Propaganda
A synopsis of Edward Bernays' 1928 book
Propaganda: The Public Mind in the Making (1928)
In theory, citizens are expected to make up their own minds on public questions and private conduct. However, if individuals had to study all the complex economic, political, and ethical data involved in every decision, they would be paralysed, unable to reach any conclusion.
Consequently, we have tacitly agreed to allow an invisible government to filter information and highlight the crucial issues, thereby narrowing our field of choice to manageable proportions. We accept information and the definition of issues from our leaders and the media they employ. Similarly, we largely conform to a standard code of social conduct derived from ethical teachers, prevalent opinion, or other sources.
Economic life would likewise become impossibly chaotic if everyone exhaustively researched and tested every commodity before purchase. To prevent such disruption, society consents to its choices being confined to the ideas and objects brought to its attention through various forms of propaganda.
This results in a vast, continuous effort to influence our minds for the benefit of some policy, commodity, or idea. While it might theoretically be preferable to have committees of wise individuals dictate our rulers, conduct, and choices, we have opted for open competition. To ensure this free competition functions relatively smoothly, society permits it to be organised by leadership and propaganda. Although some aspects of this process, such as news manipulation and the inflation of personality, are criticised, such organisation and focusing of public opinion are deemed necessary for orderly life.
As civilisation has grown more complex, the necessity for this invisible government has become increasingly evident. Simultaneously, technical means for regimenting opinion have been developed, such as the printing press, newspaper, railroad, telephone, telegraph, radio, and aeroplanes. These inventions allow ideas to be disseminated rapidly, even instantaneously, across vast distances.
The power of modern communication technologies means that ideas and phrases can exert greater influence than any personality or sectional interest. A common objective can be documented, sustained against distortion, and elaborated widely without local or sectional misunderstandings. This holds true not only for political processes but also for commercial and social activities, and indeed, all manifestations of mass activity.
Traditional geographical limitations on social groupings and affiliations have been transcended by modern communication. In the past, organisation was centred on the village community, which largely produced its own goods and generated opinions through direct contact. Today, however, individuals with similar ideas and interests can be associated and regimented for collective action regardless of their physical distance.
Society is fragmented into countless diverse groups – social, political, economic, racial, religious, ethical, and their subdivisions. These thousands of groups interlace; an individual can be a member of numerous affiliations, disseminating opinions received in one group to others where they have influence.
This invisible, interwoven structure of groups and associations forms the mechanism by which democracy organises its group mind and simplifies its mass thinking. To lament its existence is to wish for an unrealistic society; to expect it to exist but remain unused is unreasonable. It is the purpose of understanding this mechanism that allows for the explanation of how the public mind is controlled and manipulated by the specialist seeking to gain public acceptance for a particular idea or commodity.
Historically, power shifted from kings to the people with the rise of the Industrial Revolution, universal suffrage, and widespread schooling. The people gained political power, following economic power. However, a reaction has occurred; the minority has discovered a potent means of influencing majorities.
It has been found possible to shape the mind of the masses such that their newly acquired strength is directed as desired. Given the current structure of society, this practice is deemed inevitable; any matter of social importance in politics, finance, industry, agriculture, charity, education, or other fields necessitates the aid of propaganda.
Propaganda is the executive arm of the invisible government.
While universal literacy was intended to empower individuals to control their environment and think independently, it has largely provided them with "rubber stamps" – minds imprinted with advertising slogans, editorials, data, trivialities, and platitudes, devoid of original thought. These mental imprints are duplicated across millions, resulting in identical reactions to the same stimuli.
The term "propaganda" itself often carries an unpleasant connotation today. Yet, whether propaganda is considered good or bad depends on the merit of the cause promoted and the accuracy of the information presented. In its technical sense, the word originates from a society of cardinals for overseeing foreign missions (Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide) and the college founded for training missionary priests. From this, it came to mean any institution or scheme for propagating a doctrine or system, and then, effort systematically directed towards gaining public support for an opinion or action.
