For two decades after the civil war the Franco regime applied systematic historical propaganda and imposed relentless repression of history professionals. In the 1960s and 1970s, however, the balance shifted from all-pervading propaganda to structural but flexible censorship. Gradually and reluctantly, the regime had to give back the initiative for explaining the recent past to where it belonged: to the professional historians, but not without oversee and livelihood threat. In its efforts to keep control, the regime could count on historians who were willing to censor their more adventurous colleagues. But the outcome of this process was biased and uncertain. The main issue was always whether an author could be considered a friend of the regime. Personal interventions by Franco himself regularly played a decisive role. Historians fully loyal to the regime and its aims were published without difficulty; others took a reformist path, albeit without endangering the dominant interpretation that favoured the tropes of inevitability and positive consequences of Francos rebellion. Reformist historians avoided criticism of the personal integrity of the dictator and the army, and did not address the issue of systematically planned terror in Francos National Zone during the Civil War. Historians who dared to embrace these topics were condemned to write from abroad. Historical works dealing with the Spanish Civil War (19361939) have been regularly studied in-depth. Dutch historian Jan van Muilekom provides a wider perspective by viewing the Franco historiography from the time of the preceding Second Republic (1931-1936). His analysis recognizes the crucial 1939-1952 period where Franco consolidated his seizure of power. The research is based on a wealth of published censored books, unpublished manuscripts, censorship archives and historical propaganda material. The book is an important complement to earlier studies that mainly dealt with the regimes dealing with the press, the film industry and literature. Over a span of four decades, Franco never lost his grip on how recent Spanish history should be read. Exploring the historiography of the regime provides multiple insights into the links between authoritarianism and censorship.

Explaining the means utilised by the editors of the Islamic State's online magazines to win the "hearts and minds" of their audiences, this book is a result of a multidimensional content analysis of two flagship periodicals of the Islamic State: Dabiq and Rumiyah. Drawing from a number of theoretical concepts in propaganda studies, the research uses comparative analysis to understand the evolution of the modus operandi employed by the editorial staff. The volume evaluates the types of arguments used in these magazines, as well as the emotions and behaviour that these triggered in readers. This book concentrates on the formats and thematic composition of a variety of the Islamic State's e-periodicals, including Dabiq, Rumiyah, Dar al-Islam or Konstantiniyye, from the viewpoint of the constantly changing strategic situation and priorities of the "Caliphate." The e-magazines of the post-territorial phase of the Islamic State, e.g. From Dabiq to Rome and Youth of the Caliphate, were also taken into consideration. Overall, this book does not only offer new insights into the propaganda methods of the Islamic State's periodicals, but it also summarises their rise and fall between 2014 and 2019. The volume is dedicated mostly to academics and postgraduate students specialised in terrorism studies, political violence, and security studies.

Communist Propaganda at School is based on an analysis of reading primers from the Soviet bloc and recreates the world as presented to the youngest schoolchildren who started their education between 1949 and 1989 across the nine Eastern European countries. The author argues that those first textbooks, from their first to last pages, were heavily laden with communist propaganda, and that they share similar concepts, techniques and even contents, even if some national specificities can be observed. This volume reconstructs the image of the world presented to schoolchildren in the first books they were required to read in their school life, and argues that the image was charged with communist propaganda. The book is based on the analysis of over sixty reading primers from nine countries of the Soviet bloc: Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia from the period. Written with simplicity and straightforwardness, this book will be a valuable resource, not only to international academics dealing with the issues of propaganda, censorship, education, childhood and everyday life under communism in Eastern and Central Europe, but can also academics dealing with education under communism or with the content of primary education. It also brings educational experiences of the Soviet bloc to international researchers, in particular to researchers of education under totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.

Expatriates posing as detached yet patriotic American commentators, and using the news-of-the-day voice of the stereotypical radio announcer, sought to turn U.S. opinion against the British and achieve the political objectives of their media-savvy employer--master propagandist Paul Josef Goebbels. Riveting biographies in "Berlin Calling" put real names and faces behind the voices of The Georgia Peach, Mr. O.K., Paul Revere, and others. Were they motivated by antipathy towards New Deal programs or were they simply hucksters in search of a payroll check? Ten years on historical research have culminated in a landmark book with intriguing answers to these puzzling questions.

Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of America's entry into World War II, this volume chronicles the careers of eight U.S.A. Zone commentators who worked for Nazi propagandist Josef Goebbels. Drawing upon a variety of documentary sources--letters written by the subjects to family, friends, and colleagues; treason trial transcripts; the contents of the BBC's wartime monitoring service; and FBI case files on the broadcasters--the author explores each broadcaster's political and personal motivations, and the influence of their broadcasts.

Seismic changes in ideology and economic policy in China followed the death of Mao Zedong but one aspect of culture has remained constant: the use of 'Model Workers' for the purposes of propaganda and more recent public relations campaigns. In both a political and commercial context, the use of these individuals continues to thrive, and although the messages they promote have largely changed, their continued use indicates the extent to which they are believed to be an effective form of persuasion. Model Workers were deployed at key points in China's recent history and served to embody the Party's vision of the ideal Chinese citizen as they attempted to reshape the nation following a 'Century of Humiliation,' a ruinous war with Japan and a divisive civil war. This volume utilises the detailed analysis of posters, cinema and translations of related propaganda material to explore the extent of the influence of the Model Worker as a concept, on both propaganda and national policy.

Two defense experts explore the collision of war, politics, and social media, where the most important battles are now only a click away. Through the weaponization of social media, the internet is changing war and politics, just as war and politics are changing the internet. Terrorists livestream their attacks, "Twitter wars" produce real-world casualties, and viral misinformation alters not just the result of battles, but the very fate of nations. The result is that war, tech, and politics have blurred into a new kind of battlespace that plays out on our smartphones. P. W. Singer and Emerson Brooking tackle the mind-bending questions that arise when war goes online and the online world goes to war. They explore how ISIS copies the Instagram tactics of Taylor Swift, a former World of Warcraft addict foils war crimes thousands of miles away, internet trolls shape elections, and China uses a smartphone app to police the thoughts of 1.4 billion citizens. What can be kept secret in a world of networks? Does social media expose the truth or bury it? And what role do ordinary people now play in international conflicts? Delving into the web's darkest corners, we meet the unexpected warriors of social media, such as the rapper turned jihadist PR czar and the Russian hipsters who wage unceasing infowars against the West. Finally, looking to the crucial years ahead, LikeWar outlines a radical new paradigm for understanding and defending against the unprecedented threats of our networked world.

This book offers a unique account of British and United States government's attempts to adapt their propaganda strategies to global terrorist threats in a post-9/11 media environment. It discusses Anglo-American coordination and domestic struggles that brought in far-reaching changes to propaganda. These changes had implications for the structures of legitimacy yet occurred largely in isolation from public debate and raise questions regarding their governance. The author argues that independent and public reexamination of continuing strategy development is essential for government accountability and the formation of systems and policies that both respect citizens and build constructive foreign relations. The book's themes will appeal to a wide readership including scholars and professionals. It draws on illuminating interviews with high-profile British/US sources including journalists, PR professionals and key foreign policy, defence and intelligence personnel. -- .

From the host of The David Pakman Show comes a vital look at how right-wing extremism has led to the fall of critical thinking and rise of reactionary politics—and what we can do about it to save democracy.

Known for providing incisive progressive political analysis without being dogmatic, popular radio and podcast host David Pakman delves into the vicious cycle of reactionary political ideology.

If there is one thing the 2024 election cycle showed us, it’s how the right-wing has benefited and capitalized on disinformation and the polarization of US politics. Critical thinking and media literacy are on a rapid decline, and our republic is unable to agree upon a shared set of facts. Infused with Pakman’s signature pragmatic insight, The Echo Machine is not just a critique nor an instruction manual, but an invitation to think, question, and understand how we got to this point and what we can do to mend our broken system.

Deeply researched and accessibly written, readers will learn:

• The underlying issues with political discourse in America today.
• How these issues have led to the intellectual race to the bottom.
• Practical ways to improve discourse through improving critical thinking, media literacy, and public education.
• Examples from real-world debates and discussions to better understand the impact of these issues on our democracy and why leftism is the best path forward.

Pakman calmly cuts through the alarmist noise to inspire readers across the political spectrum to break out of our toxic political echo chambers and ultimately save our democracy.

