NCJ Number
118502
Date Published
1989
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This chapter identifies the elements of propaganda and suggests how to analyze it, followed by some propaganda examples.
Abstract
Four elements in propaganda are the target of the deception, usually an audience to be hyped; the medium through which the message is delivered, often a surrogate hit team; the purpose, always an effort to transform political behavior; and the truth. When press releases are analyzed, the authors reveal themselves through their language. An analysis must be free of any cultural bias and have a comprehensive understanding of the region from which the propaganda is issued. Additionally, analysts should look for inconsistencies or language paradoxes. An example of an analysis of a press release is provided: an advertisement that Khomeini's Iranian government placed in a major American newspaper. Propaganda examples provided are Cuba's attempt to destabilize Ecuador in 1981 through its response to 31 armed Cubans who stormed the Ecuadorian embassy in Havana seeking political asylum; the use of the theft of Che Guevara's "lost" diaries in Bolivian politics, and the Soviets' use of disinformation to implicate American intelligence in Sikh terrorism against the Indian State. Soviet disinformation techniques are discussed as is the Panamanian link to an American effort at disinformation regarding Nicaragua. Also described is the collapse of the Public Safety Program of the Agency for International Development (American training of foreign police) due to propaganda. 21 notes.