Some argue that the word's meaning was distorted during the late War, adopting a sinister complexion. In its original sense, propaganda is a legitimate human activity; any society with beliefs that seeks to disseminate them, whether by spoken or written word, is practicing propaganda. Those who believe they possess a valuable truth have not only the privilege but the duty to spread it, and effective large-scale dissemination necessitates organised effort, using the press and platform. Propaganda becomes vicious only when its authors consciously disseminate falsehoods or aim for effects detrimental to the common good. The word in its proper meaning is described as wholesome, of honest parentage, and with an honourable history. The fact that it carries a sinister meaning merely reflects the remaining childishness in the average adult.
It is common to label opposing views as "propaganda" while seeing one's own as simply a "plain forceful statement of Truth". The pervasive extent to which propaganda shapes affairs may surprise even well-informed individuals. Examining a newspaper often provides hints of its influence. News stories frequently originate as propaganda, presented as accounts of spontaneous events when they are, in fact, consciously directed efforts to influence public opinion. For instance, a report from the state department reflects the government's position, intended to garner public support. A report from a foundation reflects its viewpoint, broadcast with its authority.
Modern propaganda is defined as a consistent, enduring effort to create or shape events to influence the relations of the public to an enterprise, idea, or group. This practice of creating circumstances and forming mental images in millions is commonplace, integral to virtually every significant undertaking, from building cathedrals to electing presidents. It is universal and continuous, effectively regimenting the public mind as an army regiments its soldiers. The sheer number of minds that can be regimented is vast, and their adherence, once regimented, can create irresistible pressure, rendering legislators, editors, and teachers powerless.
A group clinging to a stereotype, such as the ideal of a homogeneous, nationalistic nation, can empower individuals who feel displaced, leading them to form powerful groups capable of influencing elections. Public approval is essential for large undertakings today. Laudable movements require propaganda to impress themselves on the public mind. Charity, business, politics, and literature all employ propaganda; the public must be regimented to donate money or to accept health initiatives, just as it is regimented to buy commercial products.
Propaganda exists on all sides and changes our mental pictures of the world. Its use is growing due to its effectiveness in gaining public support. This suggests that individuals with sufficient influence can lead segments of the public, at least temporarily and for a specific purpose.
While former rulers could act without mass approval, their successors today, those with power based on position or ability, find propaganda an increasingly powerful tool for gaining that approval. Propaganda is here to stay. Its widespread possibilities became apparent after the astounding success of propaganda during the War. The American government and patriotic agencies developed techniques, appealing to individuals via all senses and securing the cooperation of key group leaders whose word carried authority. This automatically gained the support of numerous groups whose members deferred to their leaders or accustomed publications. Propagandists also exploited mental clichés and emotional habits to generate mass reactions against perceived enemies.
Following the War, intelligent observers naturally considered applying these techniques to peacetime problems. This post-war practice constitutes the new propaganda. It considers not just the individual or the mass mind, but especially the structure of society with its interlocking groups and loyalties. It views the individual as a cell within social units. Stimulating a sensitive point can elicit an automatic response from specific members of the organism. Business provides clear examples. When the velvet industry faced decline due to changing fashion, an analysis showed it was impossible to revive the trend solely within America. The target had to be Paris, the home of fashion, and Lyon, the home of silk. A velvet fashion service was organised, openly supported by manufacturers. It contacted French manufacturers and couturiers, encouraging them to use velvet. A Parisian operative enlisted prominent figures to wear velvet garments. American buyers and fashion reporters, exposed to this created circumstance, reflected it in their reports. The public, influenced by fashion leaders and media, began buying velvet, creating a demand where none existed. A large department store, seeking to be a style leader, advertised velvet based on the authority of French couturiers. This carefully created circumstance led to a resurgence in the velvet industry.
The new propaganda, understanding the constitution of society, can often focus and realise the desires of the masses. A widespread desire for reform, such as prohibiting unhealthy manufactured foods, requires organisation, vocalisation, and concentration upon legislative bodies to become effective. Whether they consciously realise it or not, people call upon propaganda to organise and effectuate their demands. However, it is primarily intelligent minorities who must continuously and systematically employ propaganda. These active, proselytising minorities, whose selfish interests often coincide with public interests, drive progress and development in America. While small groups can influence public thought, proponents and opponents of any propaganda are usually equally eager to convince the majority.
