Propaganda

Today we looked at PR Vs Propaganda, specifically to do with the Iraq War. We reviewed the case of Corporal Jessica Lynch and the PR spin related to her "rescue" and the aftermath. Now, it is difficult to differentiate PR to Propaganda; whilst many anti-capitalists feel that PR is a form of propaganda used by companies to lead us to their products, other feel that PR is simply a tool of information that feeds a democratic society where the freedom of information is key. But where do we draw the line?

Here is a video from PRWATCH, a self proclaimed "watch-dog," a "nonprofit designed to strengthen participatory democracy by investigating and exposing public relations spin and propaganda, and by promoting media literacy and citizen journalism, media “of, by and for the people.”"



To me, this seems lke it could be, in itself, a piece of propaganda- trying to scare people into thinking they're being tricked by big corporations into doing what they want. A slight form of puppets versus the puppeteer. However, in doing so you are creating the notion that us average joes are so simple and backwards that any kind of product promotion will shove us into a whirlwind of confusion and acceptance. To PRWATCH, public relations professionals are manipulating our news and misinforming the public. I find this ridiculous. If it weren't for PR newspapers would not exist, journalists do not have the time and energy in a 24 hour time frame to go out and investigate and write up every newstory found in their pages. And what of those public information campaigns that "Big, unknown" PR firms carry out in order to inform the public on the effects of smoking and AIDS etc.?

Most people are quick to attribute propaganda to government and thus to ALL PR professionals. Government public relations and corporate PR are, to me, at two completely different spectrums.

The Jessica Lynch story is a strong case of deliberate misinformation by the PR office at the White House. They sent out press releases concerning Lynch stating that she was a POW, a survivor of an attack on her regiment. The Washington Post ran a front page story on the 3rd of April with the headline “She Was Fighting to the Death’: Details Emerging of W. Va. Soldier’s Capture and Rescue”. The sources were unnamed US officials, and the story read

“Lynch, a 19-year-old supply clerk, continued firing at the Iraqis even after she sustained multiple gunshot wounds and watched several other soldiers in her unit die around her in fighting March 23, one official said. The ambush took place after a 507th convoy, supporting the advancing 3rd Infantry Division, took a wrong turn near the southern city of Nasiriyah.

The paper also claimed she was taken away and tortured for answers by the Iraqi army.

On the 15th of May 15, The Guardian published a story claiming that the description of events was untruthful.

Excerpts from the book "I Am A Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story," by Rick Bragg:

Jessica was hospitalized for nine days following the incident. The official government tale alleged she was terrorized and abused by her captors—allegations again refuted by Lynch in Bragg’s biography. “No one even slapped me... No one asked me anything about our troops. I couldn’t answer anyway” (I Am A Soldier Too, p. 115)
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/nov2003/lync-n19.shtml

Now, while the Lynch scenario could be deemed as propaganda, claiming that a corporate campaign such as the Diet Coke's "Diet Coke Break" campaign holds similar ground is fairly unreasonable. While the line between propaganda and public relations remains blurred, we as a evolved and educated species should be able to monitor our world around us and take in information gathered and make sound choices that affect our lives.