History Main / PropagandaMachine

* UsefulNotes/NaziGermany in general and Joseph Goebbels in particular. Goebbels has become so synonymous with propaganda that [[GodwinsLaw he's the go-to name]] when casting aspersions on someone for perceived propaganda tactics.

** ''VideoGame/JustCause3'' has {{Loudspeaker Truck}}s driving around cities and towns, blasting propaganda, that you need to destroy. Destroying military bases also prompts a radio message from the Propaganda Minister about how the destruction was definitely deliberate on Di Ravello's part and there is most certainly nothing amiss. For bonus points, the Minister is a kidnapped celebrity (Creator/DavidTennant AsHimself) and very much unwilling, so he doesn't always try to make his scripts sound plausible.

** Has the Voice of Mars Broadcasting System [[CatchPhrase brought to you by the EDF]]. You kill a ton of EDF troops assaulting civilians: "Today EDF forces found a group of insurgents near a civilian housing complex, three EDF troops and five insurgents were killed in the crossfire".

** Something similar to this has taken place in the United States a few times. Many people with expertise in China and Southeast Asia were drummed out of the State Department, the Pentagon, and other government agencies in the 1950s because they were suspected of too much sympathy with the locals, who were increasingly supporting communists, and the US was dangerously uninformed about goings on in East Asia until the 1970s at least.

%%
%%
%%
%% The jury is still out on what to categorize as "propaganda" in RealLife. So let's concentrate on ''historical'' examples (AcceptableTargets) of propaganda creators. Part of the problem is underground news sources (VoiceOfTheResistance) and UsefulNotes/MainstreamMedia dressing up as one another for credibility, publicity, or lulz (see AstroTurf). There's a reason PropagandaPiece is a YMMV trope.
%%
%%
%%
* If you believe Noam Chomsky, then all media is part of a propaganda machine. The argument goes that all media is profit-motivated, and as such, they are not particularly interested in defending freedom; they are interested in protecting their profit. The only reliable source of stories about governments comes from the governments themselves, and the little access they do get is revocable if they do bad things. Also, the owners of almost all media groups are rich white men who have a a certain social agenda, and a personal relationship with the government, and they can dictate who gets employed and what they write (or at least fire them if they do it the wrong way). So yeah. Add all of that up and it means that we only hear about what our various governments want us to hear about. Sure, people complain about those stories, but that just helps to create the illusion. The idea is that in the end, you can't even imagine that other bad things could be happening. Well, that's the theory, anyways. Decide for yourself if it's true or not.

* American post-war propaganda and "mental hygiene films" were directly inspired by the Nazi use of cinema, a great volume of which was produced by the military. They reasoned that it could, and should, be used for indoctrination of pro-American values of the time. Of course, this was when film was still going through its NewMediaAreEvil phase, and there was much more belief in cinema's power over people's minds. {{P|ublicServiceAnnouncement}}SAs are descended from the early American Propaganda Machine. The premise of this actually holds to this day: The US Department of Defense has a entertainment division that collaborates with films and tv series to provide them with exclusive access and consultation in exchange for, essentially, making US armed forces (and/or the CIA, which also dabbles in this) and foreign policy look good. This is commonly called the "Military-Entertainment Complex" and pretty much any USA-made blockbuster involving the armed forces is involved with it (e.g. most MCU films, ''Film/TopGun'', Transformers films, etc).
* Stalin had Trotsky, Yezhov, and many, many others [[{{Unperson}} edited out]] of pictures, for starters; later Soviet premiers shied away from being ''quite'' as blatant, though the propaganda machine remained in place. The untrustworthy nature of the news sources at the time sparked a joke in the USSR spoken amongst those not prone to reporting people to the Central Committee: There is no Pravda ("truth") in ''Izvestia'', and there is no Izvestia ("news") in ''Pravda'' (or some variation thereof; both papers are still around, by the way, although they have become two remarkable cases of InNameOnly). Since people had to read between the lines to determine what actually happened (there being few to no real news alternatives depending on the circumstances, and open discussion being obviously dangerous), some Russians believed that America ''won'' [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar in Vietnam]]. Too much propaganda in Russia (and presumably elsewhere) wound up creating a huge backlash. As noted above, some people wound up believing the exact opposite of the official story. In cases where bad news did appear in the official media, many people believed far worse things have taken place -- e.g. UsefulNotes/{{Chernobyl}} -- and what little trust they had in the competence of the government collapsed.
* In UsefulNotes/EastGermany under the socialist dictatorship, the government's control over the media was so absolute and the media therefore so mistrusted by the people, that the area in Saxony that couldn't receive West German radio and television (boosting those signals was what West Berlin was kept for, despite all the expense of supporting an island in enemy territory) and where it took a while for the smuggled West German newspapers to make their way to, was referred to as "the valley of the clueless". Of course, a lot of the West German media turned out to be propaganda, too -- compare the Russian joke below.
* There is a [[RussianHumour Russian joke]] made after [[WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell the disappointment of the 90s in Russia]]:
--> [[FalseUtopia Everything we've been told about communism]] turned out to be [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny a lie.]]
--> [[CapitalismIsBad Everything we've been told about capitalism]] turned out to be [[CrapsackWorld the truth]].
* For a humorous version, Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf (Baghdad Bob/Comical Ali), the Information Minister under Saddam Hussein, who famously denied that American forces had reached Baghdad while two American tanks were visible maneuvering behind him.