Who influences our ideas, tastes, and choices? It is often shrewd persons operating behind the scenes, as well as authorities in specific areas of daily life. A man buying a suit may believe he is choosing based on taste, but he might be following the dictates of an anonymous London tailor under contract to an American firm, disseminating designs favoured by London fashion leaders. Women are similarly subject to the commands of this invisible government; a silk manufacturer influenced a shoe manufacturer to use silk on shoes, which was then systematically propagandised using a popular actress, creating a fashion and demand. Different individuals rule us in various aspects of our lives, whether in politics, finance, or fashion. There is no single national invisible cabinet, but influence tends to be concentrated in the hands of a few due to the expense of manipulating the social machinery that controls mass opinions and habits.
For this reason, there is a growing tendency to concentrate propaganda functions in the hands of specialists. This specialist, who interprets enterprises and ideas to the public and vice-versa, is increasingly known as the public relations council. This new profession has emerged due to the complexity of modern life and the need to make different parts of society understandable to each other. It is also driven by the increasing dependence of all forms of organised power, including governments, industries, and social movements, upon public opinion. Public opinion is the unacknowledged partner in any important undertaking.
Large corporations, in particular, have come to recognise their dependence on public goodwill for continued prosperity. They must convince the public they are conforming to demands for honesty and fairness, sometimes modifying policies (e.g., labour policies, customer service) for the sake of goodwill. The public relations expert's function is well-defined; their advice significantly impacts the conduct of the group or individual they serve. While some see them solely as propagandists, their work often begins with analysis of the public and client, and policy formulation, sometimes ending there. When they do disseminate information, it should be clearly labelled as to source and purpose.
The profession of public relations council is developing an ethical code. Like lawyers, they recognise the right to present a case in the best light but refuse clients, products, or causes they deem dishonest, fraudulent, or antisocial. This is partly because they are not dissociated from the client in the public mind, and partly because they act as both judge and jury in the court of public opinion, as their pleading can lead the public to adopt their opinion and judgment. They avoid conflicts of interest and hopeless cases. They must be candid; fooling the public would destroy their usefulness.
The systematic study of mass psychology has revealed the potential of invisible government through manipulating group motives. Researchers like Trotter, Le Bon, Graham Wallas, and Walter Lippman established that the group mind has characteristics distinct from the individual mind, driven by impulses and emotions not explained by individual psychology. This raises the question: if we understand the group mind, can we control and regiment the masses without their awareness?. Recent propaganda practice suggests this is possible to a degree. While mass psychology is not an exact science, theory and practice have shown that public opinion can be affected with some accuracy by operating specific mechanisms. Propaganda is not a laboratory science, but it is no longer purely empirical; it seeks to base operations on objective knowledge of the group mind and consistent principles. The modern propagandist studies their subject matter systematically, like a scientist. They analyse public taste, purchasing habits, and influences. While perfect accuracy is impossible due to uncontrollable factors and the inherent variability of human beings, a degree of predictability exists.
Influencing leaders, whether consciously or unconsciously, automatically influences the groups they sway. Individuals remain subject to mass psychology influences even when alone, as their minds retain patterns stamped by group influences. A man buying stocks, for instance, is influenced by headlines, past positive experiences, perceived reputation, or the actions of trusted figures. The group mind, unlike the individual, does not think strictly; it operates on impulses, habits, and emotions. Its primary impulse is often to follow a trusted leader. When a leader's example is absent, the group relies on clichés, passwords, or images that represent a whole group of ideas. Manipulating these clichés or creating new ones can swing mass emotions. The example of changing "evacuation hospitals" to "evacuation posts" during the war illustrates how a change in cliche removed critical reaction, as the old cliché "hospital" was indelibly linked to an expectation of prolonged care.
