Introduction

H-Day 1967 – An alternative perspective on “propaganda” in the historiography of public relation

“…The blurred line between propaganda and public relations is also recognized in the field of propaganda studies (Auerbach & Castronovo, 2013). Already in the 1960s and 1970s, theorists such as Jacques Ellul were proponents for rethinking the issue of propaganda.…”

“…Propaganda was, in short, an essential feature for a democratic (mass) society (Ellul, 1968(Ellul, [1962). Like recent scholars in public relations history, the field of propaganda studies has continued to problematize and nuance the concept and practice of propaganda, and its linkage to public relations, all in order to better understand contemporary political communication (Auerbach & Castronovo, 2013). This scholarly tradition also emphasizes a spectrum of persuasive techniques as functions of propaganda, which can be used for moral and immoral purposes (Corner, 2007;Jowett & O'Donnell, 2012[1986).…”

Sportswashing: Media headline or analytic concept?

“…Although this type of ‘official’ definition broadly captures the activities of most states, propaganda is now generally used as a pejorative term that is applied to one group to denigrate the activities of another. Indeed, propaganda has increasingly been used to describe false or malicious messages that are designed to conceal ultimate ends or who might be responsible for an act (Auerbach and Castronovo, 2013), which makes it more akin to whitewashing, These negative connotations, combined with the fact that it has been recently superseded by other concepts, means that propaganda is often used to make sense of the activities of historical, and/or non-Western, states, at least in the West 1 (Sardar, 1998).…”

The rise and fall of ‘propaganda’ as a positive concept: a digital reading of Swedish parliamentary records, 1867–2019

“…What Schieder and Dipper identified as a pattern in the early nineteenth century in a German context is seen in the Swedish parliament one hundred years later: 'propaganda' was primarily a label used to dismiss communication from groups seen as political adversaries or even a danger to society. 32 Catholic propaganda (5) Anti-military propaganda (31) Political propaganda (66) Communist propaganda (1) Political propaganda (2) Political propaganda (16) Anti-religious propaganda (56) Christian propaganda (1) Religious propaganda (2) Propaganda of the deed (12) Revolutionary propaganda (51) Papist propaganda (1) Socialist propaganda (2) Religious propaganda (11) Religious propaganda (25) Anti-Christian propaganda (1) Anti-defence propaganda (8) Communist propaganda (19) Church propaganda (1) Socialist propaganda (6) Anti-state propaganda (13) Separatist propaganda (1) Anarchist propaganda (6) Anti-military propaganda (13) Anticlerical propaganda (3) Anti-Christian propaganda (9) Bolshevik propaganda (2) Anti-defence propaganda (9) Gender conscious propaganda (1) Pacifist propaganda (8) Political propaganda (41) Political propaganda (42) Foreign propaganda (25) Anti-semitic propaganda (31) Racist propaganda (17) Anti-semitic propaganda (28) Anti-semitic propaganda (23) Social-democrat propaganda (18) Anti-semitic propaganda (15) Racist propaganda (15) Party propaganda (23) Party political propaganda (17) Neo Nazi propaganda (8) Social-democrat propaganda (10) Race baiting propaganda…”

“…By 1945, it had been contaminated by the horrors of authoritarian propaganda, and its negative connotations were completely cemented at least by the 1960s. 3 Nevertheless, this cannot be the whole story, at least not everywhere, because as late as 1992, a Swedish parliamentarian asked for 'propaganda work at schools, catering establishments, and fairs, to promote increased fish consumption'. 4 How could 'propaganda' be presented as a political solution in 1992 if authoritarian regimes -as research has argued -had contaminated the concept already in the 1940s?…”