Media As A Propaganda Tool

Introduction to Broadcast Media
SESSION 12
broadcasting media as a propaganda tool

WHAT IS PROPAGANDA?
Propaganda is a form of purposeful persuasion that attempts to influence the

emotions, attitudes, opinions, and actions of specified target audiences for
ideological, political or commercial purposes through the controlled transmission of
one-sided messages (which may or may not be factual) via mass and direct media
channels.
However it is defined, one thing is clear: contemporary propaganda is everywhere –

in news, information, advertising and entertainment. In today’s world, propaganda
is impossible to avoid.
RECOGNIZING PROPAGANDA
Propaganda appears in a variety of forms and uses common techniques to
successfully influence people, including:
 Activating strong emotions
 Responding to audience needs & values
 Simplifying information & ideas
 Attacking opponents
Propaganda is not the same as brainwashing or mind control. These terms refer to
psychological tactics, sometimes used in warfare, that are designed to subvert an
individual’s sense of control over their own thinking. Brainwashing usually requires
isolation of the individual from his or her social group. By contrast, propaganda is
often so ordinary that it becomes enmeshed with “common sense.”
Although propaganda sometimes involves deception, most forms of propaganda use

well-verified, factual information. Propagandists may use partially true or
incomplete information that comes from a source that looks authentic, but is
controlled by sources that are disguised. These disguises come in many forms.
Businesses often provide funding to sources (like researchers and other professional
communicators) to create information and transmit messages that align directly
with their interests and goals.
ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF PROPAGANDA

Symbols are powerful. They shape our perception of ourselves, our communities
and of possibilities for the future. For thousands of years, people all over the world
have understood that control over symbolic expression – storytelling, art, music,
news and information – can change the world, for better or for worse.
Like all forms of communication, specific examples of propaganda may be more or

less effective. They may be beneficial, benign, or harmful. Perceptions of its impact
will vary depending upon people’s individual identities, life experiences, and values.
Propaganda can’t be successful without the active participation of audiences. To
Page 1 of 146
assess whether a particular example of propaganda is beneficial, benign or harmful,

consider these FACTORS:
Message: The nature of the information and ideas being expressed
Techniques: The use of symbols and rhetorical strategies that attract attention
and activate emotional response
Environment and Context: Where, when and how people encounter the message
Means of Communication & Format: How the message gets to people and what
form it takes
Audience Receptivity: How people think and feel about the message and how
free they are to accept or reject it
Where is Propaganda Found?
PROPAGANDA IN ALL ASPECTS

Propaganda can be found in news and journalism, advertising and public relations,
and education – and in all aspects of daily life. It is present in information from
government, business, religious and non-profit organizations, and in many forms of
entertainment including music, dramas, TV shows, movies, videogames and social
media like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
Journalism and Public Relations: Public relations is the term used for
communication professionals who seek to shape perceptions and influence public
opinion on behalf of a business client. In general, people are not aware of how
public relations efforts have shaped the content of newspaper articles, blog posts or
other online information.
Advertising: There is a big difference between advertising and propaganda.

Advertising supports sales and marketing goals. For example, McDonald’s spent
$998 million to buy advertising placements in television, outdoor advertising, radio
and magazines in 2013. Advertisers want to generate increased consumption of
their commercial products and services by using a variety of forms of mass media
and digital media to persuade readers, viewers, users or listeners. The public is
generally aware of advertising and recognizes its purpose. Many forms of free mass
media, including broadcast television, radio and search engines depend on selling
advertising, which enables businesses to sell products and services.
Government: Throughout the 20th century, the United States has generated war
propaganda by defining battles as conflicts between good and evil. Propaganda is
also used to help improve public health. You may be familiar with public service
announcements (PSAs) that aim to alter your behavior.
Education: From kindergarten to college, some forms of education are explicitly

designed to lead people to accept a particular world view. Education can be a form
of indoctrination when certain doctrines, ideas, information, values and beliefs are
not permitted to be questioned. Propaganda enters the classroom in many ways.
Page 2 of 146
Many businesses and technology companies provide curriculum materials to

educators which are explicitly designed to promote a particular point of view.
Entertainment: Some stories are just entertainment, but many stories are also a
form of propaganda. Stories offer ideas and information about good and evil, right
and wrong, thus embedding values and ideology into narrative form. In many
movies and video games, violence is depicted as justified and morally courageous,
which is a value message that is generally not questioned in society. Another way
that propaganda is embedded in entertainment is through native advertising or
sponsored content, where a company’s world view is presented as a form of
entertainment.
Advocacy: People who are trying to improve society or create social change use
propaganda to influence public opinion. Activists try to promote social, political,
economic or environmental change through using communication activities and
public events that attract attention and influence people's knowledge, attitudes and
opinions.
PROPAGANDA TECHNIQUES
Propaganda is the biased use of information to influence an audience or to further a
specific agenda. It is a form of persuasion that employs many different techniques.
Why do we need to know this?

By having an understanding of how propaganda is used, you’ll have a better chance
to evaluate information and to defend against such techniques.
The following is a compilation of propaganda techniques that have been identified
by the research of social psychologists, along with brief descriptions and examples.
Ad hominem
A Latin phrase that has come to mean attacking one's opponent, as opposed to
attacking their arguments.
Appeal to authority
Appeals to authority cite prominent figures to support a position, idea, argument, or
course of action.
Big Lie
The repeated articulation of a complex of events that justify subsequent action. The
descriptions of these events have elements of truth, and the "big lie"
generalizations merge and eventually supplant the public's accurate perception of
the underlying events.
Black-and-white fallacy
Presenting only two choices, with the product or idea being propagated as the
better choice. (e.g., "You're either with us, or against us....")
Page 3 of 146
Cult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media to create an
idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise.
The hero personality then advocates the positions that the propagandist desires to
promote. For example, modern propagandists hire popular personalities to promote
their ideas and/or products.
Dictation
This technique hopes to simplify the decision making process by using images and
words to tell the audience exactly what actions to take, eliminating any other
possible choices. Authority figures can be used to give the order, overlapping it with
the appeal to authority technique, but not necessarily. The Uncle Sam "I want you"
image is an example of this technique.
Disinformation
The creation or deletion of information from public records, in the purpose of
making a false record of an event or the actions of a person or organization,
including outright forgery of photographs, motion pictures, broadcasts, and sound
recordings as well as printed documents.
Framing
Framing is the social construction of a social phenomenon often by mass media
sources, political or social movements, political leaders, or other actors and
organizations. It is an inevitable process of selective influence over the individual's
perception of the meanings attributed to words or phrases.
Guilt by association or Reduction

This technique is used to persuade a target audience to disapprove of an action or
idea by suggesting that the idea is popular with groups hated, feared, or held in
contempt by the target audience. Thus if a group that supports a certain policy is
led to believe that undesirable, subversive, or contemptible people support the
same policy, then the members of the group may decide to change their original
position. This is a form of bad logic, where A is said to include X, and B is said to
include X, therefore, A = B.
Half-truth
A half-truth is a deceptive statement that includes some element of truth. It comes
in several forms: the statement might be partly true, the statement may be totally
true but only part of the whole truth, or it may utilize some deceptive element,
such as improper punctuation, or double meaning, especially if the intent is to
deceive, evade, blame, or misrepresent the truth.
How does propaganda work and what makes it effective?

Propaganda works in that people create a funnel of information. They persuade
people to go to one source. If you can get over that one hurdle, it’s much easier to
persuade or brainwash people, because they are only listening to that source that
they deem most credible. Then you simply repeat, repeat, repeat. You can do
different forms, but you keep the same theme. So, people literally internalize it as
Page 4 of 146
truth. It’s very effective, particularly with the advent of technology—in the
twentieth century, you go to radio, radio to television, television to cable. And
anyone who’s wanted to persuade a lot of people at one time masters that
technology.
Is it really just a matter of reaching more people?

Fundamentally it's a matter of reaching more people. But it's also a false sense of
control over the filter because one has the ability to filter people out or filter sites
out, and then welcome them into his/her newsfeed. So he/she have control over
the information that s/he is receiving, but in fact if someone is continuing to receive
false information from a source then s/he is still being manipulated. So that's what
compounds the problem here.
Why do people have that confidence?

Because it's so easy to access. It's on your phone, it's on your tablet, it's on your
computer. It's global. And then their friends, neighbors, virtual friends, actual
friends — they all talk about it. They all have access to it. So in some ways you feel
out of the loop if you're not accessing it completely through social media. Since you
feel that pressure you're going to try to be more informed and then you want to
self-justify that time and energy, so you're like "oh yeah, that's true."
On some level, these techniques benefit not just propagandists, but our own
politicians, our own companies, anybody with some sort of vested interest with us
believing a certain thing. So it feels like an uphill battle for the little lowly
consumer.
The whole use of even polling and politics all started in the 1910s, 1920s with
companies that wanted to use mass marketing. They wanted to sell products and
wanted to figure out better marketing techniques. And then the politicians figured
out that they could use those same marketing techniques to advance their cause
and get re-elected.
SOCIAL MEDIA: A PROPAGANDA POWERHOUSE

Forget cat videos and carefully staged vacation snapshots -- social media’s real
killer app is spreading propaganda, disinformation and fake news, according to a
new study.
Social media is now a central pillar of the state’s efforts to shape and control public
opinion at home and abroad.
Facebook and Twitter: manipulating public opinion

Propaganda on social media is being used to manipulate public opinion around the
world.
The studies show that social media is an international battleground for dirty politics.
The lies, the junk, the misinformation of traditional propaganda is widespread
online.
The researchers found that this took the form of what calls “manufacturing
consensus” – creating the illusion of popularity so that a political candidate can
have viability where they might not have had it before.
Page 5 of 146
The illusion of online support for a candidate can spur actual support through a
bandwagon effect. Trump made Twitter centre stage during election, and voters
paid attention.
Russia is the case to look to see how a particularly powerful authoritarian regime
uses social media to control people.
Social media & political propaganda into the 21st century

We keep hearing about the Russian propaganda efforts that played out on
Facebook, Google and Twitter during the 2016 presidential campaign. Facebook
confirmed that it suspended two accounts that may have had ties to Russian
operatives.
These tools help propaganda live in the 21st century, but the rules of propaganda
are as old as politics itself.
MEDIA'S USE OF PROPAGANDA

While propaganda is most evident in times of war, it is constantly being used as a
political and social means in even less obvious ways to influence peoples’ attitudes.
This is currently evident with all the election campaign on TV, where the candidates
are using propaganda techniques to elevate themselves above their competitor.
Modern propaganda uses all the media available to spread its message, including:
press, radio, television, film, computers etc.
Indeed, propaganda is so powerful because everyone is susceptible to it. This is
true as people exist in a rapidly moving and complex world. In order to deal with it,
we need shortcuts. We cannot be expected to recognize and analyze all the aspects
in each person, event, and situation we encounter in even one day. We do not have
the time, energy, or capacity to process the information; and instead we must very
often use our stereotypes, our rules of thumb, to classify things according to a few
key features and then to respond without thinking when one or another of these
trigger feature are present. Propaganda includes the reinforcement of societal
myths and stereotypes that are so deeply embedded within a culture that it is often
difficult to recognize the message as propaganda.
The Mainstream Media has Always Been a Propaganda Tool of the

