A weapon of mass persuasion

The word propaganda is often used these days to mean lies.

However, the word propaganda was first used many years ago by the Roman Catholic Church to describe the spreading of what it regards as the Truth.

From a technical point-of-view, propaganda is the production and spreading of spoken, written, pictographic or video material intended to change the way people see things, notably from an ideological perspective. Propaganda is a tool that is used in war and in war-like situations. It is part of “the war of the mind” .

White propaganda consists of facts described from a particular viewpoint. Its purpose is both to inform and to influence. Depending upon circumstances, it seeks to influence its audience's political opinions and/or to raise morale in the face of adversity. White propaganda tells the truth, but it concentrates on facts that are relevant to its message.
Its object is to change the way people see things so they will eventually act, whether in a passive or an active manner. E.g. passive or active resistance to a tyranny.

Black propaganda is disinformation. It targets an enemy. Its task is to deceive. Its common purpose is to disorientate, demoralise and divide. It may, for instance, aim to divide by causing distrust between different groups or allies, by undermining confidence in leaders, and so on. This can most easily be carried out by double agents — people who are active in the democratic movement but who are secretly working for the SPDC.
Kim Philby, a high-ranking member of British counter-intelligence, worked secretly for the Soviets. In addition to passing on extremely valuable secrets to them, he also did much to disrupt cooperation between British and American secret services during WWII, by sowing distrust. Where there are distinctions along national, ethnic or religious lines, it is usually quite easy for a skilful operator to encourage or to multiply bad feeling between the groups.

Black propaganda sometimes targets enemy decision-makers, via their intelligence organisations, with the intention of causing them to make the wrong decisions (wrong for them, right for us). In war-time, it may be part of a much larger deception plan using other techniques such as dummy troops and equipment, bogus radio traffic, false information from captured spies who have been “turned around” , etc.

Black propaganda must consist largely of true facts, facts that are of interest and of some use to the enemy. Otherwise, the enemy will pay no attention to it, and he will not be deceived by the deliberately wrong facts that are woven in with the truth. There is a trade-off between how much useful information to give away and the importance of the results of successful deception.

Dictatorships put out black propaganda. Dictators wage an undeclared war against their own people. Their object is to deceive their enemy, the people. Senior-General Than Shwe specialised in psychological warfare, so we can be certain he attaches importance to this subject.

The most important sector of the population to the regime is the armed forces and in particular the officers. It is assumed that much attention is given to their indoctrination. This must be studied and effective responses formulated. Clandestine means of spreading the counter-propaganda are needed.

The Burmese democracy movement should fine-hone its propaganda skills in order to effectively influence various target groups, including battalion-level Tatmadaw officers.

Images are an extremely important medium for propaganda. They can be still images, often in the form of posters or postcards, or cinematograph pictures, which in these days can be easily and widely distributed on digital supports such as DVDs.

A cause without images is not only a misunderstood cause, but is already a lost cause.
— Robert Capa

Important points for the propagandist

The work of the propagandist distinguishes itself from that of the ordinary journalist in that the former is working for change, while the latter is part of the market — he is working to earn a living by pleasing his editor and his readers. The propagandist may be a writer, a pamphleteer, an artist, a photographer, or a film producer. He or she may be a committed journalist, who seeks to influence people in order to change things.

In “the west” , relative freedoms and blurred distinctions between major political parties (increasingly the pawns of international finance) have encouraged the view that the journalist should be an impartial observer. The impartial journalist is a reporter who seeks to record the opinions from all sides, leaving readers to draw such conclusions as they wish. (He can be compared to the intelligence agent whose task it is to faithfully record what he sees and hears without attempting to interpret his discoveries — that must be left to the intelligence analysts who can draw on multiple sources)
This approach is unlikely to galvanise people into doing anything.

Western media often seem to pander to a form of voyeurism where viewers derive satisfaction from the misfortunes of others (“it's not us” ) or else are comforted in their feeling of being helpless victims to circumstances beyond their control. A surfeit of information, and a grey confusion. There is lacking a spark to kindle idealism, and action.

People may risk their lives for an ideal. They will not risk their lives for unclear issues.

The propagandist believes that change is both desirable and possible. He is an idealist who seeks to instill his ideal in others. With this in mind, he promotes shifts of attitude, as necessary, by degrees.

We can draw inspiration and ideas from other times and other places, but to be effective it is necessary to relate and adapt these to the very different conditions of the here and now.

Belief is the mainspring of action. Where a positive belief has become established, action and means can follow. The three elements are interdependent.

Writers and artists have a vital role to play in liberating people from the clutches of dictators — this is the first and primordial task — and, secondly, from the control of those vested interests which manipulate the democracies for their own selfish ends. Without this second liberation, humanity will continue to dig itself into its own grave.

Some of Churchill's speeches can be classed as propaganda. Though Churchill's view of democracy and human rights are narrow by today's standards, they are not altogether discreditable in someone of aristocratic background who had been an army officer in India at the height of empire. His foresight, long before 1939, of the dangers confronting the democracies was not shared by most, who applauded Chamberlain's promise of “Peace in our time” in return for the sell-out of Czechoslovakia. Yet he cautioned his collaborators “We must not get too far ahead of public opinion.”
When defeat comes, in 1940, his determined, gravelly voice exhorts the people to stand up to the bombardment soon to be unleashed upon them “like the brave men of Barcelona” and encourages a desire to fight on, if need be, to the bitter end. Frequent references to the United States show that he has one eye firmly fixed on influencing American public opinion, which is hostile to any involvement in the war.

