1622年,天主教聖座成立「傳信部」(Congregatio de Propaganda Fide,非正式称呼为propaganda,即今之萬民福音部),“propaganda”一词开始流行[1][2]。其主要活动是培養傳教士前往非天主教国家傳福音[1]。1890年代,该词汇被用来描述世俗中的宣传行为[1]。到了19世纪,当该词汇被用到政治场合后,开始带有贬义。[1]
类型
定义政治宣传是很困难的。其中一大障碍是如何将政治宣传与其他类型的劝说行为区分开来,需要避免一种“彼行之则为政治宣传,己行之则为信息、教育”的偏见。加思·乔伊特(Garth S. Jowett)和维多利亚·奥唐奈(Victoria O'Donnell)对此的定义是:“政治宣传是一种有意为之、系统性的行为,试图形成观念、操纵认知、引导行为,以实现政治宣传着所预期的回应。”[3]理查德·亚伦·尼尔森对其的描述是:“政治宣传是一种系统性的、有意图的劝说形式,为了某种意識形態、政治或商业目的,通过大规模、直接性媒体频道传播单方面的受控制消息(真假皆有可能),试图影响某一特定目标对象的情感、态度、观念、行为。政治宣传组织可能会雇佣政治宣传员,由他们完成政治宣传活动。”[4]
在战事之初,德国就有半官方的宣传机器。由记者马蒂亚斯·埃茨贝格尔创办的外部事务中央办公室(Zentralstelle für Auslandsdienst) 向中立国家(尤其是在入侵了比利时之后)开启宣传攻势。尽管战时一打响,英国就切断了德国的海底电缆,他们通过无线发报向世界播报亲德国的新闻报道。除此之外,移动电影放映机被送上前线,给士兵们观看。德国的宣传画很多涉及到同德国神话有关的格斗场景。
^原文:The 20th century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy
^"Letter from Noam Chomsky" to Covert Action Quarterly, quoting Alex Carey, Australian social scientist, 存档副本. [2007-04-01]. (原始内容存档于2012-07-10).
^Boesche, Roger. "Kautilya's Arthasastra on War and Diplomacy in Ancient India", The Journal of Military History67 (p. 9–38), January 2003.
^Mark U. Edwards, Printing Propaganda and Martin Luther 15; Louise W. Holborn, "Printing and the Growth of a Protestant Movement in Germany from 1517 to 1524", Church History, 11, no. 2 (1942), 123.
^Serbian Propaganda: A Closer Look. 1999-04-12 [2013-11-08]. (原始内容存档于2013-06-04). NOAH ADAMS: The European Center for War, Peace and the News Media, based in London, has received word from Belgrade that no pictures of mass Albanian refugees have been shown at all, and that the Kosovo humanitarian catastrophe is only referred to as the one made up or overemphasized by Western propaganda. 。 Also, and we quote from the report, "information programs are designed to present the illegitimacy of a NATO aggression on Yugoslavia, the unanimity of the Serbian people in resisting the enemy and Serbian invincibility. All three aims are wrapped in a nationalistic code, `most powerful Western nations, killers, death disseminators, fascists, dictators, criminals, villains, bandits, vandals, barbarians, gangsters, vampires, cowards, perverts, lunatics, scum and trash who want to destroy the small but honorable, dignified, freedom-loving Serbian nation.