* Almost any state media news organization in a dictatorship will get used in this way. ''Russia Today'' News would count, as does ''Press TV'', which is the same but for Iran. This is one reason why one should always cross-check sources and examine who you are quoting in support of your position, lest you be [[MistakenForRacist mistaken for a shill for dictatorship.]]

** This is not dissimilar to what happened to the Germans after World War I, which in part set the stage for World War 2. All the good news from the front lines had been let through by the censors, but the tales of defeat were not. Since the German leaders surrendered before the Allies actually invaded Germany itself, some people thought they'd been betrayed by their leaders while they were winning the war.
** Something similar to this has taken place in the United States a few times. Many people with expertise in China and Southeast Asia were drummed out of the State Department, the Pentagon, and other government agencies in the 1950s because they were suspected of too much sympathy with the locals, who were increasingly supporting communists, and the US was dangerously uninformed about goings on in East Asia until the 1970s at least. Even now, the US government is dangerously bereft of expertise in the Middle East since those with expertise in the region have trouble gaining positions of responsibility. The consequence of these is that some US propaganda, eh, public diplomacy, targeted at these regions (and presumably elsewhere) have been singularly misinformed and misguided, reflecting to government prejudices that were occasionally even offensive to the targeted audiences more than the realities on the ground.
* And in the People's Republic of China, we have a group literally called the Central Propaganda Department (officially titled the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the [[RedChina Communist Party of China]]). Yes, the group meant to lie to people named itself with a truth, and didn't think that through. It's important to note that in Mandarin, "propaganda" is a neutral term; nevertheless, to outsiders and Chinese who know about the connotations of the term to non-Chinese audiences (an increasing number these days), the significance is not lost.
* Basically ALL North Korean media is propaganda, be it the praising of the "Dear Leader", demonizing the enemies of the state, or both ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGXUsWP6A00 often]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujtp-70zQME being]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj66IqtDcWY unintentionally]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH3Kw2QtxrQ hilarious]]). Some of the items listed on their website is listed as "Propaganda", while also maintaining a radio station they say is broadcast by the Southern traitors to corrupt the true Korean people to evil capitalist ways.
* In 2022, the United States Department of Homeland Security attempted to launch a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinformation_Governance_Board "Disinformation Governance Board"]] which many across the political spectrum argued would potentially evolve into one of these. As a result, [[DefiedTrope the project was suspended less than a month after it was announced]].
** In 2023 a federal judge ruled that the UsefulNotes/JoeBiden administration also violated the First Amendment by pressuring social media sites to censor lawfully protected speech that they disapproved of, arguing that the US government had become an "Orwellian Ministry of Truth".
* This [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/isis-wants-us-to-invade-7-facts-revealed-by-their-magazine/?fbclid=IwAR112hdRupljsICCP9Zs97-k3CJLJJVNinFi7SRchJnAkrAhQ3Jzx0s5YPk Cracked article]] observes some unique things about the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror Islamic State terrorist group's]] propaganda: they have a very sophisticated PR wing that is very savvy in social media, using it to radicalizing vulnerable youths from around the globe into leaving their homes to join their ranks or carry out lone wolf attacks wherever they were. The difference is that unlike other examples where they paint their enemies in the worst possible light, the Islamic State is [[AtLeastIAdmitIt actually very honest about their own brutality]] and uses it as a ''selling point'' - they show violent images, mutilated bodies, sex slaves being sold in the market and all those things that would be repellent, ''embrace being called terrorists'' by others and don't even pretend to be freedom fighters, while arguing that all of the above is right. Apparently to some, that's actually appealing.