Establishment
“Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.”
The mainstream media has long been used as of tool of a dominant minority
(media) who use communication systems to influence and control the masses. The
people will believe what the media tells them they believe.
Propaganda has evolved over centuries to take the form of a more subtle and
sophisticated art than in previous ages. Modern propaganda operates with many
different kinds of truth – half truth, limited truth, truth out of context.
Where film production, the press, and radio transmission are not centrally
controlled, no propaganda is possible. As long as a large number of independent
new agencies, newsreel producers, and diverse local papers function, no conscious
and direct propaganda is possible.
Page 6 of 146
HOW TO ANALYZE PROPAGANDA

Sine propaganda has become a systematic process it is possible to analyze how the
media has used it in shaping our opinions. Propaganda can be broken into ten
stages when analyzing it in detail. These stages are:
1) the ideology and purpose of the propaganda campaign,

2) the context in which the propaganda occurs,
3) identification of the propagandist,
4) the structure of the propaganda organization,
5) the target audience,
6) media utilization techniques,
7) special various techniques,
8) audience reaction to various techniques,
9) counterpropaganda, if present, and
10) effects and evaluation
While it is possible to go into detail about each point, we are mainly concerned with
numbers six and seven.
A Case Study.
There are many techniques and persuasion tactics the media uses to disseminate
information. We will specifically focus on three case studies in the France / Pakistan
nuclear issue that highlight different tactics the media use. What is important to
understand about all the tactics is that no matter which one is being used they all
follow the same criteria: it must be seen, understood, remembered, and acted
upon. Thus, propaganda can be evaluated according to its ends and interestingly
enough this is the same criteria that advertiser use every day in ads, and
commercials in "selling" a product.
Using Social Proof, Societal Norms, Similarity, and Dehumanization

Studying media coverage of Pakistan’s nuclear achievement, it becomes clear that a
certain amount of propaganda was used to make Pakistan appear threatening. The
fact that Pakistan developed the technology was not what shaped the articles, but
rather how this information was presented to the reader. In a sense, the
propagandists were looking to turn Pakistan into an enemy of sorts, a country to be
feared, instead of embraced.
One method used to by propagandists to create an enemy is through the technique

of social proof. One way in which we process information is by observing what
other people are doing that are similar to us or linking them to social norms. "When
we are unsure of ourselves, when the situation is unclear or ambiguous, when
uncertainty reigns, we are most likely to look to and accept the actions of others as
correct". Since it is almost impossible for the common people to be an expert in
nuclear cause and effects, he looks to what others say as a means to form his
opinion. This allows him to be persuade to an ideology not of his own. Furthermore,
it is possible to rely on past stereotypes as form of linking one idea to another
group.
Page 7 of 146
For example, media coverage that took such an approach attempted to use a
subset of social proof, where one casts the enemy by declaring it to be a friend of
an already established enemy. For instance, media took such an approach by
broadcasting the statement of Iranian Foreign Minister, congratulating Pakistan.
"From all over the world, Muslims are happy that Pakistan has this capability". This
allowed the media to use social proof and similarity to create an enemy as friend of
enemy.
To strengthen the feel of Pakistan as a friend of the enemy, the media continues to
use the dissimilar tactic or hatred through association by further linking Pakistan
with Syria and Libya.
The Jerusalem Post published a similar article on Pakistan’s atomic weapons,
starting with a reference to the Iranian Foreign Minister. Using the same
propagandistic method of creating an enemy through association, the article stated:
"Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi’s visit to Islamabad a few days after
Pakistan joined the nuclear club seemed to emphasize [the dangers of an ‘Islamic
bomb’]".
Largely misquoted, the term became used in much of the anti-Pakistani propaganda
of labeling by generalization. In fact, all the media coverage made references to the
potential threat of an "Islamic bomb." Such references are made despite repeated
statements from the Pakistani government explaining that Pakistan does not intend
to share any of its nuclear technology with any country.
Therefore, media used three approaches to linking Pakistan with American

enemies:
1. Creating political ties by suggestions that one is another through similarity by
association with another pre-established norm as with the reference to Iran.
2. Creating religious ties of labels and dehumanization of the Islamic Bomb
3. Creating external relationships playing on social proof and suspicion.
Branding of Enemy as Barbarian, and Authority

Another example of how the facts are tinted using propaganda tactics with a focus
on how the media portrays the stability of Pakistan. By media displaying Pakistan
as an unstable nation while discussing nuclear technology, it will persuade the
public to fear Pakistan. This tactic which is Enemy as Barbarian: threat to culture
is intended to create an enemy, by creating a sense that Pakistan is a country that
is not worthy of nuclear technology. The idea behind enemy as barbarian is to
portray the subject as rude, crude, uncivilized, and animalistic.
Thus the media describe Pakistan in terms that will establish it as a global threat
because of their instability. For example, the Washington Post Quote of the Day was
by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani engineer responsible for nuclear development.
It read as follows: "I am one of the kindest persons in Pakistan. I feed the birds, I
feed ants in the morning. I feed monkeys that come down the mountain". Although
the Post acknowledges the accomplishments of Khan as an engineer, they clearly
represent Pakistan in a way that is far from establishing it as an advanced country
technically. The rural feel of "monkeys that come down the mountain" is enough to
make any reader question the reliability of nuclear technology in a country that
appears to be far from modern.
Page 8 of 146
In fact, this propagandistic tactic is highly subtle, since the connection to nuclear
weapons is not directly made in the quote. It is not until the reader read the last
two lines that the connection is made:
Abdul Qadeer Khan
"the father of the Islamic bomb".
By connecting the speaker with the nuclear weapons, the Post was able to thus
connect the rural feeling created by the quote to the nuclear technology. Since one
does not imply the other, there is a sense of uneasiness created in the mind of the
reader. The critical point is that although the quote is correct factually, the context
in which it is presented, the specific form and placement of labels, is what makes it
propaganda.
By locating Pakistan in "one of the world’s most volatile regions" the authors quickly
establish why the country should not have nuclear weapons. The media uses this
tactic to help establish the ideology that the unstable region of Pakistan can only
cause problems with their nuclear technology.
Dune affect, Reprogramming, and Commitment to Consistency

The international media tried to persuade the public to think about Pakistan’s
nuclear technology in a negative way, whereas it was the same media that made a
different county’s nuclear technology appear unrelated to global stability and
safety. In effect, the purpose of the propaganda was to ensure that French nuclear
technology appears non-threatening.
In order to achieve this goal, the media had to take the focus of nuclear technology
away from the military implications and focus it elsewhere. Many media outlets
across the globe after France exploded their first atomic bomb on February 13,
1960 shifted the focus toward more political themes. This is a clear example of
the Dune affect, which states that those who control the media control the
opinions of the people. Subjectively, the media focuses on shifting the focus from
something bad to something good when it serves the ideology they wish to spread.
Furthermore, this exploits a well-known principle of human behavior which says,
"people simply like to have reasons for what they do". Thus, the media only needs
to give a reason for their message despite its invalidity in order for it to be
accepted.
For example, the media on the French test on the day of the explosion downplayed
all military applications of the nuclear technology. It stated: "The initial effect is
likely to be the strengthening of President de Gaulle’s position when soviet Premier
Khrushchev visits France March 15 (1960)". Moreover, the media continues to take
away emphasis on the war-related side of the technology by refocusing on politics:
"The meeting [with Khrushchev] will be followed quickly by de Gaulle’s trips to
Britain and the Untied States. In all three meetings he’s expected to assert his
views with more force than ever". Thus the reader becomes interested the
diplomacy that comes with the nuclear technology instead of the implications for
destruction.
Page 9 of 146
In another television coverage, the program actually shifted the focus from war
technology to disarmament talks: "The explosion placed France in a better position
to conclude agreements with the world’s atomic powers leading to nuclear
disarmament". Twisting the focus 180 degrees, from the destructive technology, to
diplomacy, to disarmament talks, the discussion program was able to spin the truth
or reality because it served the purpose of the propagandist who had control of the
media.
Similarly, the New York Times published an article a week after the test in which it
emphasized the impact of the French nuclear technology on NATO instead of war:
"By joining the atomic club, de Gaulle hopes to gain a voice in big power
disarmament decisions and to increase the influence of French diplomacy". And so
the propaganda tactic of giving any justification because people simply like to have
reasons for what they do comes into play as the article persuades the reader to
focus on the non-threatening nature of the technology.
The article continues by suggesting that France is worthy of nuclear weapons, since
they will not use them for ill deeds, the idea of giving them nuclear technology
would now seem logical. This is a persuasion tactic known as commitment to
consistency, which plays on human's "obsessive desire to be (and appear to be)
consistent with what we have already done". This tactic allows the author and
media in general to slowly bring the reader to a conclusion that would normally be
difficult to justify.
The examples of broadcast media using such a propaganda tactic are numerous,
and most can be found by studying articles printed and media coverage in different
international TV/Radio networks the week of the French atomic bomb explosion.
Indeed, there is more to the presentation of information than the facts one uses.
The placement of the facts and the order can slowly mold the understanding of the
reader. Through specific propaganda techniques reprogramming, authority, and
commitment to consistency the media person is able to take a potentially
dangerous situation and make the reader/viewer feel completely comfortable with
the various scenarios.
MORE EXAMPLES OF MEDIA MANIPULATION
Is Everything in the Mainstream Media Fake?

The world of television and modern media has become a tool of de-
evolution, propaganda and social control. Nearly unlimited resources have been
applied to understanding how to manipulate the human psyche through television
and other forms of mass media.
What we have today is an increasingly sophisticated full-spectrum assault on free

will and psychological well-being, and we have come to a point where it is no longer
even necessary for media institutions to attempt to hide their blatant work of
manipulating public opinion, manufacturing consent, and creating winners and
losers in the minds of the already brain-washed public.
Page 10 of 146
Here are examples where truth reveals that the impression the media is conveying
to a dumbed-down, unsuspecting public differs greatly from what is actually
happening behind the scenes. By looking at these examples in a single location, it is
easy to see how the mainstream media pushes ulterior motives on the public, and
how important it is to be vigilant when consuming their info.
News Media Lies, Scripting, Omissions and Obfuscations
Time Magazine sanitizes their covers for American consumption

Time Magazine is considered a leader in national news, yet they consistently
portray a dumbed-down, frivolous image of life in America while presenting an
entirely different message to the rest of the world. In the two examples below, their
magazine covers feature a different cover story for Americans while sending
different messages to the rest of the world.
CNN is the leader in fake war news coverage

