Editing Propaganda (section)

==Types==

[[File:Propaganda poster in a primary school - DPRK (2604154887).jpg|thumb|left|230px|Poster in a North Korean primary school targeting the United States military. The Korean text reads: "Are you playing the game of catching these guys?"]]
Identifying propaganda has always been a problem.<ref>Daniel J Schwindt, [https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-Modern-World-Traditionalist/dp/153282534X The Case Against the Modern World: A Crash Course in Traditionalist Thought], 2016, pp. 202–204.</ref> The main difficulties have involved differentiating propaganda from other types of [[persuasion]], and avoiding a [[bias]]ed approach. Richard Alan Nelson provides a definition of the term: "Propaganda is neutrally defined as a systematic form of purposeful persuasion that attempts to influence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and actions of specified target audiences for [[ideology|ideological]], political or commercial purposes<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/wwii-propaganda-private-snafu-flashback|title=This WWII Cartoon Taught Soldiers How to Avoid Certain Death|last=McNearney|first=Allison|website=HISTORY|date=29 August 2018 |language=en|access-date=2020-03-29}}</ref> through the controlled transmission of one-sided messages (which may or may not be factual) via mass and direct media channels."<ref>Richard Alan Nelson, ''A Chronology and Glossary of Propaganda in the United States'' (1996) pp. 232–233</ref> The definition focuses on the communicative process involved – or more precisely, on the purpose of the process, and allow "propaganda" to be interpreted as positive or negative behavior depending on the perspective of the viewer or listener.

Propaganda can often be recognized by the rhetorical strategies used in its design. In the 1930s, the Institute for Propaganda Analysis identified a variety of propaganda techniques that were commonly used in newspapers and on the radio, which were the mass media of the time period. Propaganda techniques include "name calling" (using derogatory labels), "bandwagon" (expressing the social appeal of a message), or "glittering generalities" (using positive but imprecise language).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hobbs|first=Renee|date=2014-11-09|title=Teaching about Propaganda: An Examination of the Historical Roots of Media Literacy|journal=Journal of Media Literacy Education|volume=6|issue=2|pages=56–67|doi=10.23860/jmle-2016-06-02-5|issn=2167-8715|doi-access=free}}</ref> With the rise of the internet and social media, Renee Hobbs identified four characteristic design features of many forms of contemporary propaganda: (1) it activates strong emotions; (2) it simplifies information; (3) it appeals to the hopes, fears, and dreams of a targeted audience; and (4) it attacks opponents.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hobbs|first=Renee|title=Mind Over Media|publisher=Norton|year=2020}}</ref>

Propaganda is sometimes evaluated based on the intention and goals of the individual or institution who created it. According to historian [[Zbyněk Zeman]], propaganda is defined as either white, grey or black. White propaganda openly discloses its source and intent. Grey propaganda has an ambiguous or non-disclosed source or intent. [[Black propaganda]] purports to be published by the enemy or some organization besides its actual origins<ref name="new">{{cite book|title=Selling the War|publisher=Orbis Publishing|first=Zbynek|last=Zeman|date=1978|isbn=978-0-85613-312-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/sellingwarartpro0000zema}}</ref> (compare with [[black operation]], a type of clandestine operation in which the identity of the sponsoring government is hidden). In scale, these different types of propaganda can also be defined by the potential of true and correct information to compete with the propaganda. For example, opposition to white propaganda is often readily found and may slightly discredit the propaganda source. Opposition to grey propaganda, when revealed (often by an inside source), may create some level of public outcry. Opposition to black propaganda is often unavailable and may be dangerous to reveal, because public cognizance of black propaganda tactics and sources would undermine or backfire the very campaign the black propagandist supported.
<!-- [[File:Edith Cavell propaganda.jpg|thumb|left|The execution of British nurse [[Edith Cavell#Role in World War I propaganda|Edith Cavell]] by the German Army in 1915 was a major theme of [[World War I]] anti-German propaganda.]] -->