* In ''Literature/ChristianNation'', Creator/FoxNewsChannel, which becomes Fox Faith & Freedom News, or F3, is this in an AlternateHistory where UsefulNotes/SarahPalin instead of UsefulNotes/BarackObama becomes President.

* American post-war propaganda and "mental hygiene films" were directly inspired by the Nazi use of cinema, a great volume of which was produced by the military. They reasoned that it could, and should, be used for indoctrination of pro-American values of the time. Of course, this was when film was still going through its NewMediaAreEvil phase, and there was much more belief in cinema's power over people's minds. {{P|ublicServiceAnnouncement}}SAs are descended from the early American Propaganda Machine.

* Almost any state media news organization in a dictatorship will get used in this way. ''Creator/RussiaToday'' News would count, as does ''Creator/PressTV'', which is the same but for Iran. This is one reason why one should always cross-check sources and examine who you are quoting in support of your position, lest you be [[MistakenForRacist mistaken for a shill for dictatorship.]]

* The Ministry of Information was the British government's propaganda arm during the Second World War. While other examples are probably more notorious, the [=MoI=] is arguably the most influential as far as culture goes, both because of their work in encouraging the StiffUpperLip stereotype ("Keep Calm and Carry On" was one of their creations), but also thanks to Creator/GeorgeOrwell heavily basing the TropeCodifier on it. The Ministry of Truth's headquarters, as described in ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', is clearly inspired by the [=MoI=]'s own base of operations, the [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Senate_House%2C_University_of_London.jpg University of London's Senate House]]. Fittingly, the 1984 film adaption used that exact building as the [=MoT=]'s headquarters.

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': The OneNationUnderCopyright government has its media disguise FalseFlagOperation attacks they face as being from terrorists, these either being set up by themselves in an InsideJob, or from the WeAreStrugglingTogether cold war between Sakashita and the other megacorp within their federation.
* ''LightNovel/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'': In the ''Marie Route'' AlternateTimeline, Leon notes how the news reports posted at his logistics hub are covering up how badly the war is going and the CollateralDamage. The report immediately gets contradicted by Prince Julius' ChildSoldiers fleet returning to dock in tatters as more get sent to replace them inspired by his "overwhelming victories".

* In ''TabletopGame/MutantChronicles'', Bauhaus has its own department called the Ministry Of Truth which tells people what they want them to hear, mostly good things about their corporation, and bad news from the other mega corporation.
* In the RPG ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'', Friend Computer constantly reminds every inhabitant of Alpha Complex that propaganda is unnecessary, because everything is ''perfect''.
* Basically ''everything'' in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' is propaganda for ''one'' faction or another. The official stance of Games Workshop is that everything is canon, but "canon" does not mean "true", and the love of propaganda by all sides is one of the major reasons why. In particular, if it's from the Imperium of Man, it is almost certainly exaggerated if not fabricated whole-cloth to suit Imperial values and beliefs.

By its widest definition, just about every political entity practices propaganda; namely, making themselves look as good as possible while either downplaying or downright denying any good qualities in their opponents. The negative aspects of this trope come in when this is the only form of news someone has access to. It could be said that that the bad guys engage in "propaganda", while the good guys do "public relations". However, the VoiceOfTheResistance is likely considered propaganda [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters by those who don't agree with them]]. How much of the content is truthful and how much isn't, as always, depends on who is producing it. Examples of this trope tend to be extreme cases where the preacher is using a combination of extreme censorship and/or outright lies to hammer their point across, so take note of the Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement.

%% The jury is still out on what to categorize as "propaganda" in RealLife. So let's apply the Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment and concentrate on ''historical'' examples (AcceptableTargets) of propaganda creators. Part of the problem is underground news sources (VoiceOfTheResistance) and UsefulNotes/MainstreamMedia dressing up as one another for credibility, publicity, or lulz (see AstroTurf). There's a reason PropagandaPiece is a YMMV trope.

* ''Fanfic/TwoLetters'': The [[SketchySuccessor new Ladybug]] has cultivated a CultOfPersonality around herself, to the point where practically everyone in Paris has some kind of button, flag, banner or other token that [[HundredPercentAdorationRating declares their support for her]]. The network Nadja works at is especially eager to maintain her favor so that she doesn't switch to some other sponsor, so they have Nadja interviewing her every day, running a show called "All Things Ladybug!" which Ladybug uses to shill herself and various products she's endorsing.

* ''VideoGame/HiFiRush'': The Marketing Department of Vanderlay Technologies is portrayed as this. The department's head, Mimosa, is in charge of spinning the marketing of the company's products and history to suit the schemes of Kale, the new CEO, making him into a VillainWithGoodPublicity. This "marketing" goes as far as to downplay the achievements and philanthropy of the company's founder [[spoiler:and {{unperson}}ing Kale's sister Peppermint so he can take the company over unopposed]].

* ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'': This game is all about fighting a government propaganda machine.
* ''Videogame/BioshockInfinite'': The "Word Of The Prophet" kinetoscopes serve as this for Zachary Comstock's regime in the floating city of Columbia. Other examples include the "[[RightWayWrongWayPair Duke Or Dimwitt?]]" puppets, and the huge amusement park "Soldier's Field" which subtly encourages children to enlist in the city's military regime.
* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'': Has the Hyperion Truth Network run by Hunter Hellquist, who runs a radio show that constantly slanders the Crimson Raiders while glorifying Handsome Jack. A late-game sidequest had Mordecai sending you after Hellquist to shut him up for good.

* ''Tropico'': This RealTimeStrategy game has this trope ''implied'', especially in the third installment, as there are many news reels during gameplay, where the anchorman, ''Juanito'', actually tells the people (and of course the player) how the political stability, the finances, citizen life quality, and other important aspects of the game currently are. Although he sometimes deliberately twists facts, he can be quite openly skeptic at times. El Presidente CAN have Juanito executed in the expansion; however, he is then replaced by a snarky anti-governmental anchorwoman, who unfortunately can not be gotten rid of.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:Web Video]]

* ''Literature/ThatHideousStrength'': The ironically-named evil organization N.I.C.E. enlists Mark Studdock to write propaganda pieces portraying the organization in a positive light. N.I.C.E. appears to have editorial control over several large newspapers in England.
* ''Literature/TheChildrenOfCaptainGrant'': The British priests running Australia's aboriginal education programs have some rather curious ideas concerning the extent of the British Empire. North America and France are English colonies run from Washington and Calais by [[UsefulNotes/AndrewJohnson Governor Johnson]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_III Lord Napoleon]], apparently.
* ''Literature/CagingSkies'': After Hitler takes over as authority the school curriculum changes.
-->''We were made to look at a chart of the evolutionary scale of the higher species. The monkeys, chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas were on the lowest level, and worked their way up. Man was at the top. When Fräulein Rahm began to lecture to us, I realised that some of what I'd taken to be primates were human races drawn in such a way that certain traits were accentuated so we could comprehend their relationship with the simians. She taught us a Negroid woman was closer to the ape than to mankind. Removing the hairs of the ape had proven to scientists to what extent. She told us it was our duty to rid ourselves of the dangerous races halfway between man and monkey. Besides being sexually overactive and brutal, they didn't share the higher sentiments of love or courtship. They were inferior parasites who would weaken us, bring our race down.''
* ''Literature/TheDeclineOfTheWest'':
** Spengler accused [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Harmsworth,_1st_Viscount_Northcliffe Northcliffe]] of having used his press conglomerate to manipulate the readers (and thus, their countries) until they wanted UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.
** Also, he wrote that journalists... well, suck. How much? Don't read if you're a journalist and easily offended: [[spoiler:Spengler wrote that journalists are intellectual whores, who will sell their intellectual abilities to whoever needs them, and support whatever cause they want.]]

---> '''Panay:''' Listen most carefully, people of Panau. President Panay, your glorious and humble leader, must speak. Free photographs of the president and his staff are now available in all government buildings. REJOICE.

* {{Implied}} use of one in ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'''s backstory. After overthrowing Taris as Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire in a MilitaryCoup, Sela broached the subject of a renewed Romulan monarchy to unify the people. Observers wryly noted that people suddenly started comparing Sela to favorably viewed single rulers in Romulus' past such as [[Literature/{{Rihannsu}} Ael t'Rllaillieu]] (despite the fact that Sela and Ael are approximately ''nothing'' alike). Sela eventually did proclaim herself empress.

** Alderode is a fascist surveillance state with posters glorifying the military, [[https://www.casualvillain.com/Unsounded/comic/ch07/ch07_63.html calling for caste purity and offering rewards for Crescian "pelts".]] Their newspapers also spread the state line, for instance Quigley killing everyone involved in murdering his wife and stealing her construct to take his son and run was presented to the public with no mention of , and claimed Quigley was a crazy radical who built the thing, [[https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/674418605761478656/what-was-adelrodes-propaganda-about-the-whole murdered state officials and then went to ally himself with Cresce.]]

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'', [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1835 SCP-1835 ("Rupertian Zeppelins")]]. The Federated Empire of Rupertia uses the Zeppelins to drop propaganda leaflets on its ''own territory''.