Men are often unaware of their true motives. A man buying a car may believe it's for locomotion, but his real desire might be for it as a symbol of social position, success, or to please his wife. Many actions are compensatory substitutes for suppressed desires. A thing may be desired not for itself, but as a symbol of something else the individual is ashamed to admit desiring. This principle, that hidden motives drive actions, is true for both mass and individual psychology. Successful propaganda must understand these true motives, not just the stated reasons.
Understanding society's mechanical structure (groups, cleavages, loyalties) is insufficient. Human desires are the "steam" powering the social machine; only by understanding them can the propagandist control it. The old propaganda focused on mechanistic reaction psychology, treating the mind as an automaton responding to stimuli, using repetition to create habits or convictions. For example, an old-style campaign to sell bacon would repeatedly urge "eat more bacon". The new salesmanship, understanding group structure and mass psychology, would first identify who influences eating habits (e.g., physicians) and then persuade them to endorse the product. Large numbers will follow doctors' advice due to psychological dependence.
Old-fashioned advertising targeted individuals directly, using insistent appeals. The new salesmanship works with the mass through group formations to create psychological and emotional currents favouring purchase. Instead of directly assaulting sales resistance, it seeks to remove it by creating circumstances that encourage demand. To sell pianos, for instance, direct appeals like "buy a Mozart piano now" compete with claims for cars or radios. The modern propagandist seeks to modify the underlying custom that leads a consumer to choose a car over a piano. By appealing to fundamental instincts, like the home instinct, they might work to popularise the idea of a music room. This could involve organising exhibitions of music rooms designed by influential decorators, featuring valuable art, and staging events attended by key people (musicians, artists, society leaders) who influence buying habits. These events and leaders are then publicised, projecting the idea to a wider audience. Architects may be persuaded to incorporate music rooms into their designs, further implanting the idea. The music room becomes fashionable, and having one or a musical corner naturally leads to thinking of buying a piano. The process is reversed: the consumer comes to the manufacturer asking "please sell me a piano".
The associative process is valuable in propaganda. To make a real estate development seem socially desirable, events are staged to associate it with desirable elements, like a charity benefit attended by prominent social figures. Sporting facilities are highlighted, and the development is linked to historical postal service anniversaries. Interior design competitions featuring apartments within the development attract interest and approval from authorities, building prestige.
Utilising the group formations of modern society is one of the most effective methods for spreading ideas. The nationwide competitions for sculpture in Ivory soap illustrate this. Sponsored by the Art Center and supported by educators, these contests encouraged school children and adults to sculpt with soap, linking the product to aesthetic and competitive motives. The fact that mothers could use soap shavings for laundry added a practical element. The participation of respected artists and educators lent authority, coinciding with their interest in cultivating aesthetic impulses in youth. This coincidence of interests between the client (Procter & Gamble) and group leaders (artists, educators) is crucial in successful propaganda. Finding points where a client's interests align with those of other groups is a function of the public relations council. Examples include a railway assisting communities along its route (aligning railway growth with community prosperity), a bank offering investment services (aligning customer wealth with bank deposits), or a baking company providing recipes (aligning consumer baking with bread sales). The ideas of the new propaganda are based on this sound psychology and enlightened self-interest.
Business relations with the public have intensified. Business now understands it must sell itself, not just products, addressing public interest and demanding transparency. Dependence on public opinion is growing, especially with broader stock ownership; companies need public confidence for financing. A business must dramatise its personality and interpret its objectives at every point of contact. This includes not only product quality but also labour policy, management integrity, hygiene, architecture, and even the personal conduct of executives. Every detail, however trivial, can influence public opinion. The personality of the president can personify the concern.
The public relations council employs two main types of work: continuous interpretation (controlling every approach to the public mind for a desired impression) and dramatization by high spotting (seizing public attention with a typical detail). Deciding which method or combination to use requires careful study. High spotting can involve making a building the tallest or publicising research findings. For example, proving gelatin's benefits for milk digestibility through institutional testing and then projecting these results to leaders in the field led others to adopt its use.
