions and actions by the argument that the will of humans to behave to the good one or bad one is free, and God ways, its rewards and punishments about to recognize not all clearly are to strengthen with the goal, requirements for rule and to represent "„the people of God"” as the other peoples opposite.

The Hebrew Bible, as before-historical narration in principle of the outgoing Middle East Bronzezeit, reports of a time, the 2 to 1.5 millenia before the time calculation (Vth D. Z. Vth D. Chr.) lies and becomes between 600 to 100 v. D. Z. editorialally fixes. As history bronze and iron-temporal Jewish winner in Kanaan, as that praised country, however the Jewish holy writing, e.g. in the Chumasch, contains sufficient narrations, myths and legends around the aspect of propaganda on in Christian way the tradierte culture of the self-propagandistically laid out Hebrew Bible to reflect. The Jewish Hebrew holy writing tells of a people of former slaves, who becomes a people only and often offends against the requirements of the name. It is reported by a halsstarrigen people. The people Israel does other inglorious things and a large part leaves occasionally even the monotheistischen faith and closes under its king to a of the Baal (see: Belzebub) on, etc.

To be noted it must that a Jewish historical-critical understanding of the Bible (=Tora, Tanach) is another, and it in the light of the development of the nation, the people Israel sees. Also it is also pointed out that no critical or political-propagandistically unwanted narrations are omitted over the people Israel and the Bible humanity, (also opposite slaves, arms, protection-ordered), environmental protection, protection before the social and social Degradierung, justice and sympathy transports, always in the sense of a propaganda for the people Israel seen, which is held, itself ethicalally and next-loving to hold back and against other peoples defines itself. In particular there is probably more than 3 millenia of pursuit, only among Biblical peoples, like the Egyptians, Assyrern and Babyloniern, then among the Greeks and Romans, and then 2000 years Christian pursuit up to the Schoa, which could Israel be distributed the people over the entire earth, with considerable portion of the culture.

The rabbinische Judentum lays the Bible out mainly liberally and human being-legally, missioniert and does not operate a culture propaganda, which aims to teach Jews the culture and the wealth of the tradition.

Antique one

In the Greek antique one limited itself propaganda relating to domestic affairs on the personal conviction of other-thinking, particularly in popular assemblies (see Agora, public opinion). With regard to foreign policy authors contributed such as Demosthenes, the antique large masters of the Rhetorik from Athens, substantially to the formation of enemy pictures and legitimacy of martial actions and to the increase of the own nation.

The expansion of the Roman realm however was possible only with the support by intensive propaganda work. Conquest campaigns or Putsche had to be legitimized and financed. A master of this subject was Julius Caesar. In De bello he justified Gallico as field gentleman and was written a coming statesman, (additional) a justification for its complex campaigns against the gallischen master peoples and smoothed thereby the way for the fulfilment of its further ambitions. Also the Catilinares Cicero (speeches against Catilina) and its accusation against Verres (Divinatio in Caecilium, Orationes in rem) were propagandistic eve of the Prinzipats became propaganda a legitimacy means of the Octavian, which brought itself since the civil war with Apollon in connection and established even an impressing Apollontempel directly beside its house, and both buildings with a ramp to connect left. Contrary to Octavian its Konkurent at that time Marcus Antonius in the east of the realm established a Dionysos cult, which could be used by Octavian propagandistically.

Nachbibli turn of an era

The follow-up of the gone down Roman-Greek rule area by the straight developing Christian churches, could take place only by means of political influencing control, Christian wars and Christian propaganda. The time after the destruction of the second more jerusalemer Jewish temple by the Roman crew around 70 and the Kreuzigung of 10000 Jews along the roads of Philistia by the Romans and the following scatter (Diaspora) of the Jews from Palestine entailed the positioning of the Urchristentums away from the Judentum to the Christianity. This happened on the one hand, in order to escape from the anti-Jewish efforts of the Roman culture area and on the other hand, in order to be able to missionieren better and more easily with new religious concepts among the citizens of the Roman-Greek culture area. Since the Christianity is a missionierende religion, was and remains essentially dependent on their Christian propaganda it, although in today's time the Repressionen, violations of human rights and obligation baptism about, at meaning in the sense of the company and fulfilment of propaganda any longer not to exist.

The Middle Ages

Medieval rulers befehligten chroniclers, which should its acts and actions positively represent and to its martial actions a legitimate requirement lend. Religious propaganda were also the many personal records and narrations of Christian holy, in particular beginning with that of the holy Martins. Christian propaganda introduced the enslavement, killing, Pogrome and torture, obligation baptism or Zwangsbekehrungen of innumerable humans of other Ethnien, skin colors or faith since the time of the first centuries after the turn of an era in the Christian culture area so mentioned. If the Christian religious community is world-wide after number of the the largest, then catholic propaganda produced the most serious victims in history after number and cruelty.

Thus Pope Stephan III. ("† 772) had the Langobarden in a letter to the Franconia kings as "„a perfidious and stinking nation"” is denunziert, "„those to the nations is not even counted and from that the their origin to certainly have"”. Indeed Karl the large one, then autocrats of the Frankish realm, already subjected "„the Langobarden in the year 774 and made themselves their king.

Articles in category "Propaganda"

We found here 62 articles.