What is Propaganda?

This pamphlet is one of a series made available by the U.S. War Department (now the Department of Defense) in 1944 under the series title G. I. Roundtable. These pamphlets were distributed for the supposed purpose of providing material that orientation and education officers could use in conducting group discussions or forums as part of “off-duty education programs.” In reality, this pamphlet was intended to prime the public mind for the transition into the post-war period, making it a novel example of American social control. Although seemingly archaic in the face of today’s powerful methods of mass formation, What is Propaganda? invites the reader to consider the methods for propaganda and social control employed in their own country, as well as how we can recognize them.