Propaganda and War

From a psychological perspective, I theorize that propaganda in wartime works insidiously by tapping into people’s prejudices and stereotypes and galvanizes belief in an immense conspirational network in which the “other” is given an ominous character. Individuals see the psychological characteristics of the other (“enemy”) as personal, pervasive, and permanent. That is, the other side (“enemy”) is collectively demonized by way of stereotypes (i.e., generalizations about categories of people and their beliefs) and simplifications (i.e., reducing events and their causes to one or two variables) while one’s own side is seen as wholly good. I describe how the mass media heightens the impact of propaganda by fostering a strong feeling of community and using cults of experts to structure bias, among other things. Keywords: Propaganda, war, mass media, persuasion, prejudice, stereotype