Here are just 2 examples of how CNN has scripted and staged live war coverage to
create a sense of drama and danger around people who were not in harm’s way.
Anderson Cooper fakes Syria war footage by dubbing in sound effects and playing
chaotic video next to a Syrian correspondent. In the video you can see how in one
tape the correspondent is in a safe environment, then you see the footage aired by
CNN with dubbed in theatrical effects:
Video: cnn caught staging news segments on Syria with actors
In this CNN clip of coverage of the first Gulf War in the 1990s, anchorman Charles
Jaco makes a joke of war coverage in Saudia Arabia and demonstrates how the
news is overly sensationalized for American audiences, and how hosts pretend to be
in danger when they are not. At 7:00 in this clip Jaco quickly puts on a ridiculous
gas mask for obvious theatrics while talking to a guest:
Video: cnn’s fake newscast from the first gulf war.
Page 11 of 146
Manufactured ‘Reality’ TV
The Biggest Loser
Americans should by now already know that ‘reality shows’ are staged. The popular
TV show, Biggest Loser, where overweight people compete to lose the most weight
for the entertainment benefit of the rest of the world, lies about the circumstances
of the training and weighing regimen of their contestants while using underhanded
methods to generate phony emotional responses from their contestants.
“They want the drama, the tears, the fights, the tears, the triumphs and the tears.
Producers would push you to cry because that’s what makes good TV. They
continually asked questions like “Do you miss your kids?” Needless to say, I broke
down more than once…
Have you ever wondered how the contestants manage to lose a staggering 12 kilos
in a single week? In fact the longest gap from one weigh-in to the next was three
and a half weeks. That’s 25 days between weigh-ins, not seven.
It turns out that many of the so-called ‘reality’ shows are actually scripted theatrical
presentations that count on the viewer’s suspension of disbelief to garner ratings.
Nationally scripted local ‘news’

The comedian and talk show host Conan O’Brien has done a service for America by
compiling overtly ridiculous cases of local ‘news’ broadcasts that were
simultaneously repeated verbatim in dozens of markets nationwide. This is proof
that you simply cannot trust the authenticity of what you are seeing on news
broadcasts. Watch these stunning and blatant examples of this in the following
videos:
Video: Newscasters agree: a Christmas present or two or ten edition

Video: Newscasters agree: don’t worry, be happy edition
Digital Image Manipulation is Abundant in the Media

Manipulating Images as War Propaganda
There are many examples of how newspapers around the world photoshop images
of war in order to influence public opinion. All sides in a conflict will do this as
propaganda, so it is important to remember this when consuming news on
international conflicts and to be alert for phonies. The images below of the recent
conflict in Syria show how easily images are manipulated for the purposes of
propaganda:
Page 12 of 146
Advertising Industry ‘Touches Up’ Images of People

The practice of digitally ‘touching up’ actors and models in images and videos is an
overt industry standard. Yet most people, whether they’re aware of image
manipulation or not, still process television and print images on the sub-conscious
level as if they were, primarily because everyone is doing it, and our bias for
‘normal’ has been socially reconstructed to adopt advertising lies as normal.
THE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF CREATORS AND CONSUMERS

Everyone participates in the process of persuasion, which is the use of words and
other symbols to influence people. People use persuasion to gain social power. But
the term propaganda is generally used when someone is aiming to reach a large
group of people, not just a few.
Page 13 of 146
Today, social media like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter make it easy for ordinary
individuals to create or disseminate propaganda. Of course, communication is
always oriented to a specific goal or purpose, as people use symbols to build
relationships, convey information, entertain, inspire or teach. But the propagandist
does not aim to encourage deliberation or reflection. The propagandist does not
encourage independent judgement by presenting a variety of viewpoints and
allowing the audience to determine which perspective is correct. Instead, the
propagandist uses facts and information selectively, transmitting only those ideas
that help accomplish the goal.
HOW TO DEFEND AGAINST PROPAGANDA

Thus, from different examples on how the media uses propaganda, we can
understand that the media does more than presentation facts and information. The
media has the ability to exploit persuasive tactics to the specific definition of
propaganda: the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of
helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.
It is not that propaganda is always wrong; overall it is usually helpful to respond to

messages mindlessly, and that the truly only way to defend against it is to be more
aware of the tactics being used.
Ways to resist unwanted social influence:

Be aware of the general perspective that others use to frame the problem or
issue at hand, because accepting their frame on their terms gives them a powerful
advantage. For example, the reader of newspaper articles on Pakistan's nuclear
weapons must be aware that the author has inserted his understanding of
situations that do not fall into the category of the article headline: whether this be
in terms of Pakistan as a nation, Pakistan's military, or the Pakistani culture. In
fact, it is usually through this framing of the situation that the author can persuade
the reader to think of the issue in a different light.
Be sensitive to situational demands however trivial they may seem: group

norms, group pressures, symbols of authority, slogans, and commitments. Don't
believe in simple solutions to complex personal, social, and political problems. As
with the media coverage of Pakistan and France, it is usually much easier for the
public what to believe, instead of using the media as merely a suggestion of what
may be believed. Especially as the tactics grow more and more refined, more and
more subtle, and more and more persuasive, we find that the minute we stop
observing with a critical eye, we have already been persuaded. It is so often that
we find ourselves overwhelmed by work that needs to be done. It is so often that
we do not have time to sort through the information presented to us so that we
may derive our own solution. And sadly, it is so often that we let ourselves fall prey
to propaganda for we have grown too weary to defend ourselves.
In the end, it must be remembered that it is not enough to dissent vocally -- one
must be willing to disobey, to defy, to challenge, and to suffer any ensuing
consequences of these actions.
Page 14 of 146
Understand the situation and act accordingly. Only through this can one
recognize persuasive tactics in propaganda and how they shape our beliefs.
Conclusion
Whether for marketing or for manufacturing consent, the media industry is guilty of
using subtle and not-so-subtle tactics to influence our conscious and subconscious
minds to influence our opinions and behavior. There are countless other examples
of these practices; and discerning, awake people would be well served to be vigilant
of this when consuming modern media in any form.
You don’t have to be paranoid these days to acknowledge that you’re being lied to
and that the institutions we should be able to depend on for bringing us an
objective view of world are anything but objective.
Page 15 of 146
50 Powerful Examples Of Visual

Propaganda And The Meanings
Behind Them
Deceitful, manipulative, persuasive or informative? However you perceive it,
propaganda has been used to change the way the world thinks and behaves for
thousands of years.
These days, thanks to a history of it being used to drive harmful or
discriminatory messages, propaganda generally carries a negative connotation.
But propaganda can be used effectively to relay positive messages, like health
recommendations, PSAs, and encouraging people to vote.
01. I Want You

What’s now regarded as the most famous poster in the world, the I Want
You poster first appeared on the cover of Leslie’s Weekly on July 6, 1916 (as
the United States was entering World War I) with the title, ‘What Are You
Doing for Preparedness?’ The poster showed Uncle Sam pointing directly at the
viewer, compelling them to action.
Page 16 of 146
02. What Did YOU Do?

This poster was created by British illustrator Savile Lumley and was used in
World War I to compel men with families to enlist. The aim of the poster was to
strike at their pride, persuading them that in the future their children would
Page 17 of 146
judge them not for their decision to support their family back home, but for their
wartime contribution.
Page 18 of 146
03. Be careful what you say

This simple poster from the Second World War sent the clear message to the
civilians of the Allied Powers that Hitler’s Germany had means of listening into
their communications.
04. We Can Do It!

Another incredibly popular poster worldwide was created by J. Howard Miller
in 1943. Originally, it was created for Westinghouse Electric and used strictly
internally to boost the morale of women who already worked at the company,
rather than to recruit women to come to work. The poster was rediscovered in
Page 19 of 146
the early 80s and used to promote feminism, and is often mistaken for Rosie the
Riveter.
05. Rosie the Riveter

Rosie the Riveter was created in 1943 by Norman Rockwell, and actually
represents the American women that worked in the munitions and war
Page 20 of 146
supplies factories in WWII. It served as a call to arms for women to become

strong and capable in order to support the war effort.
06. Chinese ‘Rosie the Riveter’

This poster is similar to the American Rosie the Riveter, and was created by
Ning Hao. It shows women being asked to work in factories alongside men, but
Page 21 of 146
only partially empowering them. The main purpose of this poster was to
increase the workforce in China.
Page 22 of 146
07. Che Guevara

Created by Jim Fitzpatrick and based on a famous photograph by Alberto
Korda, this image became famous worldwide during the Vietnam war protests,
and was used during the Paris student riots in 1960. It is viewed as everything
from a revolution inspiring icon to a retro logo.
Page 23 of 146
08. Thief!
This poster goes against child labor, and shows small children working hard
while a large and portly man looks on with bags of money at his feet. It depicts
him as stealing their innocence and childhood, due to the incredibly dangerous
nature of the jobs they were forced to work to help feed themselves and their
families while being paid incredibly small sums.
Page 24 of 146
09. Anti-Smoking
A powerful anti-smoking statement, this poster borrows from the classic Atari
game Pong. The cigarette acts as one of the ‘paddles’ and keeps ticking away at
the lungs one piece at a time. The viewer knows that if the game were to
Page 25 of 146
continue, the lungs would be destroyed completely, which ultimately

symbolizes a ‘game over’ – or death.
Page 26 of 146
10. It’s our flag
Page 27 of 146
Page 28 of 146
A poster commissioned by the London Parliamentary Recruiting Committee in

1915. This one appealed to the sense of patriotism of its audience, using the
British flag as a symbol to encapsulate what needed protecting.
Page 29 of 146
11. Buy War Bonds
Page 30 of 146
Page 31 of 146
Encouraging people to buy war bonds was an incredibly popular propaganda

message, and an example can be seen here. It shows three children underneath a
shadow of the Nazi symbol, along with the message ‘don’t let that shadow touch
them, buy war bonds’. This message implies that if you don’t support the war
financially, harm could come to your children, playing on people’s fear. It was
incredibly successful.
Page 32 of 146
12. Together
Page 33 of 146
Page 34 of 146
This poster was created in Britain during WWII. It shows an array of different
types of British citizens all coming together in a time of need. The ideas of race
and class are completely disregarded, and it encourages everyone to come
together and help their country.
Page 35 of 146
13. Perks of Joining the Submarine Service
Page 36 of 146
Page 37 of 146
Playing on the desires of men, this poster alludes to the idea that joining the
service will attract women. It promoted the idea that serving was fun and full of
rewards, and chose not to show any negativity or harsh imagery to ‘scare’
people into joining.
Page 38 of 146
14. Someone Talked!
Page 39 of 146
This poster created during WWII was aimed at dissuading people from talking
about the war and revealing important information about the US Navy to
potential spies. It depicts a man, floating in a body of water (seemingly after his
warship had been sunk), with the message “Someone Talked”.
Page 40 of 146
15. For You and Your Country’s Sake
Page 41 of 146
Page 42 of 146
This propaganda poster encourages women to join the armed forces ‘for
themselves and their country.’ It portrays the women as strong and stoic,
looking towards the future, together. Perhaps they are looking towards the
future of the country, or their families’ futures.
Page 43 of 146
16. Change to a Victory Job
A poster commissioned in Australia in 1943 to encourage the country’s women

