Propaganda And The Red Scare

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the peak of the Cold War, communist ideologies began the spread from Russia, known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, into parts of Asia such as China, Vietnam, and Korea. Thus starting a nation wide hysteria in the United States of America known as The Red Scare which created an intense political stand-off most notably between the Soviet Union and the United States. To combat the spread of socialist ideals in America, the government turned to using propaganda through a variety media to help promote an anti-socialist and pro-capitalist mindset. For communist ideas to flourish, socialist establishments also utilized propaganda. However, there is a problem that arises. Most historians, if not all,

This definition is too biased because of the uses of negative phrases such as ‘insufficient grounds’ and ‘to its advantage’ which creates only a negative implication on the term. If we were to give propaganda a more neutral meaning, it would open eyes as to the amount of possibilities that can be considered as propaganda. Propaganda, defined by Merriam Webster, is the spreading of ideas, information or rumors for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause or a person. Protest chants for the feminist movement could be propaganda. What of the many songs performed at the Woodstock Festival of 1969 to end the Vietnam War? Even music that is created for religious practices can be thought of as propaganda. This meaning is neutral and encompasses all types of propaganda whether bad or good. Propaganda cannot be propaganda without some sort of method as to how beliefs are passed down. Going back to Warren Taylor, he states that there are four methods as to how propaganda is used. The first method is to “lure men’s senses and whet their appetite”. To clarify, propagandists will use what people desire the most and use that knowledge in their favor. The second method is to “tamper with the facts and evidence or create false facts”. Propagandists would falsely give out wrong information in order to move their agenda further along. A propagandist’s third method is to “play with the emotions of the audience”. Whether it be happy, sad or angry, propagandists will move the emotions of their audience to help create chaos and unrest. The final method is to manipulate the ideas and principles to their advantage. Taylor explains that this can be used by “evading the issue, begging the questions, echoing and re-echoing