Written propaganda can include novels. Vercor's Le Silence de la Mer [The Silence of the Sea] — a figurative title, the story having nothing to do with the sea — is a classic example. It was written in 1941 and was printed and distributed clandestinely by the French underground. It discourages any fraternisation with members of the occupying forces.

And song ... Who can tell how many men and women were influenced by a song to risk their lives for the cause

From the Song of the Partisans, widely adopted by the French Resistance. It was composed and sung by Anna Marly — of whom General de Gaulle said “She turned her talent into a weapon for France” — and was broadcast on the French service of the BBC; and also printed on leaflets dropped by the RAF.

Revolutionary Spain and the Government of the Spanish Republic made extensive use of posters, postcards, illustrated brochures and postage stamps as a means to foster support for their struggle against the fascist military rebellion. Depending upon the target, these might be in a number of languages : Spanish, Catalan, French, English, German ...

Some of David Low's cartoons in the London Evening Standard of the 1930s and 1940s can be described as propaganda. David Low was on the nazis' list of those to be liquidated when Britain had been conquered.

‘Orientation’ films of the series Why We Fight, produced for the US army by Frank Capra are good examples of the use of this medium. They were put together mainly from existing newsreel footage of the various belligerent countries, allied and hostile.

(Frank Capra was an American film producer of Italian origin, not to be confused with Robert Capa, the American war photographer of Hungarian origin)

Special Operations Executive, formed in response to the British Prime Minister's instruction to“set Europe ablaze”, trained operatives who were infiltrated into nazi-occupied countries, and these in turn trained—and arranged supplies to—the resistance groups that were forming there, as well as creating their own “circuits” . While now dated as regards outlook, circumstances and technical means, the SOE's LECTURE NOTES ON PROPAGANDA contain some advice that is relevant to this day. Their shortcoming is that they focus exclusively on the simplest and most accessible form of propaganda for the ordinary agent—the leaflet—and are without reference to the use of images.
Lecture notes not included here cover methods then available of reproduction and distribution and also refer to anonymous chain-letters (considered to be very effective), stickers, graffitti, and rumours; and also to the defacement of enemy propaganda.

“Democracies should not be ashamed of selling democracy. Democracies purport to represent consensus through persuasion, they respect individual human rights, freedom of opinion and freedom of expression and, when they have the courage of their convictions, they oppose those who would deny those rights. They are not faultless, nor, as we have seen, are they beyond using ‘dirty tricks’ — especially in wars against their enemies. But since their enemies are invariably non-democracies or non-democratic factions, they sometimes have to fight fire with fire.”
British Propaganda in the Twentieth Century — Selling Democracy
by Philip M. Taylor, Professor of Communications Studies, University of Leeds.
Published by Edinburgh University Press, 1999.

“In the year 1915, the enemy started his propaganda among our soldiers. From 1916 it steadily became more intensive and at the beginning of 1918, it had swollen into a storm cloud. One could now see the effects of this gradual seduction. Our soldiers learned to think the way the enemy wanted them to think.”
Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf,
quoted by Professor Taylor in Munitions of the Mind — A history of propaganda from the ancient world to the present day, 3rd edition,
Manchester University Press, 2003.

“Intelligent men must realize that propaganda is the modern instrument by which they can fight for productive ends and help to bring order out of chaos.”
Propaganda
by Edward Bernays.
Originally published by H. Liveright, New York, 1928.

“"...the danger of man's destruction by propaganda is serious...propaganda is undoubtedly the most formidable power, acting in only one direction (toward the destruction of truth and freedom)...”
Jacques Ellul in Propaganda — The formation of men's attitudes, Vintage Books, New York, English translation of a 1962 French original.
This book contains much valuable material, but Professor Ellul sees propaganda as only negative, as a tool for the enslavement of the many by a few. This is a one-sided view. If propaganda helped to enslave France in 1940 by undermining French morale, it also helped to liberate France in 1944 through encouraging widespread resistance.

In Burma today, the many are reduced to abject slavery by a few. Propaganda — white propaganda — can help unite and guide them in a common cause, and may encourage the ‘prison warders’ to turn against their chiefs.

1.	Propaganda must be absolutely clear in its meaning and to-the-point in its explanation. No ambiguity can be tolerated. To illustrate : The message that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi recently chalked up outside her house has been translated into English as ALL MARTYRS MUST FINISH THEIR MISSION, by which she means that they must continue to completion of the task. But the English version can be misunderstood—or deliberately misinterpreted—to mean the opposite, that they must terminate their mission, i.e. give up the struggle.
2.	Images, if well chosen, can have more impact than text alone. Both have their place.
3.	The spoken word, if delivered with force and conviction, carries more weight than the written word.
4.	The written word reinforces what is heard by the ear, because it can be read over and over again (repetition), and is easily passed on to others (diffusion).
5.	Thanks to audio tapes and CDs, repetition and diffusion of the spoken word is now readily accessible, and is to be encouraged. The target audience must of course have the means to listen to the recordings.
6.	Motion pictures distributed on CDs and DVDs offer still further possibilities for influencing people.
7.	Repetition on a theme, with variation of content, assists persuasion.