to trade in their civilian jobs for war jobs. With her fist clenched and her
expression serious and urgent, the woman here was depicted as a strong,
independent and active contributor to Australia’s war efforts.
Page 44 of 146
17. Keep Cool with Coolidge
Page 45 of 146
Page 46 of 146
This is a campaign poster for Calvin Coolidge’s 1924 campaign. It shows him
steering the ‘Ship of the State’ alongside Columbia, who is the female
personification of the United States. It has his famous slogan ‘Keep Cool with
Coolidge’ at the top, and portrays him as collected and in charge of where the
country is going.
Page 47 of 146
18. Vote for Peace
Page 48 of 146
This is an anti-war poster, and shows the death tolls for both American and
Vietnamese soldiers during the Vietnam war. It says that the war is over for
them, because they’re dead, but can be over for everyone if they vote for
‘peace’.
Page 49 of 146
19. Liberators
This Nazi propaganda poster depicts the people of the United States as
domineering and portraying a number of negative ‘characteristics’ of American
Page 50 of 146
citizens. They show them as money-grubbing and racist, and are encouraging
the German people to look at Americans in a negative way.
20. Looking for Hope
Page 51 of 146
Another Nazi poster, this one shows starving and homeless Germans, and has
the message that Hitler is their only hope for survival (“unsere letzte hoffnung:
Hitler” means “Our last hope: Hitler.”)
Page 52 of 146
21. Knit Your Bit
Page 53 of 146
Page 54 of 146
The American Red Cross created this poster to encourage women to ‘knit their
bit’, and contribute to the war efforts by knitting socks for soldiers. Since most
military clothes were produced in factories, socks weren’t actually needed to be
knitted by citizens, but the poster acted to create patriotic involvement.
Page 55 of 146
22. Build Tanks
This poster encourages Russians to help the country build more tanks in order to
defeat Nazi Germany. It shows both a man and a woman looking out into space.
Page 56 of 146
They look strong and hopeful, giving Russian citizens hope that the war will
come to an end.
23. The Emancipation of Russian Women
Page 57 of 146
Another Russian poster, this one shows the emancipation of Russian women.
Instead of showing her in the workforce, they defeminized her, making her look
like a man. This in turn made the poster into an effort to increase labor in both
men and women.
Page 58 of 146
24. Work in Britain
Page 59 of 146
This poster is Britain’s version of Russia’s emancipation poster, but actually

shows the woman as a woman. It calls for women to join the workforce, but
gives them a powerful stance and a purpose.
25. Talk Less
This propaganda poster, again from the era of the Second World War, warns of
the risk of German spies infiltrating the civilian communities of the Allied
Page 60 of 146
Powers. This message was spread consistently during the war and for some time
after it was over.
Page 61 of 146
26. Women of Britain Say Go!
Another propaganda poster from World War I, used to encourage British to let
their men leave home soil to take up arms in the war efforts on the European
Page 62 of 146
continent. Much of the propaganda disseminated during both of the world wars
was targeted at women “back home.”
Page 63 of 146
27. Socialism Throttling The Country
Page 64 of 146
Page 65 of 146
This poster was commissioned by the Conservative Party in Britain in 1909. It

depicted the “beast” of socialism endangering the plight of British prosperity.
28. Get a War Job
Page 66 of 146
This poster encourages women who were left behind by loved ones who went
off to war to get a war job. It manipulates their emotions and plays off of their
loneliness, promoting the idea that working would help them pass the time.
Page 67 of 146
29. Money or A Life
Page 68 of 146
This WWI poster plays on emotions again – a common occurrence in war

propaganda. The intention is clear: that a failure to donate funds would likely
result indirectly in the death of an American soldier.
30. Lick Them Over There!
Canada officially entered the Second World War on 10 September, 1939. This
poster, designed to encourage Canadian men to join the fight in Europe, used
Page 69 of 146
the imagery of the soldier with one foot in Canada and one in Europe to
symbolize the pressing threat on national security.
Page 70 of 146
31. Grow a Garden
Page 71 of 146
Page 72 of 146
This poster was created for the United States Food Administration in 1918 by
William McKee. It encourages American families to grow their own gardens
(dubbed Victory Gardens) during WWII to help conserve food.
Page 73 of 146
32. Gaza One Year On
Page 74 of 146
Another modern poster, which is titled ‘Gaza One Year On, Still In Ruins’. It
shows how destructed and devastated the city still is after all of the bombings it
endured from Israel.
Page 75 of 146
33. Manchukuo
This propaganda poster promotes harmony between the Japanese, Chinese, and
Manchu peoples. Their flags are in the background, and the caption reads ‘with
Page 76 of 146
the cooperation of Japan, China, and Manchukuo the world can be in peace.’
The people look happy and peaceful, and are linking arms in camaraderie.
Page 77 of 146
34. Is This Tomorrow?
Page 78 of 146
Page 79 of 146
This is the cover of a propaganda comic book. It shows what tomorrow ‘could’
look like for Americans if the United States became a Communist country. It
shows the flag in flames, and innocent citizens being abused by Communists.
35. Join The Communist Party
This poster was commissioned by the Communist Party of New Zealand in the
1940s. The slogan, “This Way To Progress”, and the designers choice of having
every element in the poster directed to the right hand side of the page, combines
to represent the notion that communism is the answer to take the world forward.
Page 80 of 146
36. A Woman’s Right To Vote
The plight for women to claim their right to vote came to a head in the United
States in 1920, when the right was officially granted. This was a women’s
Page 81 of 146
suffrage flyer circulated that year, spreading the message that the right had been
claimed, and should be exercised.
Page 82 of 146
37. Wake Up America
Page 83 of 146
Page 84 of 146
This poster shows a personification of America sleeping, urging the country to

wake up and do its part in the war efforts of WWI.
Page 85 of 146
38. There’s Still A Place For You
Page 86 of 146
Page 87 of 146
This poster was commissioned by the London Parliamentary Recruiting

Committee in 1915. It depicted a line of battle-ready soldiers, with a space
“reserved for a fit man”. The imagery and language used in the poster
compelled men of action to join their comrades in the fight.
Page 88 of 146
39. Hope
Page 89 of 146
Page 90 of 146
This iconic image represents Obama’s presidential campaign. It shows him as a

symbol of hope, and is very reminiscent of the Che Guevara poster – which is a
reflection of the revolution of the young generations who supported Obama’s
campaign.
Page 91 of 146
40. Buy War Bonds
Page 92 of 146
Page 93 of 146
Another poster that scares families into buying war bonds, this one takes a
different approach and shows the enemy as monsters. Their long, pointed
fingers are stretched out to an iconic looking American woman and her innocent
baby. If you don’t buy war bonds, those hands could reach them, and end their
lives.
Page 94 of 146
41. Death and Fascism
Page 95 of 146
Page 96 of 146
This poster reads ‘The world now knows that the Fascists have nothing to offer
the youth but death.’ It shows a skeleton removing a mask, which is the face of
Hitler, and alludes to the fall of the Nazi regime.
Page 97 of 146
42. Starship Troopers
Page 98 of 146
Page 99 of 146
This poster was made for the military science fiction book Starship Troopers. It
says ‘the only good bug is a dead bug,’ and shows military men ready for a
fight. It promotes action and encourages people to enlist.
Page 100 of 146

43. Together We Can Do It
Page 101 of 146

Page 102 of 146

This poster shows two men rolling up their sleeves and coming together to get
down to work. It encourages camaraderie between the staff and management at
GM. You can see the distinction not only by the labels, but by the ‘blue collar’
and ‘white collar’ shirts.
Page 103 of 146

44. Is he your child?
This poster, commissioned by one of the Allied countries in 1943, played on the
emotions of its target audience: parents. The innocent-looking child, with the
Page 104 of 146
war scenes in the background, is struggling under the weight and size of the
Nazi cap and the skull badge pinned over his heart acted to reinforce the sense
of fear.
Page 105 of 146

45. Silence Means Security
Page 106 of 146

Page 107 of 146

Another propaganda poster used by the Allied Forces in World War II to spread
the message of silence amongst civilians, particularly female civilians. This one
used the imagery of a woman dressed in a military outfit to appeal directly to its
target audience.
Page 108 of 146

46. I Want You for the Navy
Page 109 of 146

Page 110 of 146

Taking a leaf out of Uncle Sam’s ‘I Want You’ poster, instead of portraying
Uncle Sam, they portray an attractive woman. She is saying ‘She Wants You for
the Navy’, and again plays on men’s desires for women to get them to enlist.
Page 111 of 146

47. Nixon’s the One
Page 112 of 146

Page 113 of 146

Richard Nixon ran a campaign that asked voters who they would want to lead
the country, which resulted in the slogan ‘Nixon is the One’. A political
strategist and prankster, Dick Tuck, hired groups of pregnant women to go to
Nixon rallies wearing buttons sporting the slogan, which indicated he was ‘the
one’ for a number of other areas as well.
Page 114 of 146

48. I Want You F.D.R
Page 115 of 146

Page 116 of 146

The idea of ‘I Want You’ was used in many propaganda posters, this one
included. It was used to F.D.R’s advantage, and helped him secure his fourth
term as President. It shows Uncle Sam pointing to F.D.R and telling him he
wants him to finish the job, that America needs him to finish the job.
Page 117 of 146

49. V for Victory
Page 118 of 146

Page 119 of 146

This illustrated poster shows employees and management coming together, and
in doing so ‘cracking’ Hitler and Hirohito. It encourages camaraderie at work,
and promotes the idea that working together can end the war.
Page 120 of 146

50. The Working Man’s President
Page 121 of 146

Page 122 of 146

This campaign poster aimed to get the labor vote. It shows Grant and Wilson
(potential President and Vice President) as hard working men, and represents
the idea that they will both work hard for America.
There you have it: 50 examples of visual propaganda and the stories they tell.
While most uncover dark and regretful features of our past, it’s heartening to
know that through history propaganda tactics have been harnessed to bring
about positive change. Which one did you find most compelling?
TROLLS, BOTS AND FAKE NEWS:

THE MYSTERIOUS WORLD OF
SOCIAL MEDIA MANIPULATION
If it was once common to hear mass anti-government movements in

the Middle East described as “Twitter uprisings” and “Facebook
revolutions,” today these social media platforms are more likely to be
Page 123 of 146
linked to their potential for manipulating public opinions and

influencing elections, including the one that saw Donald Trump
elected as America’s “First Facebook President.”
“The fact that I have such power in terms of numbers with Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, etc.,” Trump said on CBS’ 60 Minutes during the
Republican primaries that he would later go on to win. “I think it helped
me win all of these races where they’re spending much more money
than I spent.” For Trump's digital media director for the
campaign, Brad Parscale, “Facebook was the 500-pound gorilla, 80
percent of the budget kind of thing.” Trump's own enthusiasm for the
social media giant appears to have waned: "Facebook was always
anti-Trump," he tweeted in September 2017.
Now the focus is less on Trump’s extensive personal social media
following and more on the roles that Facebook and Twitter may have
played in alleged Russian interference in the election. Congress is
calling on Facebook and Twitter to disclose details about how they
may have been used by Russia-linked entities to try to influence the
election in favor of Trump.
But despite the much-publicized case in the U.S., the pervasiveness
of these political strategies on social media, from the distribution of
disinformation to organized attacks on opponents, the tactics remain
largely unknown to the public, as invisible as they are invasive.
Citizens are exposed to them the world over, often without ever
realizing it.
Drawing on two recent reports by the Oxford Internet Institute (OII)

and independent research, Newsweek has outlined the covert ways in
which states and other political actors use social media to manipulate
public opinion around the world, focusing on six illustrative examples:
the U.S., Azerbaijan, Israel, China, Russia and the U.K.
It reveals how “Cyber-troops”—the name given to this new political
force by the OII—are enlisted by states, militaries and parties to
secure power and undermine opponents, through a combination of
public funding, private contracts and volunteers, and how bots—fake
accounts that purport to be real people—can produce as many as
1,000 social media posts a day.
Page 124 of 146

