[July 28, 2025] At its core, propaganda is designed to target your emotions and distort the ability to make logical, informed decisions. In war, propaganda has a central role, often exceeding the value of large military formations. In Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, we see this played out daily. The latest anti-Israel propaganda is trying to paint… Read More »
[November 15, 2023] A common theme of mine is that for propaganda to succeed, it must rely on strong leadership. Predictably, propaganda is associated with war since many of a nation’s strongest leaders are in their military services. Of course, it is not limited to wartime and often makes the most insidious contributions in peace. “In wartime, truth… Read More »
[February 1, 2021] My Junior High School civics teacher had been some kind of counter-intelligence official during WW2. I remember nothing about him other than his wartime service and the time we studied propaganda. He told a bunch of wide-eyed kids that someday we would need what he was saying. He was right. Propaganda is a form of… Read More »
[June 27, 2020] World War II produced photographs that still capture our attention. One of the most famous is the iconic photo by Joe Rosenthal of U.S. Marines raising the Star and Stripes over Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima, February 23, 1945.1 What is lesser known for Americans is the story behind another famous photo; this one of… Read More »
[March 3, 2017] The use of mankind’s propaganda goes back in time well before written records were kept. Its practical use is undeniable. For those us who study it, we know that the idea of keeping people accurately informed is often blurred with propaganda, depending upon the intent of those wielding power. Architectural propaganda is a variant of… Read More »
[February 2, 2016] Continuing on the theme that strong leadership is the key to effective propaganda, a recent example of its employment will be discussed. Admittedly there are many types of propaganda but I will focus this discussion of it at the national level for the purpose of understanding its wide-ranging affects. “Why is propaganda so much more… Read More »
[January 31, 2016] In this short series on propaganda, my central theme is that in order for it to be successful it must rely on strong leadership at its core. Predictably, propaganda is associated with war since many a nation’s strongest leaders appear in their military services. Of course, it is not limited to wartime and often makes… Read More »
[January 30, 2016] On this date in 1943, the Royal Air Force began a daylight massive bombing of Berlin, the Nazi capital. It was to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Hitler’s rise to power.1 The British knew that Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and other high ranking officials would be giving speeches on this day about the… Read More »
[January 29, 2016] In the study of military conflicts, history teaches us about the impact of “disguised information” on the outcome. More commonly referred to as propaganda, a number of governments and militaries have benefited from its use. Interestingly, U.S. presidential candidates have been accused of using it in their election campaigns. This short series on propaganda is… Read More »
[July 09, 2014] As a teenager, my friends and I were lukewarm to high school learning … it was something we simply had to do. Yet, I do fondly remember our track coach teaching us about “leadership and propaganda”. His message was prophetic – you will be consumed by propaganda unless you are taught the leadership and knowledge… Read More »