The growth of big business necessitates expert management of its numerous public contacts. Sometimes, an outside expert is better suited than an internal officer because the correct approach might be indirect. The luggage industry, for instance, sought to increase sales not by directly targeting consumers, but by persuading railroads, steamship companies, and foreign governments to handle luggage better and reduce costs, thereby facilitating travel and luggage use. Similarly, a campaign against unhealthy cosmetics might be waged indirectly by advocating for a return to soap and washcloths, aligning with public health officials. A shoe manufacturer selling to professions like patrolmen promoted the idea that such workers should be well-shod by establishing a foot protection bureau that disseminated scientific information, thus aligning the sale of shoes with worker efficiency and welfare. This principle of finding a common denominator between the product/service and public goodwill is infinitely applicable. Public opinion is paramount; lack of public acceptance can lead to failure, regardless of capital or service quality.
Public opinion has shifted regarding large business mergers, viewing them less as ogres and more as "friendly giants" due to perceived economies and benefits passed to consumers. This shift is largely attributable to deliberate propaganda. Propaganda works not only by modifying public opinion but sometimes by modifying the business concern itself (e.g., a cement company working with road commissions, a gas company running a cooking school). However, public favour is not guaranteed and can be undermined by perceived unfair practices or lack of transparency, particularly for utilities. The public relations council anticipates such trends, advising either how to counter them with explanation or how to modify the client's actions. Surveys can identify irreducible opposition, logical explanations, and the role of habitual reactions and clichés.
Public ownership of big business through popular investment is increasing. The success of stock and bond issues relies on public goodwill. Expert manipulation of public opinion can effectively create real economic value by gaining genuine public acceptance for an enterprise.
The new technique of public relations council complements advertising by using other channels to bring truth to the public, especially against unfair or exaggerated advertising. In highly competitive fields like toothpaste, where claims are often inflated, ethical competitors can use propaganda through channels like dental clinics, schools, women's clubs, and the press to disseminate accurate information, ensuring that honestly advertised products reach their intended audience.
Effective advertising has become increasingly costly. Competition has evolved beyond rivalry between individual products to encompass competition between entire groups of products (e.g., stone vs. wood, linoleum vs. carpets, oranges vs. apples). This "new competition" is particularly acute in food industries, where consumption is limited. Future competition is seen as a competition of propaganda between associations, not just individual products. Leveraging show business methods and mass media hookups can provide immense reach, although at significant cost. While some argue such methods increase product cost without adding intrinsic value, all forms of appeal require expenditure to be attractive.
Mass production leads to standardised products and price-based competition, which can be detrimental. The solution is to add a non-price appeal, some element of originality or style, popularised through propaganda using principles like gregariousness, obedience to authority, and emulation. Style can elevate a minor element to economic importance. Propaganda can even revitalise struggling industries by changing fashion, as demonstrated by efforts to bring large hats back into fashion.
The techniques of business propaganda, though initially drawing from show business, have become refined. The theatre, in turn, has learned from business, refining its publicity methods. The modern publicity director is a businessman handling large investments, requiring accurate public understanding and skilled manipulation. As public knowledge and taste improve, business must adapt, continuously monitoring the public pulse and interpreting itself effectively to changing opinion.
In modern democracy, a major political challenge is ensuring leaders truly lead. The notion that the voice of the people is divine can reduce elected officials to servants of their constituents, contributing to political sterility. Serious sociology dismisses the idea that the voice of the people is inherently wise; it reflects a mind shaped by group leaders, manipulators of public opinion, inherited prejudices, symbols, clichés, and verbal formulas supplied by leaders. Fortunately, skilled politicians can use propaganda to mold the will of the people. Disraeli's dilemma – having to follow the people while being their leader – highlights this tension.
Contemporary politicians often lag behind business in employing effective methods of mass distribution of ideas. Political campaigns often resemble sideshows of oratory and spectacle, detached from the scientific study of the public needed to effectively "sell" candidates, platforms, and policies. Business has adopted efficient mass marketing techniques, while politics often wastes resources on antiquated methods. A politician may understand strategy and issues but not necessarily how to manage the mass distribution of ideas. Just as big business plans its policies and selling strategies meticulously, political strategists must do the same. Campaigns require defined objectives, honest platforms, careful analysis of public desires, and budgeting. Borrowing from business, campaigns should budget expenditures precisely across all media – advertising, publicity, events, speeches. Emotional appeals are necessary but must be planned and synchronised with the overall campaign strategy. Personalities are often emphasised, but the program and the candidate's ability to execute it should be paramount.