By generating an illusion of support for an idea or candidate in this

way, bots drive up actual support by sparking a bandwagon effect—
making something or someone seem normal and like a palatable,
common-sense option. As the director of the OII, Philip
Howard, argues: “If you use enough of them, of bots and people, and
cleverly link them together, you are what’s legitimate. You are creating
truth.”
On social media, the consensus goes to whoever has the strongest
set of resources to make it.
The U.S.: Rise of the bots

America sees a wider range of actors attempting to shape and
manipulate public opinion online than any country—with governments,
political parties, and individual organizations all involved.
In its report, the OII describes 2016’s Trump vs. Hillary Clinton
presidential contest as a “watershed moment” when social media
manipulation was “at an all-time high.”
Many of the forces at play have been well-reported: Whether the
hundreds of thousands of bots or the right-wing sites like Breitbart
distributing divisive stories. In Michigan, in the days before the
election, fake news was shared as widely as professional journalism.
Meanwhile firms like Cambridge Analytica, self-described specialists
in “election management,” worked for Trump to target swing-voters,
mainly on Facebook.
While Hillary Clinton’s campaign also engaged in such tactics, with
big-data and pro-Clinton bots multiplying in number as her campaign
progressed, Trump’s team proved the most effective. Overall, pro-
Trump bots generated five times as much activity at key moments of
the campaign as pro-Clinton ones. These Twitter bots—which often
had zero followers—copied each other’s messages and sent out
advertisements alongside political content. They regularly retweeted
Dan Scavino, Trump’s social media director.
One high-ranking Republican Party figure told OII that campaigning on
social media was like “the Wild West.” “Anything goes as long as your
candidate is getting the most attention,” he said. And it worked:
Page 125 of 146

A Harvard study concluded that overall Trump received 15 percent

more media coverage than Clinton.
Targeted advertising to specific demographics was also central to
Trump’s strategy. Clinton spent two and a half times more than Trump
on television adverts and had a 73% share of nationally focused digital
ads.
But Trump’s team, led by Cambridge Analytica for the final months,
focused on sub-groups. In one famous example, an anti-Clinton ad
that repeated her notorious speech from 1996 describing so-called
"super-predators" was shown exclusively to African-American voters
on Facebook in areas where the Republicans hoped to suppress the
Democrat vote—and again, it worked.
“It's well known that President Obama's campaign pioneered the use
of microtargeting in 2012,” a spokesperson for Cambridge Analytica
tells Newsweek. “But big data and new ad tech are now
revolutionizing communications and marketing, and Cambridge
Analytica is at the forefront of this paradigm shift.”
“Communication enhances democracy, not endangers it. We enable
voters to have their concerns heard, and we help political candidates
communicate their policy positions.”
The firm argues that its partnership with American right-wing

candidates—first Ted Cruz and then Trump—is purely
circumstantial. “We work in politics, but we're not political," the
spokesperson said.
The company is part-owned by the family of Robert Mercer, which was

one of Trump's major donors, while Stephen K. Bannon sat on the
company's board until he was appointed White House chief
strategist (he was dismissed from his post seven months later).
According to Bannon's March federal financial disclosure, he
held shares worth as much as $5 million in the company. On October
11, it was also revealed that the House Intelligence Committee has
asked the company to provide information for its ongoing probe into
Russian interference.
Page 126 of 146

But social media manipulation did not begin or end with the election.
As early as 2011, the US government hired a public relations firm to
develop a “persona management tool" that would develop and control
fake profiles on social media for political purposes.
The British parent company of Cambridge Analytica, Strategic
Communications Laboratories (SCL), has been a client of the
government for years, working with the Department of Defense,
and The Washington Post reports that it recently secured work with
the State Department.
There is also growing awareness of hundreds of thousands of so-
called “sleeper” bots: Accounts that have tweeted only once or twice
for Trump, and which now sit silently, waiting for a trigger—a key
political moment—to spread disinformation and drown out opposing
views.
Emilio Ferrara, an Assistant Research Professor at the University of

Southern California Computer Science department, even suggests the
possibility of “a black-market for reusable political disinformation bots,”
ready to be utilitized wherever they are needed, the world over. These
fears appeared to be confirmed by reports that the same bots used to
back Trump were then deployed against eventual winner Emmanuel
Macron in this year’s French presidential election.
Page 127 of 146

Azerbaijan: “What-aboutism”
Over the years, Azerbaijan’s pro-government trolls have become a

textbook case of state-level social media manipulation. President
Ilham Aliyev has been the country’s leader for the past 14 years, and
his grip is only tightening. In February, he took the unprecedented
step of making his wife vice-president.
Social media has been a part of his presidential strategy since at least
2010, when members of the country’s main youth group, IRELI, were
instructed to proliferate pro-government opinions online. As troll
training-centers multiplied across the country—one source says there
were 52 in different towns and cities, funded with government
money—a few hundred young volunteer-bloggers became tens of
thousands of trained trolls.
At first, they were encouraged to become bloggers, painting a positive
picture of the country, but focus slowly switched to email-attacks on
critics, managing Wikipedia pages and running promotional
campaigns on social media. As the group’s then-secretary general,
explained in 2011 to the national online news-agency, News.AZ:
Page 128 of 146
“Activity and scale of internet users are decisive in this regard. Our
objective is to produce young people who can take an active part in
the information war.”
IRELI’s influence began to fade due to internal politics around 2014
but the youth branch of the ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party took
over. Youth organizations are favoured as cybertroops around the
world because they are cheap, more adept at social media and easily
rewarded with government positions or scholarships.
In Yeni’s case, the methods are blunter than their predecessors: The
language is more aggressive, violent and degrading, with an emphasis
on scale rather than subtlety, with opposition journalists routinely
harassed. Personal attacks are typically taken as the best line of
defence. Occasionally the ongoing conflict with neighboring enemy
Armenia is invoked to drown out online discussions of domestic
human rights abuses with so-called “whataboutism”.
“IRELI’s trolls were more educated,” Arzu Geybulla, an Azerbaijani

journalist and activist who lives in Turkey, tells Newsweek . “But the
government’s trolls have become more active and effective,
particularly on Twitter. Whenever Azerbaijan is discussed at a
conference and there is online activity, they hijack the hashtags and
make sure they dominate the debate.”
The OII reports that these tactics have been largely successful, with
engagement in online political discussion having fallen, but Geybulla,
who has been a victim of the trolls herself, says this is not the only
story. “Social media platforms are becoming increasingly important for
the opposition’s attempts to get around Aliyev’s authoritarian control.
Access to opposition media outlets has been blocked since May,” she
says.
There is also worrying evidence that the government is finding new

roles for social media. Last month, 60 people were reportedly arrested
in Azerbaijan in an unprecedented crackdown on LGBT rights, with
fake profiles allegedly being set upto locate them.
Page 129 of 146

China: The “50-cent” party
China is home to probably the first and largest state-run operation of

social media manipulation, with a vast network of around two million
individuals working to promote the party line. They are popularly
known as the “50-cent party,” a reference to early claims that they
were paid half a Chinese yuan for every post.
A Harvard study estimated “that the government fabricates and posts

about 448 million social media comments a year.” Of 43,800 pro-
regime posts that were analyzed, 99.3% were made by one of the
200+ government agencies.
Rather than trolling opponents or distributing disinformation, Beijing
uses its troll army to distract members of the public during key political
moments. One classic tactic is to post emotional or far-fetched
comments in order to re-direct citizen rage towards that user, diverting
attention from the issue itself.
Page 130 of 146

“They try to redirect public attention by producing positive content—

what we call cheerleading posts—when a protest or party meeting
might be taking place,” Professor Jennifer Pan, one of the academics
involved in the Harvard study, tells Newsweek. “During these periods,
there is a coordinated burst of activity that can drown out organic
discussions occurring online.”
China’s social media strategies came to the fore in Taiwan, which
China claims as part of its territory. Shortly after her election in 2016,
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen was bombarded with comments on
her Facebook page warning the island against independence. It
emerged that many of these hostile comments were being sent from
mainland China—where Facebook, along with Twitter, is banned—
suggesting it could only have been a government endorsed operation.
Indeed, as the banning of Facebook and Twitter shows, China’s grip

on the internet goes far beyond trolls. It also possesses the most
infamous internet censor: the Great Firewall of China, which blocks
foreign news outlets, internet tools (including Google search) and
mobile apps.
This year, with the approach of the 19th Party Congress—which

shuffles the top-ranks of the Chinese leadership—the Propaganda
Ministry and Cyberspace Administration has apparently gone into
overdrive, issuing more censorship guidelines than in the previous ten
years combined.
Page 131 of 146

Israel: A high-tech fight for the moral high-ground
With more than 350 official government social media accounts,

covering the full range of online platforms from Twitter to Instagram
and functioning in three languages—Hebrew, Arabic and English—
Israel has one the most professional online operations in the world.
Student volunteers make up the bulk of the Israeli state’s online

presence, with top-performing students often being awarded
scholarships for their work. Unlike in Azerbaijan and China, the
strategy is to engage in debate, reinforcing or supporting the
government’s authority with an optimistic tone, stressing Israel’s
liberalism compared to its neighbors.
Engagement takes place in the comments section of websites, in

online forums, and on social media, with the aim of improving Israel’s
stature, both at home and abroad. “That is the key to defeating the
movements pushing to boycott, divest and sanction Israel,” one Israeli
Page 132 of 146

politician has explained, referring to the international BDS movement

that seeks to apply economic and political pressure on Israel.
“We will get authoritative information out and make sure it goes viral,”
another official involved in the operation told the Jerusalem Post upon
its launch in August 2013. “We won’t leave negative stories out there
online without a response, and we will spread positive messages.
What we are doing is revolutionary.”
More recently, in April this year, the Israeli government purchased
software that enabled not only a greater scope for monitoring social
media but also, Haaretzreported, the officially stated ability to “plant an
idea in the debate on social networks, web news sites and forums.”
The system also offers a breakdown of users and consequently has
the potential to target supporters of the BDS movement or well-known
critics of Israel.
Russia: Troll factories
As early as 2003 there were allegations of Russian propagandists

covertly entering chatrooms; but after a series of leaks in 2013 and
Page 133 of 146

2014 the full scale of Russia’s current operation became clearer. Sam
Wooley, a member of OII’s Computational Propaganda research
team, told the Guardian: “Russia is the case to look to to see how a
particularly powerful authoritarian regime uses social media to control
people.”
The Internet Research Agency and Nashi are just two of several
organizations that train and pay trolls to attack Russian President
Vladimir Putin’s opponents at home and abroad. The fact that the
former is a private company and the latter a Kremlin-backed youth
movement, 150,000 members strong, shows the complexity of the
Kremlin’s strategy.
Some of the cybertroops create online personas and run blogs,

weaving propaganda into non-political musings. But most are known
for their aggressive persistence. They target journalists and political
dissidents with the hope of either taking them off the internet or
cowing them into silence.
One investigative reporter from Finland who wrote on the Internet

