Propaganda is a basic tool of the society we live in. It's everywhere, the signs on our lawns during elections years, the people we watch on TV, the shows we listen to on the radio. While the term "Propaganda" its self has connotations of wartime posters and campaigns like the one pictures above, it is, at its core, a marketing tool designed to distribute information. This information can be, and usually is, biased, intentionally misleading, or only a half truth. Using these tactics the parties controlling the release and distribution of this propaganda are able to promote political and financial agendas, products and people, as well as exercise a degree of control over the opinions and beliefs of their consumers.
When we think of propaganda, typically we think of things like the campaign above, which was circulated during World War II in a effort to encourage citizens to carpool in order to reserve resources like fuel for the war effort. Posters like this one were designed to rally the American people against our common enemy, bolstering their sense of patriotism and national pride in order to increase support for the war effort. Many of these campaigns permanently affected the fabric of out country, and some even entered the common vernacular. The phrase "Loose Lips Sink Ships" first made an appearance during the second world war, warning the public of the danger of spies in their midst, encouraging them to keep any potentially delicate information to themselves to minimize the risk that it would fall into enemy hands and endanger our troops. Today, it has a similar meaning, and is often used to prevent people from sharing information that may jeopardize a mission, whether that mission is a highly classified operation or just a surprise birthday party.
Propaganda, especially when produced during war time, often makes use of a very particular set of marketing techniques, one of the most prominent being fear mongering. It is very common for propaganda to place a heavy emphasis on the idea of an "Us" vs "Them" dynamic, and the vast differences between the two parties. Most propaganda campaigns show these differences to the consumers with implied messages like "You don't want to be like Them, do you?" or "If you don't do this, you're no better than Them." This alienation of the enemy is often accompanied by a certain amount of racism, usually in the form of demeaning stereotypes. These stereotypes are usually mocked either through the particular phrasing of the propaganda, or through the art that accompanies it, often in the form of exaggerated caricatures designed to alienate the races and cultures currently designated as The Enemy.
Propaganda doesn't only thrive during outright war times though. It is often used during times of tension, such as the Cold War. The Cold War birthed many different campaigns, ranging from posters that instructed families to have a plan in place in case of nuclear fallout to encouragement to turn in neighbors or acquaintances suspected of collusion with the ever present Enemy, in this case, Russia.
While propaganda certainly has its uses, namely rallying support and a sense of pride from the masses, it also has several drawbacks, which include the tendency of propaganda to encourage people to point fingers and shift blame, especially towards those that they consider to be "Other". It can stick around for generations, altering our speech and insinuating itself into or culture. It is, simply put, a tool, and its nature depends largely on the acts, and intentions, of the individual or government who wields it.
Sources: https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/gi-roundtable-series/pamphlets/em-2-what-is-propaganda-(1944)/the-story-of-propaganda
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