World War I Propaganda Techniques

Definition: Type of communication that is used to shape public opinion. Its purpose is to persuade using exaggerations and distortions rather than the truth to convey a message. It usually appeals to emotions rather than reason.

Propaganda Technique #1

Links a person, or idea, to a negative label. Links a person, or idea, to a negative label. Hopes the audience will reject the person or idea on the basis of the negative label, instead of looking at the evidence. Hopes the audience will reject the person or idea on the basis of the negative label, instead of looking at the evidence. Ex. of bad names – calling all Germans “Huns” during WWI. Ex. of bad names – calling all Germans “Huns” during WWI.

Propaganda Technique #2

Carries over the authority and prestige of something we respect and revere to something the propagandist want us to accept. Ex. Most of us revere our nation. If the propagandist succeeds in giving the appearance of the nation’s approval for some program, he, therefore, transfers the authority and prestige of the nation to that program. Ex. If Uncle Sam represents a consensus of public opinion, and if Uncle Sam approves of a military program, then the nation as a whole must also approve the program.

Propaganda Technique #3

By using this technique, propagandists convince their audience that their ideas are the people’s ideas. Ex. During WWI posters pictured ordinary people demonstrating extraordinary ability.

Appeals to the desire, common to most of us, to follow the crowd. To do this, the propagandists appeals to areas that are already common ties (nationality, religion, race, sex, vocation, etc.) Ex. Everyone one else is doing it - so should you!

Using words and pictures that appeal to emotions such as fear, anger, sympathy and patriotism.

IN Activity: WWI Propaganda During WWI, nations on both sides of the conflict used extensive propaganda to influence people’s opinions about the many facets Of the war. Select one of the following propaganda activities to complete on the left side of your notebook: 1) Create your own original propaganda poster to address one of the WWI topics below: (use color!) Causes of the war Conscription (the draft) Role of women Life on the home-front 2) Using the Internet for research, create an exhibit of 4 examples of wartime propaganda, each addressing different issues. For each example of propaganda, write a 2-sentence summary to identify the piece and explain its significance.

Poster Credits U.S. Library of Congress Good links to propaganda posters