In the current day and age, objective facts have less influence on opinions and decisions than personal emotions and beliefs. Many individuals rely on their social networks to gather information thanks to social media's ability to share information rapidly and over a much greater geographic range. However, this creates an overall false balance as people tend to seek out information that is compatible with their existing views and values. They deliberately seek out "facts" and data that specifically support their conclusions and classify any information that contradicts their beliefs as "false news." Navigating Fake News, Alternative Facts, and Misinformation in a Post-Truth World is a collection of innovative research on human and automated methods to deter the spread of misinformation online, such as legal or policy changes, information literacy workshops, and algorithms that can detect fake news dissemination patterns in social media. While highlighting topics including source credibility, share culture, and media literacy, this book is ideally designed for social media managers, technology and software developers, IT specialists, educators, columnists, writers, editors, journalists, broadcasters, newscasters, researchers, policymakers, and students.

Following a remarkable epoch of greater dispersion of wealth and opportunity, we are inexorably returning towards a more feudal era marked by greater concentration of wealth and property, reduced upward mobility, demographic stagnation, and increased dogmatism. If the last seventy years saw a massive expansion of the middle class, not only in America but in much of the developed world, today that class is declining and a new, more hierarchical society is emerging. The new class structure resembles that of Medieval times. At the apex of the new order are two classes-a reborn clerical elite, the clerisy, which dominates the upper part of the professional ranks, universities, media and culture, and a new aristocracy led by tech oligarchs with unprecedented wealth and growing control of information. These two classes correspond to the old French First and Second Estates. Below these two classes lies what was once called the Third Estate. This includes the yeomanry, which is made up largely of small businesspeople, minor property owners, skilled workers and private-sector oriented professionals. Ascendant for much of modern history, this class is in decline while those below them, the new Serfs, grow in numbers-a vast, expanding property-less population. The trends are mounting, but we can still reverse them-if people understand what is actually occurring and have the capability to oppose them.

Seismic changes in ideology and economic policy in China followed the death of Mao Zedong but one aspect of culture has remained constant: the use of 'Model Workers' for the purposes of propaganda and more recent public relations campaigns. In both a political and commercial context, the use of these individuals continues to thrive, and although the messages they promote have largely changed, their continued use indicates the extent to which they are believed to be an effective form of persuasion. Model Workers were deployed at key points in China's recent history and served to embody the Party's vision of the ideal Chinese citizen as they attempted to reshape the nation following a 'Century of Humiliation,' a ruinous war with Japan and a divisive civil war. This volume utilises the detailed analysis of posters, cinema and translations of related propaganda material to explore the extent of the influence of the Model Worker as a concept, on both propaganda and national policy.

This book furthers our understanding of the practice of propaganda with a specific focus on the RussiaGate case. RussiaGate is a discourse about alleged Russian "meddling" in US elections, and this book argues that it functions as disinformation or distraction. The book provides a framework for better understanding of ongoing developments of RussiaGate, linking these to macroconsiderations that rarely enter mainstream accounts. It demonstrates the considerable weaknesses of many of the charges that have been made against Russia by US investigators, and argues that this discourse fails to take account of broader non-transparent persuasion campaigns operating in the election-information environment that are strengthened by social media manipulation. RussiaGate has obscured many of the factors that challenge the integrity of democratic process in the USA. These deserve a much higher priority than any influence that Russia may want to exert. The book concludes that RussiaGate discourse needs to be contextualized with reference to a long-established broader competition between great powers for domination of EurAsia. This pitches the US/European Union against Russia/China and perhaps, ultimately, even the USA against Europe. This book will be of much interest to students of media and communication studies, propaganda studies, US politics, Russian politics, and International Relations in general.

"Bernays' honest and practical manual provides much insight into some of the most powerful and influential institutions of contemporary industrial state capitalist democracies."--Noam Chomsky

"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country."--Edward Bernays, "Propaganda"

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." During World War I, he was an integral part of the U.S. Committee on Public Information (CPI), a powerful propaganda apparatus that was mobilized to package, advertise and sell the war to the American people as one that would "Make the World Safe for Democracy." The CPI would become the blueprint in which marketing strategies for future wars would be based upon.

Bernays applied the techniques he had learned in the CPI and, incorporating some of the ideas of Walter Lipmann, became an outspoken proponent of propaganda as a tool for democratic and corporate manipulation of the population. His 1928 bombshell "Propaganda" lays out his eerily prescient vision for using propaganda to regiment the collective mind in a variety of areas, including government, politics, art, science and education. To read this book today is to frightfully comprehend what our contemporary institutions of government and business have become in regards to organized manipulation of the masses.