Educating emotions requires targeting specific groups, as the public is composed of interlocking affiliations beyond political parties. Political interests must be coordinated with personal interests. For example, President Coolidge's breakfast with actors recognised actors as a group and sought to align audiences (a larger group liking entertainers) with him. The passage of the Shepherd-Towner maternity bill was achieved by mobilising groups like mothers, educators, and physicians, who in turn influenced others, demonstrating public desire to Congress.
Having defined objectives and target groups, a political campaign must allocate tasks effectively across various media – print (books, magazines, newspapers, posters), pictures (photographs, motion pictures), and sound (lectures, speeches, radio, music). Events must be created to inject ideas into these channels. Exhibitions, contests, institutes, and the cooperation of educational or previously uninvolved groups can serve as vehicles for presenting ideas, but all efforts must be accurately synchronised. Relying on a single method is risky in an age of competing messages.
Propaganda is effective with voters whose decisions are based on group prejudices and desires. Boss leadership, based on specific allegiances, can nullify the voter's Free Will. However, politicians need not be slaves to public prejudice; they can learn to mold voters' minds towards public welfare. The statesman's crucial skill is not merely pleasing the public, but knowing how to sway it. While learned pamphlets might theoretically educate, real influence comes from creating circumstances that stimulate thought, dramatising personalities, and connecting with group leaders. Propaganda is fundamental to democratic administration, perhaps more so than vote-getting. Good government can be "sold" like any commodity. Training future politicians in propaganda techniques is a potential development. The delay in adopting business methods might stem from politicians' ready access to existing media.
Preparing the public for a message through orchestrated events ensures receptivity when the leader speaks. Considering the global public when planning events is also important, as exemplified by the timing of Czechoslovakia's declaration of independence to coincide with maximum press coverage.
It is argued that as propaganda mechanisms become obvious, they will defeat themselves. However, only untrue or unsocial propaganda is likely to weaken with increased sophistication. Another criticism is that propaganda manufactures political personalities. The question of whether the leader makes propaganda or propaganda makes the leader is analogous to whether newspapers make public opinion or vice-versa. Both leader/idea and fertile ground/public desire are necessary for effectiveness. Propaganda is useless to a politician without a message the public consciously or unconsciously wants to hear. Even if some propaganda is dishonest, the methods themselves cannot be rejected, as they will always be used when leaders need to appeal to constituencies.
The criticism that propaganda inflates the importance of the president, turning him into a symbol of hero worship, reflects the public's desire for such a symbol, rooted in the nature of the office, not solely the propaganda. Misuse of publicity mechanisms can make a public personality appear absurd. Yet, dramatisation of personality remains a public relations function; the public demands a personality to represent an enterprise. Personality can create circumstances (like Lindbergh fostering goodwill) or events can create personality (like the Cuban War creating Roosevelt). Public figures must project an image consistent with their character and aims.
A common political practice is the trial balloon, where tentative policies are anonymously floated to gauge public reaction before formal commitment. This method, modelled on wartime "peace feelers", allows politicians to maintain contact with the public as they perceive it. However, if a politician is a true leader, they should use propaganda to lead the people, rather than following them through trial and error. The successful propaganda approach involves defining an objective and working towards it with precise knowledge of the public, manipulating and swaying it. The political leader should be as skilled in propaganda technique as in political economy and civics. In complex modern civilisation, propaganda bridges the gap between intellectual and practical classes.
Effective government in a democracy requires an intimate relationship with the public, maintained through the wise use of propaganda. There is a perceived need for an intelligent interpretive bureau within government, possibly an assistant Secretary of State or even a Secretary of Public Relations as part of the president's cabinet. This official would interpret America's aims internationally, keep citizens informed of government activities, and interpret the public to the government. They would be a trained technician analysing public thought and trends. This would facilitate a leadership democracy administered by the intelligent minority skilled in regimenting and guiding the masses. This might be called government by propaganda, or by enlightened, expert education through creating circumstances and dramatising issues.
