One of the few things that can be said with any certainty about propaganda is that there is little consensus concerning what it is, how it is used, who uses it, how it can be assessed and whether it is effective or not! The very nature of propaganda defies a clear definition or understanding. Nevertheless, it is true that it is an excessively used instrument of governments and institutions throughout the world as a means of 'persuasion'. All governments include propaganda, information and censorship in their foreign and domestic goalorientated policies, whilst non-governmental agencies and multi-national corporations acknowledge the need to 'influence' public opinion at a local, regional and global level. Ironically, massive amounts of resources are expended on propaganda in the sure knowledge that there is no way of knowing the impact of this ambiguous and elusive instrument of mass persuasion. What is propaganda? How does it work? How can we measure its impact or effectiveness? Can we attribute success to propaganda? How useful is propaganda as an instrument of government? Is it possible to influence attitude and mood and even behaviour through propaganda? Writing about his work in British propaganda and intelligence during the second world war, Michael Balfour warned that 'the field is one in which generalisations are more than usually tempting and more than usually dangerous'. A warning which still holds good today.The origins of the modern term propaganda date back to classical times when rhetoricians appeared to make two opposing claims for their skills. One was that language should be used as a social skill to enhance public debate, the other was that the principal aim was not merely to enhance debate but to win it. Plato accused orators of placing victory in the debate which could lead to
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.