We now and then read in the media or hear on TV that certain political forces are engaged in propaganda. It is intuitively clear that we are talking about the dissemination of information. What does the word "promote" mean? Is it a term that has a positive or negative meaning? Let's look through the reference books and figure it out together so as not to fall for the bait of manipulators who take advantage of general illiteracy.
What does it mean to promote
In explanatory dictionaries it is written that our term speaks of the dissemination of any information. To propagandize is to carry out intentional actions in order to convey a certain idea to the masses. Synonyms of the term: "disseminate", "agitate", "popularize", "inflate brains". Perhaps only the last phrase is clearly negative and is associated with deceit.
Let's tryGet to the bottom of an example. After all, propaganda is not advertising in the literal sense. These are just adjacent areas, although both actions have traits of aggressiveness. Popularization is slightly different in that it is carried out on a voluntary basis. And the distribution can be both aggressive and not. But all these concepts are considered similar to each other, describing similar behavior. Let's try to approach from a different angle and parse the example.
Political propaganda
In a democratic society, there are parties and other organizations that try to win over as many people as possible to their side. Their goal is to come to power. Propaganda is also a tool.
Every political player is interested in the growth of the number of supporters, but the majority of people are not particularly fond of politics. They are busy with life, earning money, entertainment and the like. Players have to explain their ideas, that is, to propagate. This process is complex and laborious. In order for people to be imbued with an idea, it must be of interest. This is where the advertising phase comes in. Interested people should not be let go, otherwise they will forget about the idea. Therefore, people need to be presented with the material in such a way that they would be imbued with it, sick with their souls, so to speak. This is the stage of agitation and popularization. Further, the electorate should be involved in common activities. Other methods are used for this.
We have succeeded that to propagandize is to simultaneously (or gradually) advertise, popularize and agitate.
Out of politics
People at all times offered their ideas to the public. This was done in order to give the world something new, previously unknown. Today, such activities have become widespread. People are inherently kind and generous. They want to draw the attention of others to progressive thought, thereby contributing to changing the world for the better. The propagated values, as a rule, are some kind of innovation, the product of the creativity of one person or group. And far from always they can be attributed to politics, on the contrary. More often, a certain society gives rise to a cultural idea and carries it into the world. The technology is still the same. You need to go through all the indicated stages:
- alert or advertisement;
- attraction or promotion;
- holding or campaigning.
Ask, where is the last synonym for "inflate brains" hidden? It should be sought in goal setting. We consider the ideal case when propagandists wish to make humanity happy with their idea. But this is not always the case. If people are trying to deceive the attention of the population, then this is brainwashing.
Conclusion
Propaganda is to carry out activities to attract the attention of others to a certain idea. Its essence lies in recruiting adepts, supporters of a certain value or thought. And whether the purpose of propaganda is true or false, should be de alt with individually.