Research Agency’s online operation became the victim of a vicious
and frightening retaliatory campaign. Meanwhile leaders of Nashi have
sent around lists of human rights activists to target, declaring them
“the most vile of enemies.”
According to the 2013 leaks, bloggers who are employed by Internet
Research Agency have to maintain six Facebook accounts and
publish at least three posts a day. Those on Twitter are supposed to
have at least ten accounts and tweet 50 times a day. Individuals have
specific, personalized targets for followers and the level of
engagement. They often work in so-called “troll-factories,” buildings or
basements where hundreds of employees are given such targets. It is
estimated that 45% of Twitter activity in Russia is managed by such
accounts.
The operation is a global one—not merely in defending Putin abroad,
but also as a part of Russia’s foreign policy goals—meaning that poor
English is a weakness. Consequently, a Buzzfeed investigation into
Russia’s troll network revealed how English teachers are hired by
Page 134 of 146

these organizations to teach the cybertroops proper grammar for their

interactions with Western audiences.
There are also workshops on so-called “politology,” The New York
Times reports, which ensure that the trolls are fluent in the particular
pro-Russia line on current events.
United Kingdom: Brexit, bots and big-data
The 2016 Brexit referendum also provided an intense moment for

strategies of manipulation on social media. In the months before the
vote, roughly one third of all traffic on Twitter was from automated
bots, which were almost entirely pro-Leave.
It is notable that bots were not exclusive to the pro-Brexit movement.

In the aftermath of the vote, an online petition calling for a second
referendum attracted more than 3.7 million new signatures in one
weekend. While this was initially interpreted as a sign of voters having
changed their mind, it then emerged that the petition had 42,000
signatures from Vatican City (population 800) and almost 25,000 from
North Korea (where Internet access is extremely limited).
Page 135 of 146

“It’s hard to measure exactly how effective these strategies are,”

Professor Susan Banducci, a social scientist at the University of
Exeter, tells Newsweek. “People don’t see a fake news story, for
example, and believe it straight away—it’s part of a process, and the
big political parties are still adapting to this environment.” People tend
to believe what’s familiar, so the more they see a story or a particular
claim, the more likely they are to accept it as true the next time they
see it.
Independent of the referendum, the British state has taken to some of
these tactics itself. In 2015, the British Army announced that its 77th
Brigade would “focus on non‐lethal psychological operations using
social networks like Facebook and Twitter to fight enemies by gaining
control of the narrative in the information age.”
Its goal is to use “dynamic narratives” to combat the political
propaganda disseminated by terrorist organizations, shaping public
opinion in the process.
The existence of the Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group was

also revealed by Edward Snowden’s leaks in 2014, similarly dedicated
to combatting terrorism. Yet its tactics include, in the words of the
leaked document, “uploading YouTube videos containing persuasive
messages; establishing online aliases with Facebook and Twitter
accounts, blogs, and forum memberships … as well as providing
spoof online resources.”
As a clearer picture of these activities around the world emerges
and their threats to open society become increasingly apparent, the
media tools enabling these players are fast becoming anything but
social.
Page 136 of 146

Laws for Broadcast Media:

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority:
PEMRA is a regulatory body; it was established on 1st March 2002 by the government.
This is responsible for serving and regulating the establishment of all private electronic
media. Its mandate is to improve the standers of information and entertainment
through media and enlarge the options available to public in media. It is also
established to make the people's access easy to mass media at local and community
level. The most significant mandate is have checks on media organizations through
accountability and good governance.
Since PEMRA's beginning in the country, electronic media of Pakistan remained in

regime's control till the Pakistan's first private sector TV channel was launched in 1990s.
It was the mid of 90s when people started using satellite dishes for fulfilling their
entertainment needs. It was the time when government realized people necessitate and
adopted more liberal media policies and provided the public easy access multiple TV
channels by encouraging public private participation. For the accountability purposes
there was a need to have an effective regulatory frame work. By keeping in view all of
the above purposes and the larger interest of the state Pakistan Electronic Media
Regulatory Authority were established.
Factors behind the formulation:

As for as concerned, why these laws have been formulated? There are four factors
behind identified by Javed Jabbar in his book Mass Media Laws and Regulations in
Pakistan, according to him four factors that determined the nature and the application
of laws and regulations to mass media in Pakistan from the date of its independence it
would be appropriate to list the legislative material carried over from the second half of
19th century and the first forty six and a half years of twentieth century under British
rule as the first of these factors.
The second factor was the authoritarian mind-set which shaped the exercise of
executive power. In the absence of a directly elected Parliament and with the
Constituent Assembly perennially unable to frame a constitution that could satisfy both
East Pakistan and the disparate groups in West Pakistan, palace intrigues thrived,
myopic self centered interests becoming sharp thorns which pricked and began to hurt
the press of the country. Shaped by ownership and control of vast tracts of land and
other wealth, accustomed to conventional subservience of the serfs, seeing the upsurge
of the pre 1947 freedom movement on mass level as a passing aberration which had to
be tolerated and used for its own purposes, the feudal mind-set looked upon the media,
particularly and independent press, as a constant irritant and an unacceptable challenge
Page 137 of 146

to the supremacy of the ruling class, a status enjoyed by this for several eras under
British tutelage.
The third determinant factor was the acute sense of uncertainty about the future
stability of a country whose survival for not more than a couple of years had been
forecast by prominent Indian leaders. Combined with the conflict over Kashmir and the
first of the wars with India which occurred in 1948, the new nation faced a geo-political
situation rife with security threats. In such conditions, criticism of government actions by
Press can easily be seen as giving comfort to the enemy. Without a well-established
tradition of engaging in candid exchange and the acceptance of dissenting viewpoints,
the atmosphere facilitated a gradual increase in the influence if the military, initially
behind the scenes, as a part of the lens with which the state perceived the media.
Making up this quartet, was the fourth factor which shaped, policy, laws and actions
with regard to the press in the early years of Pakistan. This was the continuing volatility
in the political arena. An organization that was more of an emotional mass movement
inspired by the idea of an independent homeland for the Muslims, the Muslim League
as a political party entrusted with the tasks of leading a vast and uniquely constructed
new country into stable statehood proved unable to rise the occasion. Deprived of the
towering leadership of Quid-e-Azam in less than a year of independence, the party was
unable to quell factionalism and unwilling to transcend provincial and parochial
divisions to offer a large and unifying vision. Despite the sincerity and service of some
veterans of the freedom movement the political process very quickly began to reveal
internal strife, incompetence and corruption. While government controlled radio and
censor controlled cinema could not offer a mirror to the reality of these times, the press
was seen as an element that was aggravating the problems already being faced, instead
of helping to resolve the complexity of the situation.
Introducing New Directions:

In terms of fundamental and a direction setting change in mass media laws and norms,
perhaps the 104 day tenure of the caretaker government appointed by Presendent
Farooq Leghari on 5th November 1996 and headed by Prime Minister Malik Meraj
Khalid becomes the most significant phase in the history of Pakistan. The only similar
period of significance would be the time in September 1988 when the black law of 1963
was repealed and a new phase of press freedom was ensured. During the most recent
experience of a caretaker administration, basic changes were put into place in the laws
and conventions, ranging from alterations in nomenclature to ending, once and for all,
the 50 year monopoly of the state and government over electronic media.
Page 138 of 146

One of the first decisions taken by the government in November 1996 was to change
the name of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to the Ministry of Information
and Media Development. This amendment has more importance than merely the
replacement of one word with other words. The term: "broadcasting" had come to
acquire the propagandistic and one sided dimension by which governments imposed a
one way dissemination of messages upon the people because the term: "broadcasting"
in it self reflects a one way function rather than a two way process of dialogue and
communication.
Secondly with the new developments of media technology which include media that
reach specific and small audiences, the concept of narrow casting has become as
important as the concept of broadcasting.
Thirdly and possibly most importantly, Pakistan is one of lowest levels of access to mass
media by the people. For example, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have more Radio
sets per 1000people as in Pakistan. The task of increasing levels of access to mass media
and in turn facilitating mass media to increase their coverage of the population should
become the most vital priorities for the ministry, rather than the outmoded functions of
serving as an instrument for production of propaganda.
The caretaker government also introduced the refreshing and exciting practice of
conducting live telecasts and broadcasts of programs on current political issues and
social concerns of the people. Subjects covered included the conduct of Caretaker
Government itself, questions related to the fulfillment of wide spread public demand for
accountability of corrupt holders of public office, social problem and regional concerns.
Eminent individuals were invited to express their views freely and openly on these radio
and TV programs which were, for the first time, not subject to any form of censorship.
Adversaries in politics were also provided an opportunity to candidly debate and to
challenge each other viewpoints. This degree of freedom on the electronic media had
never previously been witnessed over the past decades.
Two Laws Securing Mass Media:

Then, through two laws that can justifiably be termed as revolutionary in their
progressive direction, the caretaker Government gave legal force to the theoretical right
of the people to obtain official documents and to enjoy the choices offered by pluralism
in mass media. The first of these laws is Freedom of Information Ordinance, 1997 that
gives every citizen the unprecedented right to demand copies of official papers.
The second law also creates a historic "first". It enables private citizens, groups, and
corporations to establish and operate radio stations and TV channels through the
electronic media regulatory Authority, 1997. Also, for the first time, the PEMRA
Page 139 of 146
Ordinance allows radio and TV stations to originate independent news bulletins and
political affairs programs which have never previously been permitted in the 62 year
history of radio in the country and in the 32 years history of television in Pakistan.
Both of the above ordinances were tabled in Parliament by the Government of Prime
Minister Nawz Sharif and assumed the title of bills as per article 89 of the constitution
but lased on completion of their respective four-month phases as they were not
adopted as Acts. It has been indicated that the Government will support the passage of
these laws through both houses of Parliament to make them into enduring pieces of
legislation that will not be subject to the four months life of ordinances.
In a logical context, when an ordinance has been given the permanence of an Act of
Parliament through specific legislation or through a blanket provision the status should
be re-designated as an Act. However in reflection of the disjointed nature of legal
historical process, Ordinances such as the monopolies and restrictive trade practices
ordinance, 1970 continues to be referred to so many years as an "ordinance"- even
though it has long sense acquired the status of an Act of Parliament.
Laws for Mass Mediaâ€¦