The propagandist seeks to change the way people understand an issue or situation for the purpose of changing their actions and expectations in ways that are desirable to the interest group. Propaganda, in this sense, serves as a corollary to censorship in which the same purpose is achieved, not by filling people's minds with approved information, but by preventing people from being confronted with opposing points of view. What sets propaganda apart from other forms of advocacy is the willingness of the propagandist to change people's understanding through deception and confusion rather than persuasion and understanding. The leaders of an organization know the information to be one sided or untrue, but this may not be true for the rank and file members who help to disseminate the propaganda.
[[File:Papal Belvedere High Res.jpg|thumb|212x212px|Woodcuts (1545) known as the ''Papstspotbilder'' or ''Depictions of the Papacy'' in English,<ref name="Oberman">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_leG5ztYoZwC&pg=PA61|title=The Impact of the Reformation: Essays|first=Heiko Augustinus|last=Oberman|date=1 January 1994|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|via=Google Books|isbn=9780802807328}}</ref> by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder|Lucas Cranach]], commissioned by [[Martin Luther]].<ref name="Edwards-1">[https://books.google.com/books?id=kYbupalP98kC&pg=PA4 ''Luther's Last Battles: Politics And Polemics 1531-46'' By Mark U. Edwards, Jr.] Fortress Press, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-8006-3735-4}}</ref> Title: Kissing the Pope's Feet.<ref>In Latin, the title reads "Hic oscula pedibus papae figuntur"</ref> German peasants respond to a papal bull of [[Pope Paul III]]. Caption reads: "Don't frighten us Pope, with your ban, and don't be such a furious man. Otherwise we shall turn around and show you our rears."<ref>"Nicht Bapst: nicht schreck uns mit deim ban, Und sey nicht so zorniger man. Wir thun sonst ein gegen wehre, Und zeigen dirs Bel vedere"</ref><ref name="Edwards-2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kYbupalP98kC&pg=PA198|title=Luther's Last Battles: Politics and Polemics 1531–46|first=Mark U.|last=Edwards|year=2004|publisher=Fortress Press|isbn= 9781451413984|page=199|via=Google Books}}</ref>]]

===Religious===

Propaganda was often used to influence opinions and beliefs on religious issues, particularly during the split between the [[Roman Catholic Church]] and the [[Protestantism|Protestant churches]] or during the [[Crusades]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Fisher |first=Lane |url=https://www.truvere.com/trouvre-poets-reflectors-of-societal-zeal |title=Trouvère Poets: Reflectors of Societal Zeal |work=Truvere |publisher=Truvere |date=2022-07-07 |accessdate=2022-09-13 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405005245/https://www.truvere.com/trouvre-poets-reflectors-of-societal-zeal |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The sociologist [[Jeffrey K. Hadden]] has argued that members of the [[anti-cult movement]] and [[Christian counter-cult movement]] accuse the leaders of what they consider cults of using propaganda extensively to recruit followers and keep them. Hadden argued that ex-members of cults and the anti-cult movement are committed to making these movements look bad.<ref>{{cite web| title=The Religious Movements Page: Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" | url=http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cultsect/concult.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060207042448/http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cultsect/concult.htm | archive-date=7 February 2006 | access-date=4 December 2005 }}</ref>

Propaganda against other religions in the same community or propaganda intended to keep political power in the hands of a religious elite can incite religious hate on a global or national scale. It could make use of many propaganda mediums. War, terrorism, riots, and other violent acts can result from it. It can also conceal injustices, inequities, exploitation, and atrocities, leading to ignorance-based indifference and alienation.<ref name="Religiuos propaganda definition">{{cite web |title=Religious propaganda |url=http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/problem/religious-propaganda |website=Encyclopedia.uia.org |publisher=Union of International Associations |access-date=9 November 2023}}</ref>