In contemporary America, women have achieved legal equality but still have special interests and activities. Organised and equipped with propaganda, they exert significant influence on legislative bodies, political campaigns, and public opinion. Women supplement men in public life by focusing on issues men might overlook. Organised women, conscious of their power, can use their freedom to shape society.
Education, despite its importance, often fails to attract sufficient public interest and support. Educators, trained to engage individuals in classrooms, often lack training in educating the wider public. Educators need to understand their social relation to the public and conduct propaganda to enlighten it and elevate the profession's standing. The public's perception of the teaching profession can be influenced by comparing educators unfavourably to successful businessmen. Propaganda can help change this perception and ensure the profession attracts talent.
Endowed colleges face the challenge of securing support from businessmen whose concrete goals may conflict with abstract scholarship. Colleges must win public support to convince potential donors and to uphold their academic ideals if donors seek undue influence. Educational propaganda could foster greater social consciousness among men of affairs, potentially leading to more philanthropic support for ideals beyond practical application. Colleges also need to make their work, particularly scholarly research, understandable and dramatic to the public. Discoveries, even if purely academic, can arouse public interest if linked to relatable concepts or dramatised. Universities lending faculty to public investigations or highlighting specific departmental achievements also serves this purpose. Ethical concerns exist regarding potential misuse of propaganda to create artificial values for institutions, but there is no absolute guarantee against this.
The public relations council is necessary for social work, which depends on voluntary support and thus must use propaganda continuously. Social service leaders were early adopters of modern propaganda. Their primary enemy is inertia, the tendency for attitudes towards social relations, economics, and politics to persist and be reinforced by tradition. Propaganda actively directs public opinion against this inertia, introducing new ideas and precedents. The right to sway public opinion is a manifestation of democracy. Organised efforts against social diseases and maladjustments require knowledge of the public mind and mass psychology. A technique used in social service propaganda involves dramatising an issue and associating it with authoritative group leaders. For example, holding an anti-lynching conference in the South lent it greater authority; securing the support of diverse national and local leaders, particularly Southern figures, amplified the message and ensured widespread press coverage.
Propaganda leverages the authority of group leaders whose taste and opinion are respected. Public interest is captured through associative values and dramatic incidents. In art, linking American silk designs to famous French artists provides a stamp of authority recognised by the public. Museums should actively interpret their collections to the community, not just preserve them, assuming aesthetic leadership. Similarly, science, once confined to learned societies, now finds support in industry, which must then interpret scientific progress to the public. Propaganda helps market new inventions and makes the public more receptive to change.
The mechanics of propaganda involve using all means of human communication to transmit messages. The relative value of these instruments constantly changes; public meetings, once powerful, are less so today, while radio's importance has grown. Newspapers remain a primary medium. Editors, focusing on news value, publish items regardless of whether they originate as propaganda, selecting what is interesting and important to readers. The public relations council can create events that are newsworthy, competing with other events for editorial attention. The source of news offered should be clear and facts accurate. Magazines, unlike newspapers, select material based on a continuous policy and often serve as propagandist organs for specific ideas. Public relations councils can help clients create events that further the magazine's propaganda. Lectures gain importance not just from attendance, but from their broadcast and discussion repercussions. Radio's ability to reach millions simultaneously makes it a crucial tool. The exploitation of personality is a continuing function of the public relations council, as the public demands figures to typify organisations. Other avenues include schools (disseminating factual information if educationally sound), motion pictures, and television.
The public is increasingly aware of the methods used to mold its opinions. This increased intelligence makes it more receptive to reasonable appeals based on its interests. No matter how sophisticated or cynical the public becomes about publicity, it must respond to basic appeals related to fundamental needs and desires. As the public becomes more discerning, its leaders must present appeals more intelligently. Propaganda will not disappear; it is the modern instrument by which intelligent individuals can strive for productive goals and bring order out of chaos.