The study seeks to find the laws that are formulated to secure media organizations
rather than to facilitate authorities of the country. For this purpose we have overviewed
the history of mass media laws, their formulation perspective, and finally their
implementations. We have also discussed the manner of different regimes to through
which they dealt media.
We find the above two laws which were formulated originally to secure media freedom.
These laws are Freedom of Information Ordinance, 1997 and Electronic Media
Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 1997.
Though the Freedom of Information Ordinance protects classified from public scrutiny
which is minimal protection present in all similar laws in other countries, the Ordinance
nevertheless offers opportunity to any citizen of the country to apply for copies of wide
range of government documents. Be they decisions taken at meetings in which
commercial contracts have been agreed upon or be they records detailing the terms
and conditions of agreements made by all the diverse departments of the government.
Bodies such as Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and some commentators have
called for amendments to this Ordinance in order to reduce the protection afforded to
governments to declare documents as classified.
In case of law on electronic media, an independent Authority is to be created which shall

be headed by retired Justice of Supreme Court, and will have four persons of eminence
Page 140 of 146

from relevant fields of media and public service and with only two positions afforded to
government to enable participation by the relevant ministries concerned.
The law makes it mandatory for the authority to hear applications for licenses to be
decided upon only after holding a public hearing as also in case of cancellation of
licenses which can only be done when a public hearing has been held and reasons
specified therein. None of the members of the authority may be re appointed to a
second term of four years in order to prevent vulnerability of members of temptations
that may be offered by interested elements. The Ordinance for the first time
acknowledged the right of private radio and TV channels to present unofficial news
bulletins and current affairs programs. It visualized a healthy, free competitive of
information flow and debate.
By all accounts it is probably the most progressive law for electronic media in South
Asia.
Summing Up:
All over the world the citizens' right to acquire knowledge and information is
increasingly being proclaimed and recognized as a fundamental right. The international
human rights instruments as well as national constitutions and laws, acknowledge and
safeguard this right. An essential concomitant of this right is the right to freedom of
information and freedom of press. The right to know and have access to information is
essential, not just for harmonious development of an individual's personality but also
the socio economic evolution and political development of the society. Such right is
inextricably linked to making the government accountable, and its dealings and
operations transparent thereby ensuring improved governance. The provision of better
governance is indeed the central theme and ultimate objective of the democratic
philosophy. James Madison, a founding father of the American Constitution, linked the
right to, and freedom of, information to the very survival of the democratic system.
According to him "a popular government without popular information or the means of
acquiring it is but a prologue to a farce or tragedy, or perhaps both".
Thomas Jefferson observed that the freedom of the press is the 'eternal vigilance' to
guard the performance of the government. The degree to which the press is free and
independent is the degree to which it can perform its role as a watchdog. It helps in
preventing the government from showing laxity or inefficiency or becoming corrupt.
The constitution of Pakistan guarantees the freedom of expression and freedom of press
subject to reasonable restrictions that may be imposed by law. It is the responsibility of
the judiciary to determine the scope and parameters of the permissible freedoms and
the extent of restrictions placed on their enjoyment. The judicial process in Pakistan has
Page 141 of 146
generally been supportive of the freedom of expression and sought to strengthen the
mass media. The interference by the part of the different regimes disturbs the
performance of media and creates hurdles in the way of information flow. Different
regimes of Pakistan formulated different laws to curb the freedom and to cover their
faults. As mentioned previously most of these laws are not for media, these are for other
estates of the country, especially the political estate, except two of them.
The word 'law' with media reminds us of a ferocious horse who has been forced to
follow certain predetermined pathways, but as it seems nearly impossible to control the
horse so the case of media is just like that. The more you try to organize the horse the
more you get in trouble.
But here are other ways to overcome the trouble; instead of dealing with the problem
by force we'd better put it in some sensible hands. It means, we'd control media with
code of ethics and morals rather than with laws or force.
Media Laws in Pakistan & Role of PEMRA

1. 1. MEDIA LAWS IN PAKISTAN ROLE OF PEMRA By Tanveer Ahmed MBA-152009 DHA
Suffa University, Karachi
2. 2. SLOs  Media Laws in Pakistan  Role of PEMRA  Introduction  The Need of PEMRA 
Code of Ethics given by PEMRA  Constitution of PEMRA  Provisions on Ethics  List of
Contents of Ethics which’s devised by PEMRA
3. 3. What is Media Law? Media Laws is a legal field that relates to legal regulations of the
telecommunication industry, information technology, press, broadcasting, advertising,
entertainment industry, censorship, internet and online services among others
4. 4. Media Laws in Pakistan There are a number of legislative and regulatory mechanisms that
directly and indirectly affect the media. The first step in introducing media laws in the country
was done by the then military ruler and President Ayub Khan who promulgated the Press
and Publication Ordinance (PPO) in 1962. The law empowered the authorities to confiscate
newspapers, close down news providers, and arrest journalists. Using these laws, Ayub
Khan nationalized large parts of the press and took over one of the two largest news
agencies.
5. 5. Media Laws in Pakistan More draconian additions were made to the PPO during the reign
of General Zia-Ul-Haq in the 1980s. According to these new amendments, the publisher
would be liable and prosecuted if a story was not to the liking of the administration even if it
was factual and of national interest. From 2002, under General Pervez Musharraf, the
Pakistani media faced a decisive development that would lead to a boom in Pakistani
electronic media and paved the way to it gaining political clout. New liberal media laws broke
the state's monopoly on the electronic media. TV broadcasting and FM radio licenses were
issued to private media outlets.
6. 6. Media Laws in Pakistan 1. Ordinances  PEMRA Rules 2009  PEMRA Ordinance 2002 
Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002  Defamation Ordinance 2002  Press Council of
Pakistan Ordinance, 2002  Press, Newspapers, News Agencies & Book Registration
Ordinance, 2002
Page 142 of 146

7. 7. Media Laws in Pakistan 2. Regulations  Television Broadcast Station Operations

Regulations 2012  Radio Broadcast Station Operations Regulation 2012  Distribution
Service Operations Regulations 2011  PEMRA (Appeal and Review) Regulations 2008
(Repealed)
8. 8. Media Laws in Pakistan 3. Code of Conducts  Code of Conduct Rules 2010  Code of
Conduct for Media Broadcasters/Cable TV Operators 4. Acts  Pakistan Broadcasting
Corporation Act‚ 1973
9. 9. Introduction  Until a decade ago, radio and television broadcasting had been a state
monopoly which provided the successive governments an opportunity to tightly control it 
Involvement of private sector media was minimum at that time  By late 1990’s, Pakistan
establishment had come to realize that to counter the cultural threat imposed by the Hindi
channels available through satellite receivers Contd..
10. 10. Introduction  It needed to encourage private TV networks to Attract audiences who
wanted entertainment and current affairs in extensive contents  Pakistan Electronic Media
Regulatory Authority is an independent and constitutionally established Federal institution
responsible for regulating and issuing channel licenses for establishment of the electronic
media broadcast stations.
11. 11. Introduction  PEMRA is also involved in media censorship and occasionally halts
broadcasts and closes media outlets. Publication or broadcast of “anything which defames or
brings into ridicule the head of state, or members of the armed forces, or executive,
legislative or judicial organs of the state,” as well as any broadcasts deemed to be “false or
baseless” can bring jail terms of up to three years, fines of up to 10 million rupees
(US$165,000), and license cancellation
1. 12. Two Main Reasons For Introducing Private Electronic Media in Pakistan 1. Relative to
print media the broadcast media are perceived to have greater potential to develop in to a
forceful institution of social and political accountability 2. The involvement of private sector
partners might have greatly undermined the governments’ authority and its ability to wield
control over the broadcast industry 3. Its dedicated mandate is to enlarge the choice
available to the people of Pakistan including news, current affairs, religious knowledge, art
and culture as well as science and technology
2. 13. Emergence of Private Media Industry in Pakistan  In Pakistan, the government of Gen.
Pervez Musharraf initiated a major policy shift by deciding to co-opt the private sector in
broadcast media operations  PEMRA ordinance of March 1, 2002 was promulgated to
regulate and develop the broadcast media industry in the country
3. 14. Ordinance Aims  The ordinance aims at improving the standards of information,
education and entertainment as well as enlarging the choices of programs available to the
people  This ordinance has established an authority known as PEMRA which is a corporate
body  Its primary responsibility is to govern the broadcast media affairs at all levels in the
country and accountability, transparency and good governance by optimizing the flow of
information
4. 15. Restrictions of PEMRA Apply Only on the Private Sector  The PEMRA charter doesn’t
over rule the laws governing the operations and structure of PBC and PTV
5. 16. Composition of PEMRA  The authority has 13 members, a chairman and includes high
ranking government officials as its members like secretaries of departments of the Interior,
the information and the Chairman PTA  The chairman PEMRA is appointed by the
President of Pakistan  Majority of the people who are constituting the PEMRA are come
from the governments
6. 17.  Financially PEMRA is independent of government. They cover their finances from
these sources:  License Fees (payment of annual renewal fees)  Subscriber Fees 
Surcharges of late payments  Advertisements: PEMRA receives 5% of advertisement
revenues from the lending right companies Composition of PEMRA
Page 143 of 146

7. 18. Issuance of License  The authority has been empowered to issue licenses for broadcast
and CTV stations in the following categories:  International Scale Stations  National Scale
Stations  Provincial Scale Stations  Local Area or Community Based Stations  Specific
and Specialized Subject Stations  Cable Television Network Stations
8. 19. Issuance of License  It mandates the private TV stations to broadcast at least 10% of
the programs in the public interest to be specified by the government and the authority
9. 20. PEMRA [A CRITIQUE]  If PEMRA is an authority then it must be independent from
every kind of influence of the government  Chairman is appointed by the President of
Pakistan  Federal Secretary for interior and Federal Secretary for Information are the part of
PEMRA  PTV and PBC are not the subject to PEMRA ordinance
10. 21. PEMRA [A CRITIQUE]  Only censorship over private channels  The qualification of
chairman is not very clear  Chairman is to be eminent professional from any walk of life 
According to the latest 2007 amendment, out of 13 members 8 would be government
representatives  In 2007, due to promulgations of emergency and terrorism, the electronic
media was criticizing the government  Now police have been authorized to take actions
against the broadcasters and their staff
11. 22. PEMRA Codes for Broadcasters and Cable Operators  The category of PEMRA codes
is divided in two categories 1. Programs ( News, Current Affairs, Entertainment) 2.
Advertisements
12. 23. Code of Ethics Given by PEMRA For Programs 1. No program shall be aired which a)
Passes derogatory remarks about any religion or sect or community or words contemptuous
of religious sects and ethnic groups or which promoted sectarian attitudes or disharmony b)
Contains anything pornographic, obscene or indecent or is likely to deprave, corrupt or injure
the public morality
13. 24. Code of Ethics Given by PEMRA For Programs c) Contains an abusive comment that
when taken in content, tends to or is likely to expose an individual or a group or a class of
individuals to hatred or contempt on the basis of race or caste, national, ethnic or linguistic
origin, color or religion or sect, sex or sexual orientation, age or mental or physical disability
d) Contains anything defamatory or knowing false e) Is likely to engage and incite violence or
contain anything against maintenance of law and order or which promotes anti-state attitudes
14. 25. Code of Ethics Given by PEMRA For Programs f) Contains anything amounting to
contempt of court g) Contains aspirations against the judiciary and integrity of the armed
forces of Pakistan h) h) Slanders any individual in person or certain groups, segments of
social, public and moral life of the country i) Is against basic cultural values, morality and
good manners j) j)Brings in to contempt Pakistan or its people or tends to undermine its
integrity or solidarity as an independent and sovereign country
15. 26. Code of Ethics Given by PEMRA For Programs k) Promotes, aids or abets any offence
which is cognizable under the applicable laws l) Denigrates the men and women through the
depiction in any manner of the figure in such a way as to have the effect of being indecent or
derogatory m) Denigrates children n) Anything which tends to glorify crime or criminals
16. 27. Code of Ethics Given by PEMRA For Programs o) Contains material which may be
detrimental to the relations of Pakistan with other countries p) Contains material which is
against the ideology of Pakistan or Islamic values
17. 28. Code of Ethics Given by PEMRA For Programs 2. Particular care should be taken to
ensure that programs meant for children do not contain objectionable language or are
disrespectful to their parents or elders 3. Programs must not be directed against the sanctity
of home, family and marital harmony 4. While reporting the proceedings of the parliament or
the provincial assemblies, such portions of the proceedings as the chairman or the speaker
may have ordered to be expunged, shall not be broadcasted or distributed and every effort
shall be made to release a fair account of the proceedings of the parliament or provincial
assemblies
Page 144 of 146

