Propaganda, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is “information, ideas, opinions, or images, often only giving one part of an argument, that are broadcast, or in some other way spread with the intention of influencing people’s opinions“.[1] It is a powerful and potentially dangerous word that infiltrates our lives daily from every angle, including word of mouth, television, newspapers, the internet and all mobile devices. Propaganda can be used innocently to persuade a simple act: “The best fish and chips are sold on our High Street”. However, propaganda can create fear and control with catastrophic outcomes. Today’s ever-advancing technological platforms, which now includes artificial Intelligence(AI), allow propaganda not to spread to thousands of people but to unfurl its potential disinformation to billions of people.
Propaganda has been around for centuries; the battle for control of human minds is probably as old as human history. In the sixteenth century, both Queen Elizabeth of England and Philip II of Spain used propaganda by distributing pamphlets, plays and word of mouth to spread false stories of success in their wars. During World War I, the US Government deceived the press by providing misinformation to make the war seem desirable. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were associated with dangerous propaganda, specifically during World War II. The practice of propaganda is not exclusive to wars; we have recently seen propaganda throughout the Corona Virus pandemic.
“The function of propaganda does not lie in the scientific training of the individual, but in calling the attention of the masses to certain facts, processes, necessities, whose significance is for the first time placed within their field of vision… All propaganda must be popular, and its intellectual level must be adjusted to the most limited intelligence among those it is addressed to… In consequence of these facts, all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan’’[2].
Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi party, wanted the backing of his people and from 1929 to 1945, he censored all broadcasts, publications and spoken material. In 1933 Joseph Goebbels[3], Hitler’s trusted friend was appointed Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. In this capacity, Goebbels was to paint Hitler favourably, regulating media, creating anti-Semitism, burning anti-German books and producing propaganda films, pamphlets and other supportive Nazi ideals. The monstrous anti-Semitism propaganda was the ultimate catalyst in causing the genocide of six million Jews, including more than a million Jews in Ukraine alone. Hitler used dangerous propaganda to control his subjects, forcing people to obey his ideals and millions of innocent people were murdered.
During World War II, Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Union’s Secretary General of the Communist Party and Premier of the Soviet State, used posters and media to dictate the Communist Party’s ideology throughout society. Some posters showed atrocities by German forces while reinforcing the belief that the Soviet Army could win this conflict. Anyone who went against Communistic policies were arrested with severe punishment and mandatorily sent into the Soviet army or to the Gulag. The Gulag were forced labour camps and prisons that kept convicts who disagreed with Communist Party views. From 1929 until Stalin died in 1953, An estimated 14 million people passed through the Gulag[4], and approximately one-and-a-half million people were killed. Stalin had managed his people with propaganda forcing citizens to slaughter hundreds of thousands of contravening fellow nationals.
Hitler and Stalin used a crude and basic technology platform available at the time to spread their propaganda. Today, with the internet, propaganda can influence a far bigger audience.
Recently, the Coronavirus, first identified to the public by China in December 2019, was one such example. Arguably, as we have not seen a World War, the Coronavirus is the most significant Global catastrophe in our lifetime. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO)[5], the Coronavirus killed almost 7 million people worldwide, with that number expected to rise.
I was introduced to the Corona Virus via WhatsApp in January 2020. My friend is Chinese, and her father works for the Chinese Government. She warned me that the Coronavirus was to be taken very seriously as the Chinese Government were forcibly placing people suspected of having Coronavirus into purpose-built facilities. They were locking up the living, with no one coming out alive. My newfound information erupted with thoughts that this was the end of the world and could wipe out humanity. Images from China on the internet followed shortly, showing people being forcibly removed from their homes. My source had to be correct. Within seven days, I purchased hazmat suits for my family, a separate fridge, gloves, masks, antibacterial products and a year’s worth of canned food, toilet paper and water. I believed the propaganda because I could now see evidence on the internet. At the time, I had information from my friend in China; I had seen visual images and took this information as truth, not propaganda.
The UK went into its first mandatory lockdown on 23 March 2020. We were quickly bombarded with psychological information from the British Government via social media, tv, radio, billboards and texts. The messages were everywhere and endless, travelling like wildfire. There were regulations we thought were laws which included lockdowns, face masks, you could walk to your sit in a restaurant with a mask on but could take it off when you sat down, not being allowed to work, not attending schools and universities, restricted travel, vaccinations, social distancing, and not going to the hospital unless necessary. Images of people wearing face masks to “save lives”; students told that if you broke the rules, “you would kill granny”; images of Covid patients in hospitals on oxygen masks dying and saying we must keep two metres away from others. This propaganda was drilled into us to such an extent that society started self-regulating, causing a paranoid pariah attitude. The UK Government did not have the facts to back up the policies they enforced on the population, with disobedience leading to punitive action.
