The Oxford English Dictionary defines propaganda as, "The systematic dissemination of information, esp. in a biased or misleading way, in order to promote a particular cause or point of view, often a political agenda".
Many governments and non-government entities over different eras have used propaganda to try to support a particular agenda or cause. Propaganda can come in the form of media (e.g. photographs, posters, films, etc.) or a staged event can also function as a form of propaganda. Below are some examples of propaganda posters. One is from the United States during World War I and the other is from the Soviet Union in 1932.
Please also see the video on this page from the exhibit titled, "The Art of Political Indoctrination" hosted by Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò at New York University, which shows and explains multiple uses of propaganda in 20th century Italy as a type of case study.
It is important to note that in the 20th century, propaganda focused on the "greatness" of a state or institution. However, according to journalist and historian, Anne Applebaum in her 2024 article, "The New Propaganda War" in the Atlantic, she notes a significant change in propaganda of the 21st century.
She writes, "Most [autocratic leaders] don’t offer their fellow citizens a vision of utopia, and don’t inspire them to build a better world. Instead, they teach people to be cynical and passive, apathetic and afraid, because there is no better world to build. Their goal is to persuade their own people to stay out of politics, and above all to convince them that there is no democratic alternative: Our state may be corrupt, but everyone else is corrupt too. You may not like our leader, but the others are worse. You may not like our society, but at least we are strong. The democratic world is weak, degenerate, divided, dying."
References:
Dolgorukov, Nikolai, "Workers of the world, unite! For a worldwide October!" (1932). Views and Re-Views. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:89363/
Flagg, James Montgomery, "Wake up America! Civilization calls every man, woman and child!" (1917). Posters: World War I Posters. Library of Congress Online Catalog. Library of Congress. https://lccn.loc.gov/91726511
