Demagogy and propaganda in the Media

2.  You must be able to define the concepts of
demagogy and propaganda in the media.
 You should be able to explain why a source
can be biased.
 Amazing if you can provide your own
examples of biased news taken from a British
newspaper.

3.  What does ideology mean?
 What does hegemonic ideology mean?
 What does bias mean?
 What is a credible source?

4. Propaganda:
Information, especially of a biased or
misleading nature, used to promote a political
cause or point of view.
Demagogy:
The act of seeking political support by
appealing to the desires and prejudices of
ordinary people rather than by using rational
argument.

5. The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper.
It is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper
after The Sun.
The Daily Mail, devised by Alfred Harmsworth (later Lord
Northcliffe) and his brother Harold (from 1914 Lord Rothermere) ,
was first published on 4 May 1896. Alfred Harmsworth also
launched the Daily Mirror, in 2 November 1903 , which he sold to
his brother Harold in 1913.

6. The Daily Mail is still owned by Lord Rothmere's descendant Jonathan
Harmsworth, registered through a Jersey trust, and a Bermuda-registered
offshore entity. He has not denied claiming tax concessions as a "non-dom",
on the grounds that his father lived in Paris.This move saves him several
millions of pounds in tax annually.
 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jul/10/whos-who-britain-legal-offshore-tax-
avoidance-james-dyson
 http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/ian-hislop-lets-rip-daily-2339529

7.  The Daily Mail has a history of antisemitism
and supported Nazi ideology in Britain in the
1930s and was one of its main platforms for
propaganda.
 In the following slides you can find some
examples of pre-WorldWar antisemitism as
well as Nazi propaganda found on the Daily
Mail during the 1930s.

11. Harold Harmsworth
(Viscount Rothermere)
Adolf Hitler

12. From left to right:
Lord Rothermere, GeorgeWard
Price, Adolf Hitler, Fritz
Wiedemann, Joseph Goebbels,
with Princess Stephanie and Magda
Goebbels sitting in front.
(January, 1936)
Source: https://spartacus-
educational.com/BUrothermere.htm

13. Andrew Sachs (real name Andreas
Siegfried) was a popular British comedian,
best known for his role as Spanish waiter
Manuel in the sit com FawltyTowers.

14. Now look at the news
report attached to
the farewell to
Andreas Siegfried.
Isn’t it ironic, even of
a dark humorous
nature, to say
farewell to an
immigrant while on
an open war against
immigration?

17.  Watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9FggJE1HjY&t=72s

23.  An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person temporarily or permanently
residing in a country other than that of their citizenship.
 In common usage, the term often refers to professionals or skilled workers sent
abroad by their employers, who can be companies, governments, or non-
governmental organisations.
 Effectively migrant workers, they usually earn more than they would at home, and
more than local employees.
 However, the term 'expatriate' is also used for retirees and pensioners who have
chosen to live outside their native country. Historically, it has also been referred to as
exiles (although this term has political connotations).

24. Etymology
The word expatriate comes from the Latin terms ex ("out of") and patria ("native
country, fatherland").
The varying use of the terms migrant, immigrant and expat for different groups of
foreigners can thus be seen as implying nuances about wealth, intended length of stay,
perceived motives for moving, nationality, and even race.This has caused controversy.
For example, a British national working in Spain or Portugal is commonly referred to as
an 'expatriate', whereas a Spanish or Portuguese national working in Britain is referred
to as an 'immigrant', thus indicatingAnglocentrism.
An older usage of the word expatriate was to refer to an exile.Alternatively, when used
as a verb, expatriation can mean the act of someone renouncing allegiance to their
native country, as in the preamble to the United States Expatriation Act of 1868 which
says, 'the right of expatriation is a natural and inherent right of all people,
indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.'

25. This definition contrasts with definitions of other words with a similar meaning, such as:
 Migrant: A person who moves from one place to another in order to find work or
better living conditions (Oxford)
 Immigrant: A person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country (Oxford)
 Expatriate: A person who lives outside their native country (Oxford)
Why would an immigrant choose to “live permanently in a foreign country “?
Why would an expatriate choose to “live outside their native country“?

