Propaganda: History and Connotations

Often times when we hear the word "propaganda" we think of the 20th century definition of the word: "dissemination of information—facts, arguments, rumours, half-truths, or lies—to influence public opinion."  This definition is accurate for almost all uses of propaganda within the last century, especially during WWI, WWII, and The Cold War.  When studying these periods of European and Asian history there are many examples of propaganda being used by every major country in this way.  China, the Soviet Union, Germany, and the United States are generally the first four that come to mind.  Despite the heavy political and generally negative connotations of the word today, propaganda was originally a religious term used by the Pope in the 17th century to spread Catholicism to non-Catholic countries and regions.  At this time it was a fairly neutral word, if not a positively associated one.  Barbara Diggs-Brown describes this on page 48 of Strategic Public Relations: An Audience-Centered Approach.  Whatever the use and purpose of propaganda, it has undeniably shaped public opinions for better or worse throughout history, and even today it is still used as a tool to advance agendas.

Online Presence and Footprint

In the digital age almost everyone has an online presence.  Whether you know it or not, it is very likely that there is information or records of you on the internet.  Here is a prime example of someone being unaware of their online presence for most of her life.  Many people of both young and old generations are now avid social media users, and this means they will post about daily life, major events (whether personal or world events), careers, hobbies, vacations, and the list goes on.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, although, it often pays to be careful about what you post and the information contained in a post.  Privacy policies can change, user agreements can change, and as we have learned with Facebook: promises mean nothing to tech companies.  One way to be sure you are protected (at least from the public's eyes) is to make all social media accounts private, and only connect with people you know.  Another tip to put into practice is to not share your location when you post.  This will help limit the availability of your information.  A good thing to do if you are an avid social media user is to do an online self-audit.  Go through all of your social media posts and accounts and make sure your account is private, and you are not sharing any more information than you want to.