This is the first reprint of "Propaganda" in over 30 years and features an introduction by Mark Crispin Miller, author of "The Bush Dyslexicon: Observations on a National Disorder."

Based on a combination of a wide range of second-hand sources with previously unknown archival material from Spain, Britain, France and the United States, this book explores the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 as a propaganda battle aimed mainly at foreign public opinion. It shows how both Nationalists and Republicans used the experiences of previous conflicts such as World War I, as well as that of their totalitarian allies, in order to set up a number of propaganda and censorship services with the goal of persuading foreign -- and specifically British -- audiences of the legitimacy of their causes, and of the need to give them political, military, and relief assistance. The propaganda messages designed by both sides -- ranging from the atrocities committed by the enemy to illegal foreign intervention on its behalf -- are analysed in detail, together with the techniques that were employed to transmit these messages: eye-witness accounts, official commissions, unofficial missions of investigation, documentaries, art exhibitions, etc. As to the impact of both campaigns on the British population, the author argues that their crude nature helped to mobilise both the extreme right and the extreme left, but alienated the great majority, who preferred to rally to the Non-Intervention policy adopted by the Baldwin and Chamberlain governments. The chronicle of this relatively neglected topic demonstrates not only the utter modernity of the Spanish conflict, but also the origin of some of the arguments still employed by current historians of the war.

Psychological Warfare is by no means a new concept in warfare. To the layman however, this particular aspect of armed conflict has seldom been greeted with understanding, or even acknowledgment. Accordingly, not enouh has been broadly or factually disseminated upon the subject to date. Seeds of Victoy explores in detail the component mechanics of an intensely orchestrated Psychological Warfare campaign, while utilizing the most recent formant of the Persian Gulf War as a case in point for understanding. The tremendous scale of the Persian Gulf War's Psychological Warfare campaign is evidenced by the fact that long before Coalition soldiers fired the first shots in that conflict a different class of army had already ben assembled for months and was fiercely locked in a pitched battle for dominance over Saddam Hussein's citizens and soldiers alike. Far away from blaring headlines and flashy newscasts, violent, graphic images of warfare, civil unrest, starvation, disease, and death were systematically bombarding Saddam Hussein's Empire in wave upon wave of leaflet and radio assoults. That provocative campaign of psychological attrition and dominance is documented within this text through personal intervies with some of the commanders and soldiers who orchestrated and executed that campaign. Their experiences will accompany the reader from the earliest planning and developmental stages, through the production and into the final dissemination phases of demoralization. As a reference source, this text is of historical significance, as it documents in exacting detail the many deceptive Psychological Warfare campaign methodologies and strategies which incited wide spread desertions and mutiny among as many as 150,000 front-line Iraqi combat troops, many of whom were battle hardened veterans of the fierce eight year war with Iran. Seeds of Victory is also unique, in that it has already demonstrated its value within the professional realm of the Psychological Warfare community, since its having been officially adapted by the United States Army's Psychological Warfare Group Command as an instructional and reference work for use within their company-level units.

This timely book presents a multifaceted look at war, media, and propaganda from international perspectives. Focusing on the media's role in global conflicts, prominent authors, journalists, scholars, and researchers provide an insightful overview of the impact of globalization on media practices. They examine the processes behind media coverage of war, sophisticated propaganda techniques, the dynamics of public opinion, and the effects on human affairs and communication. As the book moves through theoretical discussions to regional and national views, it explores cultural-political implications for the United States and other countries around the world, concluding with recommendations and solutions to key problems of media globalization.

First published in French in 1939, and later in English in 1940, this work by the author, analyses and strongly critiques the effect of Nazi propaganda on the psychology of the masses. By bringing together the political and the psychological, the author refers to the use of propaganda in order to serve the ends of a handful of men as 'psychical rape' and warns that this phenomenon cannot be attributed solely to the Nazi regime. The English translation was updated to account for the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. It will be of great interest to anyone studying the Second World War, Nazism, Fascism and the psychology of propaganda.

With the future of American democracy in the balance, this is a detailed and forensic account of what really happened on that fateful day: January 6th 2021.

Denver Riggleman, the first member of Congress to sound the alarm about QAnon, provides readers with an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the January 6th select committee’s investigation – and reveals shocking details about the Trump White House’s links to militant extremist groups.