26.  Analyse this newspaper
front cover in its socio-
political context using
Barthes’ semiotics
(connotation/denotation-
sign/symbol)
 What other theory could
be used to analyse
representation in this
newspaper cover?
 How does the Daily Mail
reflect the democratic
values of British society?

27. Scotland and Northern Ireland voted
to remain in the EU (62% vs. 38%, and
55.8% vs. 44.2%), whereas England
(53.4% vs. 46.6%) and Wales (52.5%
vs. 47.5%) voted to leave.
Due to the density of population of
these areas, bigger in England and
Wales than in Scotland and Northern
Ireland, a very narrow majority of
51.9% vs. 48.1% resulted in favour of
the Leave campaign.
This is an important critical point in
the relations between Scotland and
Northern Ireland with England and
Wales, especially after the Scottish
referendum and their decision to
remain part of a UK within the EU.

28.  This tabloid newspaper’s
front cover reports on the
first official meeting
between the British PM
and the Scottish First
Minister after the Brexit
referendum.
 Read the main cover line.
 Does this newspaper show
respect for the democratic
system that these two
politicians represent?
Explain your answer.
 Is this report informative or
educational?Therefore, can
we call this journalism.

29.  How is national identity
represented in this
newspaper cover? Use
Barthes’ semiotics
(connotation/denotation-
sign/symbol) in your
analysis.
 Extension: How is
gender represented in
this newspaper cover?
Apply Judith Butler
gender performance
theory.

30.  This tabloid newspaper’s front
cover presents Ms Gina Miller, a
Guyanese-British business owner,
investment manager and
philanthropist.
 Ms Miller launched the Brexit
legal case, arguing that the
government could not invoke
Article 50 of the LisbonTreaty -
starting the formal process of the
UK leaving the EU - without
seeking approval from
Parliament.
 Ms Miller argued that only
Parliament could make a decision
leading to the loss of her "rights"
under EU law.
 Does this tabloid newspaper
cover show respect for individual
liberty? Explain your answer.

31.  Look at this cover from The Sun
and read the following reports
from TheTimes, The Guardian
and The Independent, and reach
your own conclusions.
By the way, Rupert Murdoch,
the owner ofThe Sun, is an
Australian-American national
(so a foreigner in UK terms)
billionaire (so a member of a
very reduced “loaded foreign
elite”). How is that for an irony
when you put that in
perspective with this coverline?

32.  Can you think of
examples of propaganda
and demagogy in today’s
UK media?

33.  This tabloid newspaper’s
front cover presents the
three judges in the
Supreme Court of Justice
that ruled that the results
of the referendum should
be passed through and
approved by the
Parliament, as it is stated
in the British legislation.
 Does this newspaper cover
show respect for the rule
of law? Explain your
answer.
 Is this report informative
or educational?Therefore,
can we call this
journalism.

34.  Can you think of examples of
propaganda and demagogy in
today’s UK media?

35. Research on these UK media businessmen and you'll find out (among many other amusing facts) that:
1. Rupert Murdoch is anAustralian with double nationality (Australian-American)CEO of 21st Century Fox
(formerly News Corp), which owns The Sun 9one of the main tabloids, alongside Daily Mail, to back up the
Leave EU campaign), Fox News (backingTrump),TheTimes,TheWall Street Journal, among other media
platforms. Nonetheless, his newspaper The Sun has been openly campaigning against both immigration
(remember, he is technically an immigrant, since he is not a UK national and does not hold a UK passport) and
the “foreign loaded elite” (a category he also falls into, since he is the biggest media mogul in the wold)
2. Jonathan Harmsworth, 4thViscount Rothermere, is the chairman of DMG media (publisher of The Daily Mail),
which is a subsidiary of DMGT, which owns the 24.9 % of the Evening Standard, a newspaper whose main
owner (63%) is London-based Russian Evgeny Alexandrovich Lebedev, owner of Lebedev Holdings Ltd,
which also owns The Independent, and theTV channel London Live. Nonetheless, his newspaper Daily Mail has
been openly campaigning against both immigrants (remember, he is an associate of a Russian immigrant), and
the “foreign loaded elite” (a category he also falls into, since he has been reported to hold a non-dom tax status
in order to avoid paying taxes in the UK)