===Wartime===

{{More citations needed section|date=April 2021}}
[[File:Boston Massacre high-res.jpg|thumb|A famous example of propaganda, this poster made by [[Paul Revere]] portrays the [[Boston Massacre]] in a way that he hoped would make Americans angry and support the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]].]]In the [[Peloponnesian War]], the Athenians exploited the figures from stories about [[Troy]] as well as other mythical images to incite feelings against [[Sparta]]. For example, [[Helen of Troy]] was even portrayed as an Athenian, whose mother [[Nemesis]] would avenge Troy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Magill |first1=Frank Northen |title=Dictionary of World Biography |date=23 January 2003 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-57958-040-7 |page=422 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wyKaVFZqbdUC&pg=PA422 |access-date=7 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Rutter |first1=Keith |title=Word And Image In Ancient Greece |date=31 March 2020 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-0-7486-7985-0 |page=68 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q28xEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 |access-date=7 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref> During the [[Punic Wars]], extensive campaigns of propaganda were carried out by both sides. To dissolve the Roman system of [[socii]] and the Greek [[poleis]], [[Hannibal]] released without conditions Latin prisoners that he had treated generously to their native cities, where they helped to disseminate his propaganda.<ref name="Stepper">{{cite journal |last1=Stepper |first1=R. |title=Politische parolen und propaganda im Hannibalkrieg |journal=Klio |date=2006 |volume=88 |issue=2 |pages=397–407 |doi=10.1524/klio.2006.88.2.397 |s2cid=190002621 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298534203 |access-date=7 February 2022}}</ref> The Romans on the other hand tried to portray Hannibal as a person devoid of humanity and would soon lose the favour of gods. At the same time, led by [[Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus|Q.Fabius Maximus]], they organized elaborate religious rituals to protect Roman morale.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hoyos |first1=Dexter |title=A Companion to the Punic Wars |date=26 May 2015 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-02550-4 |page=275 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UzJ3BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA275 |access-date=7 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Stepper" />

In the early sixteenth century, [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]] invented one kind of psychological warfare targeting the enemies. During his war against [[Venice]], he attached pamphlets to balloons that his archers would shoot down. The content spoke of freedom and equality and provoked the populace to rebel against the tyrants (their Signoria).{{sfn|Füssel|2020|pp=10–12}}

Post–World War II usage of the word "propaganda" more typically refers to political or nationalist uses of these techniques or to the promotion of a set of ideas.
[[File:Harry R. Hopps, Destroy this mad brute Enlist - U.S. Army, 03216u edit.jpg|alt=Propaganda poster shows a terrifying gorilla with a helmet labeled "militarism" holding a bloody club labeled "kultur" and a half-naked woman as he stomps onto the shore of America.|thumb|292x292px|''Destroy this Mad Brute: Enlist—'' propaganda poster encouraging men in the United States to enlist and fight Germany as part of [[World War I|WWI]], by [[Harry Ryle Hopps|Harry R. Hopps]], {{Circa|1917}}]] [[File:The Secret Soviet Bunker (14360593542).jpg|thumb|Soviet "Ne Boltai" poster. Translates to "Don't Chatter". Similar to American "[[Loose lips sink ships|Loose Lips Sink Ships]]" posters, this iconic piece of propaganda tries to warn citizens against giving out secrets.]]
Propaganda is a powerful weapon in war; in certain cases, it is used to [[Dehumanization|dehumanize]] and create hatred toward a supposed enemy, either internal or external, by creating a false image in the mind of soldiers and citizens. This can be done by using derogatory or racist terms (e.g., the racist terms "[[Jap]]" and "[[gook]]" used during World War II and the Vietnam War, respectively), avoiding some words or language or by making allegations of enemy atrocities. The goal of this was to demoralize the opponent into thinking what was being projected was actually true.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Williamson|first1=Samuel R.|last2=Balfour|first2=Michael|date=Winter 1980|title=Propaganda in War, 1939–1945: Organisations, Policies and Publics in Britain and Germany.|journal=Political Science Quarterly|volume=95|issue=4|pages=715|doi=10.2307/2150639|jstor=2150639}}</ref> Most propaganda efforts in wartime require the home population to feel the enemy has inflicted an injustice, which may be fictitious or may be based on facts (e.g., the sinking of the passenger ship {{RMS|Lusitania}} by the German Navy in World War I). The home population must also believe that the cause of their nation in the war is just. In these efforts it was difficult to determine the accuracy of how propaganda truly impacted the war.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Eksteins|first1=Modris|last2=Balfour|first2=Michael|date=October 1980|title=Propaganda in War, 1939–1945: Organisations, Policies and Publics in Britain and Germany.|journal=The American Historical Review|volume=85|issue=4|pages=876|doi=10.2307/1868905|jstor=1868905}}</ref> In NATO doctrine, propaganda is defined as "Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view."<ref>North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO Standardization Agency AAP-6 – Glossary of terms and definitions, 2-P-9.</ref> Within this perspective, the information provided does not need to be necessarily false but must be instead relevant to specific goals of the "actor" or "system" that performs it.

