Propaganda Devices DEFINITION
Propaganda makes use of a collection of devices and tricks intended to influence your thinking. What follows is a compendium of these techniques synthesized from several sources. Some of them are related and may overlap. Learning to recognize these techniques can go a long way toward immunizing yourself from the effects of propaganda.
PURPOSE
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence an audience and further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information ...
Limitations
Limitations of Propaganda:
The powers of the propaganda are not unlimited. Propaganda, however sophisticated it may be, has its own limitations. Some of the limits of propaganda are mentioned below.
1. Competing propagandas seem to be a great limiting factor. The mere existence of competing propagandas, particularly in a democratic set up, restrains the influence of the propagandists.
2. The credibility of the propagandists in the eyes of its receivers is of great importance. It is indeed a limiting factor. If the propagandist has a vested interest, the credibility of his propaganda naturally gets reduced when the receivers discern it.
3. The sophistication of the receivers limits the effects of propaganda. It can be generalised, that more educated and informed people are less affected by propaganda than the uneducated and poorly informed people.
4. The beliefs and values of the recipients also place some limits on the effects of propaganda. People normally accept any kind of propaganda if it fits into their beliefs and values or attitudes and reject even uncritically if that propaganda conflicts with their beliefs.
5. Cultural drafts and trends will have their influence on propaganda. A cultural drift cannot easily be stopped by propaganda. However, it may speed up or weaken the cultural drift. It is doubtful whether the propaganda is capable of initiating or halting a cultural trend, destroy a well-established value or, instill a view for which the society is not looking for at the moment.