The aftermath has been overwhelming, resulting in increased deaths from being unable to seek medical care for diseases and illnesses; coercion to take the vaccine, which killed many people and now some are suing the government; mental suffering, not being able to see loved ones or friends, people died alone; weddings and funerals were limited in numbers or cancelled; social workers who couldn’t see vulnerable children, one child was murdered recently because a social worker was not allowed to visit a vulnerable two-year-old during the pandemic[6]; children who couldn’t attend school have lost social skills; the economic impact of not being able to run your business; debt increased; suicides increased; drug and gambling addiction grew; the cost of living increase was not assisted by the Bounce Back UK Government Loan Scheme which as of 31 July 2022 had given 46.6 billion pounds out with 13.6 billion pounds being publicly admitted by the UK Government, as unrecoverable.[7]
Excess deaths have spiralled after the Pandemic. According to the National Office of Statistics, during the first three months of 2019, 143,286 deaths were recorded; in 2023, for those same three months, 171,072 deaths were recorded, an increase of 19%.[8] . More people died after the Pandemic. One theory is that the UK Government’s message of not seeking medical assistance during the Pandemic stopped millions of hospital visits, resulting in excess deaths from untreated illnesses like cancers.
The full impact of the Pandemic will take decades and several enquiries to measure the devastation to human life. It is reasonable to suggest that during the Covid Pandemic, the UK Government used unsubstantiated propaganda, instigating fear to control its subjects.
By no means would I consider comparing any atrocities from the past; however, any propaganda to influence people’s opinions and control their actions is commeasurable.
Propaganda is not exclusive; it is everywhere. What does the future hold for us and propaganda? Globally, with today’s technology developing into Quantum computers [9], which will be in mainstream society within seven years and are a million times more intelligent than today’s home computers, spreading propaganda in a more advanced fashion is inevitable. Artificial Intelligence is in our world now, and we should pay more attention and observe its potential and all-encompassing capabilities and influence upon our lives.
Artificial Intelligence, commonly referred to as AI, has long been involved in disseminating existing internet information drawn from the data input by individuals like you and me into our computers. Despite its lack of widespread recognition, AI is a groundbreaking technology that profoundly impacts various facets of our lives.
In the upcoming Digital Cold War, expected to be primarily an economic contest, technological progress will play a central role in determining geopolitical influence. Among these technological advancements, Artificial Intelligence (AI) stands out because it can rapidly and significantly reshape society. AI thrives on data, and its most influential applications will span the public and private sectors. Companies and nations must adopt a fresh approach to maintain a competitive edge in the democratic world, emphasizing collaboration and transformation over competition and disruption.
In summary, AI represents a new form of influence, initially created by humans, prompting individuals to reconsider how they integrate information, analyze data, and leverage resulting insights into their decision-making. AI is a highly advanced new form of propaganda.
We are losing faith in the belief that anything is true. We must not let others influence our decisions because, like Hitler, they think we are “…of most limited intelligence…”[10]. If time and accessibility prevail, check any message for credibility. The evil side of propaganda makes us act like sheep guided by fear and instruction without self-analysis or research, which is worryingly dangerous for humanity’s individuality, interaction and ultimate survival.
[1] “Propaganda,” April 19, 2023. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/propaganda.
[2] Hitler, Adolf. 2016. Mein Kampf–My Struggle (English + French Edition).
[3] Heiber, Helmut. “Joseph Goebbels | Biography, Propaganda, Images, Death, & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, April 27, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Goebbels.
[4] Fraga, Kaleena. “How The Soviet Gulag System Brutalized Millions In The 20th Century.” All That’s Interesting, July 19, 2022. https://allthatsinteresting.com/gulag.
[5] WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard With Vaccination Data. “WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard,” n.d. https://covid19.who.int/.
[6] Reporters, By Telegraph. “Mother and Boyfriend Jailed over Murder of Toddler.” The Telegraph, April 25, 2023. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/25/kyle-bevan-28-years-jailed-murder-lola-james-sinead-james/.
[7] GOV.UK. “Bounce Back Loan Scheme Performance Data as at 31 July 2022,” February 3, 2023. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-loan-guarantee-schemes-repayment-data/bounce-back-loan-scheme-performance-data-as-at-31-july-2022.
[8] Cooke, Fred Barton Rebecca Smith, Alex. “Excess Deaths in England and Wales – Office for National Statistics.” Www.Ons.Gov.Uk, March 9, 2023. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/excessdeathsinenglandandwalesmarch2020todecember2022/2023-03-09.
[9] Pednault, Edwin. “On ‘Quantum Supremacy.’” IBM Research Blog, August 16, 2020. https://www.ibm.com/blogs/research/2019/10/on-quantum-supremacy/.
[10] Hitler, Adolf. 2016. Mein Kampf–My Struggle (English + French Edition).
Soozi’s Grown Up Life 