Propaganda is also one of the methods used in [[psychological warfare]], which may also involve [[false flag]] operations in which the identity of the operatives is depicted as those of an enemy nation (e.g., The [[Bay of Pigs Invasion]] used [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] planes painted in [[Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force|Cuban Air Force]] markings). The term propaganda may also refer to false information meant to reinforce the mindsets of people who already believe as the propagandist wishes (e.g., During the First World War, the main purpose of British propaganda was to encourage men to join the army, and women to work in the country's industry. Propaganda posters were used because regular general radio broadcasting was yet to commence and TV technology was still under development).<ref>Callanan, James D. The Evolution of The CIA's Covert Action Mission, 1947–1963. Durham University. 1999.</ref> The assumption is that, if people believe something false, they will constantly be assailed by doubts. Since these doubts are unpleasant (see [[cognitive dissonance]]), people will be eager to have them extinguished, and are therefore receptive to the reassurances of those in power. For this reason, propaganda is often addressed to people who are already sympathetic to the agenda or views being presented. This process of reinforcement uses an individual's predisposition to self-select "agreeable" information sources as a mechanism for maintaining control over populations.

{{multiple image
| align             = right
| image1            = Vecernje-novosti-propaganda.jpg
| width1            = 150
| alt1              =
| caption1          =
| image2            = Uroš Predić - Siroče.jpg
| width2            = 225
| alt2              =
| caption2          =
| footer            = Serbian propaganda from the [[Bosnian War]] (1992–95) presented as an actual photograph from the scene of, as stated in report below the image, a ''"Serbian boy whose whole family was killed by Bosnian Muslims"''. The image is derived from an 1879 "Orphan on mother's grave" painting by [[Uroš Predić]] (alongside).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.e-novine.com/entertainment/entertainment-tema/31106-Pravda-Uroa-Predia.html |publisher=e-novine.com |title=Pravda za Uroša Predića! |access-date=5 May 2015}}</ref>
}}

Propaganda may be administered in insidious ways. For instance, disparaging [[disinformation]] about the history of certain groups or foreign countries may be encouraged or tolerated in the educational system. Since few people actually [[Fact-checking|double-check]] what they learn at school, such disinformation will be repeated by journalists as well as parents, thus reinforcing the idea that the disinformation item is really a "well-known fact", even though no one repeating the myth is able to point to an authoritative source. The disinformation is then recycled in the media and in the educational system, without the need for direct governmental intervention on the media. Such permeating propaganda may be used for political goals: by giving citizens a false impression of the quality or policies of their country, they may be incited to reject certain proposals or certain remarks or ignore the experience of others.
[[File:Britannia.jpg|thumb|[[Britannia (emblem)|Britannia]] arm-in-arm with [[Uncle Sam]] symbolizes the British-American alliance in World War I.]]
[[File: English WW2 Propaganda poster depicting Winston Churchill as a bulldog with title Holding the line!.jpg|thumb|Poster depicting [[Winston Churchill]] as a "[[Bulldog|British Bulldog"]]]]
In the Soviet Union during the Second World War, the propaganda designed to encourage civilians was controlled by Stalin, who insisted on a heavy-handed style that educated audiences easily saw was inauthentic. On the other hand, the unofficial rumors about German atrocities were well founded and convincing.<ref>Karel C. Berkhoff, ''Motherland in Danger: Soviet Propaganda during World War II'' (2012) [https://www.amazon.com/Motherland-Danger-Soviet-Propaganda-during/dp/0674049241/ excerpt and text search]</ref> Stalin was a Georgian who spoke Russian with a heavy accent. That would not do for a national hero so starting in the 1930s all new visual portraits of Stalin were retouched to erase his {{clarify span|Georgian facial characteristics|date=April 2021}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2015/07/30/10-facts-you-didnt-know-about-stalin/ |title=10 Facts You Didn't Know About Stalin |last=Smithfield |first=Brad |date=30 July 2015 |website=The Vintage News |publisher=Timera Media |access-date=23 April 2021 |quote=had his likeness softened on propaganda posters to reduce his Georgian facial characteristics.}}</ref> and make him a more generalized Soviet hero. Only his eyes and famous moustache remained unaltered. [[Zhores Medvedev]] and [[Roy Medvedev]] say his "majestic new image was devised appropriately to depict the leader of all times and of all peoples."<ref>{{cite book|author=Zhores A. Medvedev and |title=The Unknown Stalin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v3BrNF80AzUC&pg=PA248|year=2003|page=248|publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=9781860647680}}</ref>

