Propaganda in the contemporary world can be referred to as the combination of tools employed to manipulate the general masses to achieve a set of goals that can either be political, military, social, or economic. The common people are led as mere cattle by moulding their opinions and thought processes. A mutual enemy is portrayed, and a sense of togetherness is invoked by words such as “we,” “us,” “our,” etc. The means, or the source by which propaganda is often proliferated, is media, traditional mainstream as well as social media outlets. It is used to mask the real motives of the propagandists.

The essential features comprising successful propaganda involve a war-like scenario. A potential and imminent crisis is presented before the public with a sense of urgency to persuade them against the targeted evil or the oppressors and to ensure the masses’ survival and their freedom. The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 under the pretext of possession of weapons of mass destruction was debunked years later, as it was all mere propaganda to make a strategic move, get the public opinion in favour of waging war overseas, and gain influence in the region’s resources and political influence. Likewise, the genocidal offensive on the Palestinians has shown the international community that propagandists know no limit to their ambition to accomplish their agenda,........

© The Spine Times