39.  Reality Check:Would Brexit mean extra
£350m a week for NHS? (BBC, 15 April 2016)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-
eu-referendum-36040060

40.  Man behind controversial £350m-a-week for the NHS Brexit bus slogan admits leaving EU could
be 'an error‘ (Evening Standard, 4 July 2017 ) https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/man-
behind-350m-a-week-brexit-bus-lie-admits-leaving-eu-could-be-an-error-a3579676.html
 Vote Leave director admits they won because they lied to the public (The London Economic,
February 8, 2017) https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/vote-leave-director-admits-won-
lied-public/08/02/
 Here’s how spectacularly wrong the Brexit bus £350million lie was (Metro, 27Apr 2017 )
http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/27/heres-how-spectacularly-wrong-the-brexit-bus-350million-lie-was-
6600987/#ixzz4sSfTAXoO
http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/27/heres-how-spectacularly-wrong-the-brexit-bus-350million-lie-was-
6600987
 Theresa May admits £350 million pledged to NHS by Brexit campaign isn't going to happen
(Mirror, 29 MAR 2017) http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/theresa-admits-350-million-
pledged-10124021
 How the Brexit campaign lied to us – and got away with it (New Statesman, 30 June 2016)
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2016/06/how-brexit-campaign-lied-us-and-got-away-
it

41.  https://www.th
etimes.co.uk/e
dition/news/fiv
e-of-uks-
richest-men-
bankrolled-
brexit-
gckbxzhsr

42. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/07/the-great-british-brexit-robbery-
hijacked-democracy

43. http://www.independen
t.co.uk/news/business/n
ews/brexit-hedge-fund-
manager-crispin-odey-
loses-125-million-
because-uk-eu-
withdrawal-
a7720531.html?cmpid=f
acebook-post

51.  Search for one example of propaganda and
one example of demagogy in current British
media (if you search in British tabloids you
will not have any difficulty in finding an array
of examples)
 Explain your choices.

52. This is an example of
American war propaganda
during the WW2. Discuss the
following:
1. What are the denotations
in this advert?
2. What are the
connotations?
3. What is the ideology
implied in this advert?
4. Is this an example of
propaganda?
5. Is this an example of
demagogy?
Explain your answers.
Example 1

53. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1vCe3BAnws&feature=youtu.be
Example 2:Example 2

54. Example 3

55. Example 4

56. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/16/nigel-farage-defends-ukip-breaking-
point-poster-queue-of-migrants
Example 5

57. Control Room is a 2004 documentary
film about Al Jazeera and its relations with
the US Central Command (CENTCOM), as well
as the other news organizations that covered
the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
This is a good example of bias and propaganda
in the media, both in its attempt to expose the
CNN/Fox News propaganda by usingAl
Jazeera’s counterpropaganda.
Click on the poster to watch the film

58. Videocracy is a 2009 documentary film directed by
Swedish-Italian about Italian television and its
impact on Italian culture and politics, and
about Silvio Berlusconi's powerful position on all of
these.
Videocracy has won awards at theToronto
International Film Festival, Sheffield Doc/Fest, the
Golden Graal awards, and theTempo
Documentary Award of 2010. Videocracy was
widely distributed internationally, seeing theatrical
release in the USA, UK, the Netherlands, France,
Poland, and Sweden among other countries. In
Italy, where it opened in 90 theaters across the
country on the weekend of 4 September
2009, Videocracy came in 4th in box office
rankings.
Click on the poster to watch the film

59.  What is demagogy?
 Provide an example of demagogy.
 What is propaganda?
 Provide an example of propaganda.