Communication on a bare skeleton analysis entails providing information to a second or third party. This information can influence the second or third party in any number of ways. In everyday life, people living in a society communicate and make decisions: positive – fostering understanding – or negative – bringing about conflict. Information is therefore key in communication. It can be presented in a specific way to manipulate the thought process or decision making of the consumer: this is called propaganda. Propaganda is a form of persuasive communication characterized by biasness to the intention of speaker. It has largely been used in politics to sway the political views among the people in the society: and in most – if not all cases – to dominate conflict.
How is propaganda used as a tool for persuasive communication? Take for instance the contemporary terror threats faced by western countries. According to Reuters, there has been a spike in terror activities in most western countries as of 2014. The most notable aspect of these terror activities – and the main cause for concern – is the growing number of western citizens currently influenced by extremist propaganda. More and more individuals, especially the young people in the society such as the youth and the teens are increasingly being prosecuted for links to extremist groups. In most cases, most of those persuaded by such propaganda actually make their way to such countries to join up with Islamic extremist groups such as the Islamic State of Syria (ISIS). Which therefore begs the question: How can so many young people be easily influenced by these extremist propaganda?
Propaganda is used in conflict to sway the hearts of the masses to subscribe to particular political ideals. It is used to influence the political views of the target group. Terrorism arises due to conflicting political ideologies. In order to prevail against one political ideology, a group such as ISIS has made use of contemporary key pillars to propaganda. According to Haroro J. Ingram, these three pillars are advancements in telecommunication technology, military technology and the divide between the political elite and the populace in the society. Social media is a testament of the advances in telecommunication technology. Twitter and Facebook and the freedom of expression offered by these sites allow extremist groups to spread their propaganda unchecked. They have become quite adept at influencing the masses, especially the vulnerable youth who lack religious education. According to the Reuters article, a young American teenage boy, was sufficiently influenced by ISIS propaganda to solidify his political and religious ideals in extremism. According to Ali Shukri Amin, he felt that ISIS was right in their bid toward establishing a state that viewed drone strikes as evil. The implication being that the western countries were using excessive force in their bid to counter terrorism. In contrast however, ISIS was executing anyone with conflicting views on their ideals. This just shows how effective propaganda is at shedding light on one piece of information while justifying a much worse solution.
In a time when information is readily available to anyone with a gadget and access to the internet, much of the war on terror takes place online. Extremist groups are using media platforms to convey propaganda, a major concern given the negative influence it is producing the world over. Traditional al Qaeda relied on limited media streams all of which very limited content of their propaganda to go through to the viewer. Contemporary extremist groups can now target various groups and appeal to their political ideals. It is therefore more robust, flexible and multifaceted in its attempts to convey propaganda: quite successfully. This critical analysis goes to show how persuasion can be used in communication.
References
Abutaleb, Y., & Cooke, K. (2016, June 06). Extremists Among Us :A teen’s turn to radicalism and the U.S. safety net that failed to stop it. Retrieved June 08, 2016, from Reuters Investigates: http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-extremists-teen/
Ingram, H. J. (2016). A Brief History of Propaganda During Conflict: Lessons for Counter-Terrorism Strategic Communication. The Hague. International Center for Counter-Terrorism .