Article 20 of the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]] prohibits any propaganda for war as well as any advocacy of national or religious hatred that constitutes [[incitement]] to discrimination, hostility or violence by law.<ref>{{cite web|title=International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights|url=http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx|website=United Nations Human Rights: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights|publisher=United Nations|access-date=2 September 2015}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship. The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.|[[Hermann Göring]]<ref>[[Gustave Gilbert]]'s ''Nuremberg Diary''(1947). In an interview with Gilbert in Göring's jail cell during the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials (18 April 1946)</ref>}}Simply enough the covenant specifically is not defining the content of propaganda. In simplest terms, an act of propaganda if used in a reply to a wartime act is not prohibited.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Snow|first=Nacny|title=US Propaganda|journal=American Thought and Culture in the 21st Century|pages=97–98}}</ref>

===Advertising===

Propaganda shares techniques with advertising and [[public relations]], each of which can be thought of as propaganda that promotes a commercial product or shapes the perception of an organization, person, or brand. For example, after claiming victory in the [[2006 Lebanon War]], [[Hezbollah]] campaigned for broader popularity among Arabs by organizing mass rallies where Hezbollah leader [[Hassan Nasrallah]] combined elements of the local [[dialects of Arabic|dialect]] with [[classical Arabic]] to reach audiences outside Lebanon. Banners and billboards were commissioned in commemoration of the war, along with various merchandise items with Hezbollah's logo, flag color (yellow), and images of Nasrallah. T-shirts, baseball caps and other war memorabilia were marketed for all ages. The uniformity of messaging helped define Hezbollah's brand.<ref>{{cite book |last=Khatib |first=Lina |author-link=Lina Khatib |title=The Hizbullah Phenomenon: Politics and Communication |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2014 |page=84}}</ref>

In the journalistic context, advertisements evolved from the traditional commercial advertisements to include also a new type in the form of paid articles or broadcasts disguised as news. These generally present an issue in a very subjective and often misleading light, primarily meant to persuade rather than inform. Normally they use only subtle [[propaganda techniques]] and not the more obvious ones used in traditional commercial advertisements. If the reader believes that a paid advertisement is in fact a news item, the message the advertiser is trying to communicate will be more easily "believed" or "internalized". Such advertisements are considered obvious examples of "covert" propaganda because they take on the appearance of objective information rather than the appearance of propaganda, which is misleading. Federal law{{where|date=April 2021}} specifically mandates that any advertisement appearing in the format of a news item must state that the item is in fact a paid advertisement.

Edmund McGarry illustrates that advertising is more than selling to an audience but a type of propaganda that is trying to persuade the public and not to be balanced in judgement.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McGarry|first=Edmund D.|date=1958|title=The Propaganda Function in Marketing|journal=Journal of Marketing|volume=23|issue=2|pages=131–132|doi=10.2307/1247829|jstor=1247829}}</ref>

===Politics===

[[File:Kozera DTV.jpg|thumb|right|280px|Propaganda and [[psychological manipulation|manipulation]] can be found in television, and in [[news programs]] that influence mass audiences. An example was the ''[[Dziennik Telewizyjny|Dziennik]]'' (Journal) news cast, which criticised [[capitalism]] in the then-communist [[Polish People's Republic]] using [[loaded language|emotive and loaded language]].]]

