What You Need To Know About Propaganda
People in the business community tend to focus mainly on the economic policies of governments: how much they spend, tax, and where they set interest rates. Most business leaders believe that these variables have the most significant impact on their bottom lines.
Firms, however, need to make themselves more aware of the way that the authorities make use of propaganda. Using rhetoric, half-truths and lies are par for the course for a politician. It is how they galvanize support and get into power. Without it, they’re stuck because that’s what the other guy is doing.
Propaganda affects companies in significant ways. The type of information that the authorities put out can directly affect consumer behaviour, business sentiment and even output.
Propaganda has been an issue throughout history, even in countries like the US. The Greeks and British parliament were among the first to make widespread use of the concept, often deploying the tactic to get people to conform to their ideologies. But in the 20th century, even American politicians started using it – people who were supposed to represent the interests of their constituents.
In World War One, the US government, for instance, used propaganda as a way to encourage people to buy liberty loans to fund the war effort in Europe. In World War Two, the government used posters of women in factories making bombs to encourage them to begin working in war industries.
If you’re interested in propaganda and how the government uses it, take a look at the following infographic.
Click for more info on this American history infographic