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History vocabulary · Wars, Treaties and Diplomacy

Propaganda

Meaning in history, with examples

/ˌprɒpəˈɡændə/nounCore term

In history, propaganda means: Information, images or ideas spread in an organised way to influence public opinion, often one-sided or misleading, especially by governments in war or political struggle.

In Turkish: propaganda

How it is used

Historians analyse wartime posters, films and newspapers as evidence of what governments wanted people to believe. Propaganda is produced, spread and used, and it is uncountable: a piece of propaganda. The word comes from a Catholic congregation founded in 1622.

Example sentences

  1. First World War posters are a rich source for studying propaganda.

  2. Both sides used radio for propaganda during the Second World War.

Common collocations

  • wartime propaganda
  • propaganda poster
  • state propaganda
  • a propaganda campaign
  • propaganda value
  • biasA one-sided view that makes a source or a writer favour one person, group or explanation, so that the account is not fully balanced or complete.
  • world warA war in which most of the world's major powers take part and fighting spreads across several continents; in practice, the wars of 1914–1918 and 1939–1945.
  • Cold WarThe long rivalry between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies, from the late 1940s until 1991, without a direct full-scale war between them.
  • primary sourceEvidence created at the time being studied or by people who witnessed it, such as letters, diaries, official records, photographs or objects.

More terms: Wars, Treaties and Diplomacy

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