Propaganda has become more common in political contexts, in particular, to refer to certain efforts sponsored by governments, political groups, but also often covert interests. In the early 20th century, propaganda was exemplified in the form of party slogans. Propaganda also has much in common with [[public information]] campaigns by governments, which are intended to encourage or discourage certain forms of behavior (such as wearing seat belts, not smoking, not littering, and so forth). Again, the emphasis is more political in propaganda. Propaganda can take the form of [[leaflet (information)|leaflets]], posters, TV, and radio broadcasts and can also extend to any other [[Mass media|medium]]. In the case of the United States, there is also an important legal (imposed by law) distinction between advertising (a type of overt propaganda) and what the [[Government Accountability Office]] (GAO), an arm of the United States Congress, refers to as "covert propaganda." Propaganda is divided into two in political situations, they are preparation, meaning to create a new frame of mind or view of things, and operational, meaning they instigate actions.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_03PpagDaUsC |title=How to Be a Spy: The World War II SOE Training Manual |publisher=Dundurn Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-55002-505-7 |location=Toronto |pages=192 |language=en}}</ref>

Roderick Hindery argues<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://propagandaandcriticalthought.com/author/rhindery/|title=About Roderick Hindery|website=Propaganda and Critical Thought Blog|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=2 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202221732/https://propagandaandcriticalthought.com/author/rhindery/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Hindery | first=Roderick | title=Indoctrination and self-deception or free and critical thought | publisher=[[Edwin Mellen Press]] | location=[[Lewiston, New York]] | year=2001 | isbn=0-7734-7407-2 | oclc=45784333 }}</ref> that propaganda exists on the political left, and right, and in mainstream centrist parties. Hindery further argues that debates about most social issues can be productively revisited in the context of asking "what is or is not propaganda?" Not to be overlooked is the link between propaganda, indoctrination, and terrorism/[[counterterrorism]]. He argues that threats to destroy are often as socially disruptive as physical devastation itself.

Since [[9/11]] and the appearance of greater media fluidity, propaganda institutions, practices and legal frameworks have been evolving in the US and Britain. Briant shows how this included expansion and integration of the apparatus cross-government and details attempts to coordinate the forms of propaganda for foreign and domestic audiences, with new efforts in [[strategic communication]].<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Emma Louise |last1=Briant|title=Allies and Audiences Evolving Strategies in Defense and Intelligence Propaganda|journal=The International Journal of Press/Politics|date=April 2015|volume=20|issue=2|pages=145–165|doi=10.1177/1940161214552031|s2cid=145697213}}</ref> These were subject to contestation within the [[US Government]], resisted by [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] [[Public affairs (military)|Public Affairs]] and critiqued by some scholars.<ref name=Briant2015/> The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (section 1078 (a)) amended the US Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (popularly referred to as the [[Smith-Mundt Act]]) and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1987, allowing for materials produced by the State Department and the [[Broadcasting Board of Governors]] (BBG) to be released within U.S. borders for the Archivist of the United States. The Smith-Mundt Act, as amended, provided that "the Secretary and the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall make available to the Archivist of the United States, for domestic distribution, motion pictures, films, videotapes, and other material 12 years after the initial dissemination of the material abroad (...) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors from engaging in any medium or form of communication, either directly or indirectly, because a United States domestic audience is or may be thereby exposed to program material, or based on a presumption of such exposure." Public concerns were raised upon passage due to the relaxation of prohibitions of domestic propaganda in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|title=Smith-Mundt Act|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130715/11210223804/anti-propaganda-ban-repealed-freeing-state-dept-to-direct-its-broadcasting-arm-American-citizens.shtml|website='Anti-Propaganda' Ban Repealed, Freeing State Dept. To Direct Its Broadcasting Arm at American Citizens|date=15 July 2013 |publisher=Techdirt|access-date=1 June 2016}}</ref>

In the wake of this, the internet has become a prolific method of distributing political propaganda, benefiting from an evolution in coding called bots. [[Software agent]]s or [[Internet bot|bots]] can be used for many things, including populating social media with [[Media manipulation|automated messages]] and posts with a range of sophistication. During the [[2016 United States elections|2016 U.S. election]] a cyber-strategy was implemented using bots to direct US voters to Russian political news and information sources, and to spread politically motivated rumors and false news stories. At this point it is considered commonplace contemporary political strategy around the world to implement bots in achieving political goals.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Howard|first1=Philip N.|last2=Woolley|first2=Samuel|last3=Calo|first3=Ryan|date=3 April 2018|title=Algorithms, bots, and political communication in the US 2016 election: The challenge of automated political communication for election law and administration|journal=Journal of Information Technology & Politics|volume=15|issue=2|pages=81–93|doi=10.1080/19331681.2018.1448735|issn=1933-1681|doi-access=free}}</ref>