- systematic shaping of perception, belief, and behavior through selective presentation of information
- techniques: repetition, emotional appeal, framing, omission, false dichotomy, appeal to authority, manufactured consensus
- historical: Roman triumph ceremonies, Catholic Propaganda Fide (1622), WWI/WWII poster campaigns, Soviet agitprop, Nazi ministry of propaganda
- modern forms: state media, astroturfing, bot networks, algorithmic feed manipulation, native advertising, deepfakes
- Bernays (Propaganda, 1928): engineering of consent, public relations as organized persuasion
- Chomsky-Herman (Manufacturing Consent, 1988): mass media as propaganda system serving elite interests through five filters
- censorship and propaganda are complementary: censorship removes unwanted signal, propaganda amplifies desired signal
- surveillance enables targeted propaganda: behavioral profiles allow precision manipulation of individuals
- truth machine: cyber as antidote to propaganda, a decentralized ranking of knowledge where relevance is determined by consensus rather than editorial authority
- collective intelligence resists propaganda when information flows are open and verifiable
- see also censorship, surveillance, revolution, democracy, decentralization