Featuring alarming text messages from key political leaders – including those sent during the almost eight-hour period on January 6th when the White House supposedly had no phone calls – The Breach is a revelatory insight into the inner workings of the January 6th committee and a clear-eyed look at the existential threats facing the United States.

Make no mistake: modern information warfare is here, and The Breach is essential reading to understand the most serious assault on American democracy since the end of the Civil War.

Public opinion is an important factor affecting the political decision-making process. In almost every community, the ones in power-no matter what type of political system is established-want to be aware of the ideas and opinions of the rules regarding policies that they have implemented. The factors that take part in the determination of public opinion must be explored further. Political Propaganda, Advertising, and Public Relations: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential reference source that discusses public opinion on policies as well as political communication activities. Featuring research on topics such as campaign management, branding, and political marketing, this book is ideally designed for campaign managers, social media mangers, government officials, advertisers, media consultants, public relations specialists, researchers, politicians, academicians, and students seeking coverage on current technological trends and political communication.

Visual Propaganda, Exhibitions, and the Spanish Civil War is a history of art during wartime that analyzes images in various media that circulated widely and were encountered daily by Spaniards on city walls, in print, and in exhibitions. Tangible elements of the nation's past"monuments, cultural property, and art-historical icons"were displayed in temporary exhibitions and museums, as well as reproduced on posters and in print media, to rally the population, define national identity, and reinvent distant and recent history. Artists, political-party propagandists, and government administrators believed that images on the street, in print, and in exhibitions would create a community of viewers, brought together during the staging of public exhibitions to understand their own roles as Spaniards. This book draws on extensive archival research, brings to light unpublished documents, and examines visual propaganda, exhibitions, and texts unavailable in English. It engages with questions of national self-definition and historical memory at their intersections with the fine arts, visual culture, exhibition history, tourism, and propaganda during the Spanish Civil War and immediate post-war period, as well as contemporary responses to the contested legacy of the Spanish Civil War. It will be of interest to scholars in art history, visual and cultural history, history, and museum studies.

Ultimately these cross purposes brought disaster, pulling a fatally weak and woefully unprepared Ottoman state into a global war, and unleashing vicious, internal ethnic repression that brought it defeat and dismemberment. The diaries and official reports of German spy and propagandist Curt Prufer - translated here into English in their entirety for the first time - chronicle the complexities of the fragile Ottoman-German alliance from the perspective of a participant. Much like fellow soldier-scholar T.E. Lawrence, Prufer and his colleagues tried to steal the loyalties of the Muslim subjects of the opposing sides. The book explores these episodes of sabotage, subversion and subterfuge - from managing spies to preparing for the attack on the Suez Canal in 1915 - and in the process sheds light onto the ways World War I played out across the Middle East. Complemented throughout by in-depth and meticulously researched footnotes, this primary source collection is an invaluable addition to the extant corpus of late Ottoman and World War I historical documents.

Was Nazi wartime propaganda a 'totalitarian' mechanism that controlled the perceptions of the Germans? Was it as effective as generally thought? Did it 'win' the psychological war over the minds of the population? Was Joseph Goebbels the 'mastermind' of the Third Reich? This book analyzes the factors that determined the organization, conduct and output of Nazi propaganda during World War II, in an attempt to re-assess previously inflated perceptions about the influence of Nazi propaganda and the role of the regime's propagandists in the outcome of the 1939-45 military conflict.

Most current research on the evolution of China's propaganda discourse only touches upon recent variations of official propaganda rhetoric grounded in popular media. Here, the research is extended by tapping into the most recently released popular cultural media narratives such as online documentaries, films, TV drama serials and education programs, all of which are enlisted and co-opted by the state for propaganda goals. This book maps out the cutting-edge expansions of official propaganda that are embedded in the entertainment industry of contemporary China. Its case studies bring to light the progression of the mainstream propaganda discourse in terms of its merging, cooperation and compromise with the commercial features of both the traditional and newly-emerging entertainment media. In particular, it examines a group of mass entertainment products which include two best-selling mainstream blockbusters, two on-line commercial web documentaries, the China Central Television Moon Festival Gala series, socialist revolutionary TV drama serials, and a prime time science and education program. In so doing, it forefronts the up-to-date developments and novelties of state propaganda: its motives, reasoning and approaches within the mediasphere of today's China. Illustrating how the CCP propaganda apparatus and tactics evolve and become embedded in popular media products, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Chinese studies, Media Studies and Popular Cultural Studies.