18. 29. Code of Ethics Given by PEMRA For Advertisings 1. Advertisings aired or distributed by
a broadcast or cable TV station shall be designed in such a manner that if it confirms to the
laws of the country and is not offensive to morality decency and religious sects of the people
of Pakistan 2. No advertising shall be permitted which a) Promotes or support sedition,
anarchy or violence in country b) Is against any provisions of the constitution of Pakistan or
any other law for the time being inforce
19. 30. Code of Ethics Given by PEMRA For Advertisings c) Tends to incite people to crime,
cause disorder or violence or breach of law or glorifies violence in anyway d) Glorifies
adultery, lustful passions or alcoholic drinks or non-Islamic values e) Distorts historical facts,
traditions of Pakistan or the person or personality of a national leader or state dignity f) Fans
racial, sectarian, regional or class hatred
20. 31. Code of Ethics Given by PEMRA For Advertisings g) Promotes social inequality, militates
against the concepts of human dignity and dignity of labor h) Is directed against sanctity or
home family or marriage j) Is wholly or mainly of a political nature k) Contains indecent,
vulgar or offensive themes or treatment
21. 32. Code of Ethics Given by PEMRA For Advertisings 3. The goods or services advertised
shall not suffer from any defects which are harmful to human health, misleading claims about
the goods shall not be made 4. No advertising which is likely to be seen by children in large
numbers should urge children directly to purchase goods of a particular brand or ask their
parents to do so 5. All advertisings must be clearly distinguishable as such and be separate
from the programs and shall not in any manner take the form of news or documentary
22. 33. Provisions of Ethics Which ethics PEMRA has devised regarding Contents that Media
have to follow? 1. Local Media Industry Protection 2. Religious Contents 3. Ethical & Social
Values 4. Coverage of Incidents of Accidents, Violence and Crimes 5. Privacy and Personal
Data Protection 6. Programming and Children 7. Languages 8. News & Current Affairs
Programs 9. Re-Enactment 10. Programming: Mix and Live Coverage 11. Advertising 12.
Errors & Corrigendum
23. 34. 1. Local Media Industry Protection  Licensee shall ensure that the foreign content aired
in a calendar day does not exceed a maximum of 10% of the whole content  Licensee shall
ensure that no program is aired in violation of the intellectual copy rights
24. 35. 2. Religious Content  No content shall be aired contains derogatory remarks about any
religious or sect or community or uses visual or words contemptuous of religious sects and
ethnic groups or which promotes sectarianism, hatred or disharmony
25. 36. 3. Ethical & Social Values  Licensee shall show deference to the ethical and social
values of the country and ensure that a) Any content that slanders any individual or group,
segments of social, public and moral life of the country is not broadcast or distributed b)
Content does not make careless references to any class or group of persons as being
inherently inferior or in any way discriminate against any section of the community or account
of religion, gender, age, disability or occupational status
26. 37. 3. Ethical & Social Values c) Behavior such as smoking and drug abuse is not presented
as glamorous d) Alcoholic, beverages, tobacco products or any other narcotics shall not be
shown e) Content does not contain anything that, when taken in context, ends to or is likely
to expose an individual or a group or class of individuals to hatred or contempt on the basis
of race or caste, national, ethnic or linguistic origin color or religion or sect, sex or sexual
orientation, age or mental or physical disability
27. 38. 4. Coverage of Incidents of Accidents, Violence and Crimes  The coverage of incidents
of violence, accidents and crimes shall not incite, glamorize or in anyway promote violence
or anti-social behaviors  Appropriate warning during broadcasting of these incidents 
Close-p shots of killing or violence shall not be shown  Identity of any victim of rape, sexual
abuse, terrorism or kidnapping or such victims, families of these victims' shall not be
revealed without prior written permission
Page 145 of 146

28. 39. 5. Privacy & Personal Data Protection  Licensee shall not obtain or seek information,
audio, pictures or any agreement through misrepresentation or deception  Personal
information shall be published after written permission from such persons
29. 40. 6. Programming and Children  Horror and supernatural contents shall not be published
 Portraying children as financial burden on parents shall not be published  Physical and
emotional welfare and the dignity of people  Prizes aimed at children must be appropriate to
the age range of both the target audience and parents
30. 41. 7. Languages  Abusive language shall be strictly avoided in dramas and talk shows 
Superiority of languages  Character association with different languages
31. 42. 8. News & Current Affairs Programs  Objective, accurate and in balanced manner  All
news bulletins shall be prepared and edited by the licensee through its own editorial board 
Glorifying the news which effects are negative shall not be published  Court proceeding 
Assemblies proceedings  Entertainment News
32. 43. 9. Re-Enactment  Dramatizing the real story  Must be entitled from the start to the end
 Footages or re-enactment of following shall not be aired a) Executions or other scenes in
which people are clearly seen being killed or about to die b) Rape, sexual abuse scenes c)
Cases which are under trial in courts
33. 44. 10. Programming: Mix & Live Coverage  A licensee shows content as per its license
category and percentage wise content set out in the terms and conditions of the license 
Licensee may broadcast live programs if it is permitted under the terms and conditions of the
license provided  An effective delaying mechanism has been put in place in order to ensure
effective monitoring and editorial control
34. 45. 11. Advertising  Advertising shall not promote obscenity, violence or other activities
which are harmful to human health  Alcoholic, tobacco products, drugs or narcotics are not
presented or glamorized  Fake advertisings  Foreign advertisings
35. 46. 12. Errors and Corrigendum  In the event where any false news or information aired,
licensee shall acknowledged and correct the same on the same medium without any delay in
the same manner and magnitude as that of the false news or information was aired
36. 47. FUTURE OF PEMRA • PEMRA aims to digitalize the whole cable system. It will also
bring its new Direct-To-Home Television where the subscribers will receive satellite channels
beamed through various satellites and the whole system would be wireless. It is the most
widespread reception method through an intermediary in the form of a cable operator. This
will provide better quality coverage to the subscribers. The subscribers receive signals
directly from geo-stationary satellites. There are widespread complains of piracy by local
cable operators and this service would eliminate this problem to a large extent. The licensing
criterion for this service is still under process and will be soon decided by the Authority
37. 48. CONCLUSION • As evident from the meaning, Laws and ethics try to promote good will
and always appeal the conscience of journalists to shun mean-spirited attitude. All media
men should refrain from causing damage to reputation of a person or an institution. The
issue of media ethics is too broad and no unified field on media ethics offers rules or
standards that apply to all media fields
38. 49. CONCLUSION • It is the very reason why PEMRA is not carrying out its primary role of
acting as a regulatory authority effectively. If the laws cannot be executed properly then they
are good for nothing. If they are not being executed then their absence and presence are the
same. Therefore, further amendments should be made in the PEMRA Ordinance 2002 in
order to make it more applicable in today’s scenario so as to alleviate the chaotic impact of
Pakistani media on Pakistani society
Page 146 of 146

Media As A Propaganda Tool

Transféré par

Informations du document

Titre original

Copyright

Formats disponibles

Partager ce document

Partager ou intégrer le document

Options de partage

Avez-vous trouvé ce document utile ?

Ce contenu est-il inapproprié ?

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

Media As A Propaganda Tool

Transféré par

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

Introduction to Broadcast Media

broadcasting media as a propaganda tool

Propaganda is a form of purposeful persuasion that attempts to influence the

However it is defined, one thing is clear: contemporary propaganda is everywhere –

Although propaganda sometimes involves deception, most forms of propaganda use

ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF PROPAGANDA

Like all forms of communication, specific examples of propaganda may be more or

assess whether a particular example of propaganda is beneficial, benign or harmful,

PROPAGANDA IN ALL ASPECTS

Advertising: There is a big difference between advertising and propaganda.

Education: From kindergarten to college, some forms of education are explicitly

Many businesses and technology companies provide curriculum materials to

Why do we need to know this?

Guilt by association or Reduction

How does propaganda work and what makes it effective?

Is it really just a matter of reaching more people?

Why do people have that confidence?

SOCIAL MEDIA: A PROPAGANDA POWERHOUSE

Facebook and Twitter: manipulating public opinion

Social media & political propaganda into the 21st century

MEDIA'S USE OF PROPAGANDA

The Mainstream Media has Always Been a Propaganda Tool of the

HOW TO ANALYZE PROPAGANDA

1) the ideology and purpose of the propaganda campaign,

Using Social Proof, Societal Norms, Similarity, and Dehumanization

One method used to by propagandists to create an enemy is through the technique

Therefore, media used three approaches to linking Pakistan with American

Branding of Enemy as Barbarian, and Authority

Dune affect, Reprogramming, and Commitment to Consistency

MORE EXAMPLES OF MEDIA MANIPULATION

Is Everything in the Mainstream Media Fake?

What we have today is an increasingly sophisticated full-spectrum assault on free

News Media Lies, Scripting, Omissions and Obfuscations

Time Magazine sanitizes their covers for American consumption

CNN is the leader in fake war news coverage

Video: cnn caught staging news segments on Syria with actors

Video: cnn’s fake newscast from the first gulf war.

Nationally scripted local ‘news’

Video: Newscasters agree: a Christmas present or two or ten edition

Digital Image Manipulation is Abundant in the Media

Advertising Industry ‘Touches Up’ Images of People

THE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF CREATORS AND CONSUMERS

HOW TO DEFEND AGAINST PROPAGANDA

It is not that propaganda is always wrong; overall it is usually helpful to respond to

Ways to resist unwanted social influence:

Be sensitive to situational demands however trivial they may seem: group

50 Powerful Examples Of Visual

01. I Want You

02. What Did YOU Do?

03. Be careful what you say

04. We Can Do It!

05. Rosie the Riveter

supplies factories in WWII. It served as a call to arms for women to become

06. Chinese ‘Rosie the Riveter’

07. Che Guevara

continue, the lungs would be destroyed completely, which ultimately

10. It’s our flag

A poster commissioned by the London Parliamentary Recruiting Committee in

11. Buy War Bonds

Encouraging people to buy war bonds was an incredibly popular propaganda

13. Perks of Joining the Submarine Service

14. Someone Talked!

15. For You and Your Country’s Sake