Renee Hobbs offers a keynote address at the Media Education Conference in Salla, Finland. April 24, 2019.

1. Mind Over
Media:
Teaching About
Propaganda
Renee Hobbs

2. Mind Over
Media:
Teaching About
Propaganda
Renee Hobbs
Media Education
Conference
Salla, Finland
April 24, 2019
ACCESS SLIDES:
http://bit.ly/lapland-prop
TWITTER: @reneehobbs
#MEC2019

3. Propaganda & Misinformation are Rising Around the World

4. Misconceptions about propaganda
interfere with effective teaching and
learning
Critical analysis of contemporary
propaganda helps counter its
emotional power
Multi-perspectival dialogue about
global propaganda can activate
intellectual curiosity and promote
cultural understanding
By expressing opinions, creating and
commenting on propaganda, people
build citizenship skills that advance
democratic goals
Preview of Key Ideas

5. Misconceptions about Propaganda Developed from
the Way We Teach About it

6. Learning Names for Propaganda Techniques
Glittering generalities
Name calling
Plain folks
Bandwagon
Card stacking

7.  Propaganda is a way that
ideas and values compete for
public attention
 Diverse propaganda ensures
no individual or group has a
monopoly on the meaning or
interpretation of ideas
 Propaganda is part of the
process of democracy
WHAT’S MISSING

8. Propaganda
1622
Congregatio de Propaganda Fide

9. Media Literacy Education has its Roots in
Propaganda Education
Hobbs, R. & McGee, S. (2014). Teaching about propaganda: An examination of the historical roots of media literacy.
Journal of Media Literacy Education 6(2), 56 – 67.

10. What is Propaganda?
Propaganda is one means by which large numbers
of people are induced to act together.
-Bruce Lannes Smith and Harold Lasswell,
authors of Propaganda, Communication and Public Opinion, 1946

11. What is Propaganda?
Propaganda is a form of information that panders
to our insecurities and anxieties.
-Jacques Ellul
author of Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes, 1962

12. What is Propaganda?
Propaganda is indifferent to truth and truthfulness,
knowledge and understanding; it is a form of
strategic communication that uses any means to
accomplish its ends.
-Walter Cunningham, author of The Idea of Propaganda, 2002

14.  Propaganda appears in a variety of forms
 Propaganda is strategic and intentional
 Propaganda aims to influence attitudes, opinions and
behaviors
 Propaganda can be beneficial or harmful
Key Elements of Propaganda

15.  Propaganda appears in a variety of forms
 Propaganda is strategic and intentional
 Propaganda aims to influence attitudes, opinions and
behaviors
 Propaganda can be beneficial or harmful
 Propaganda may use truth, half-truths or lies
 Propaganda uses any means to accomplish its goal
 To be successful, propaganda taps into our deepest
values, fears, hopes and dreams
Key Elements of Propaganda

16. Where is Propaganda Found?
Advertising
Activism
Journalism & Public Relations
Government
Education
Entertainment

17. Commercial
Propaganda

18. News Propaganda

19. Political Propaganda

20. Hoaxes
Parody/Satire
ACTIVATE STRONG
EMOTIONS
ATTACK OPPONENTS
SIMPLIFY INFORMATION
RESPOND TO AUDIENCE
NEEDS
Rhetorical Techniques of Propaganda

21. European Association for Viewer Interests (2018). Beyond Fake News.

22. Propaganda Education Needs to be Part of
Civic Education
“The vital task of preparing students to become citizens
in a democracy is complex. The social studies
disciplines are diverse, encompassing an expansive
range of potential content. This content engages
students in a comprehensive process of confronting
multiple dilemmas, and encourages students to
speculate, think critically, and make personal and civic
decisions on information from multiple perspectives.”
--National Council for the Social Studies

23. Is it propaganda?

24. …the relationship
between propaganda
and information is fluid
and varies according to
context and use”
-Auerback and Castronovo, The Oxford
Handbook of Propaganda Studies, 2013
Is it propaganda?

27. Propaganda in Entertainment
It is important to recognize
propaganda that aligns with
our existing values
Activation of strong emotion
can make critical analysis
more challenging
Suffragette (2015), Director: Sarah Gavron

28. Suffragette (2015), Director: Sarah Gavron

29. Propaganda in Entertainment
Terrorist violence is presented as heroic and justified

30. It takes courage
to teach about
contemporary
propaganda

31. https://mindovermedia.eu

32. Mind Over Media
https://mindovermedia.eu

35. More than 2,500 examples from 40 countries

36. Propaganda Can Provoke Questions

37. Propaganda Can Provoke Questions

38. Propaganda Can Provoke Questions

39. Message: What is the nature of the information
and ideas being expressed?
Techniques: What symbols and rhetorical
strategies are used to attract attention and
activate emotional response? What makes them
effective?
Means of Communication & Format: How did
the message reach people and what form does it
take?
Environment: Where, when and how may
people have encountered the message?
Audience Receptivity: How may people think
and feel about the message and how free they
are to accept or reject it?
CONTEXT

40. Propaganda can activate
intellectual curiosity

41. Students Create Propaganda
MAUI WAENA INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL, Kahului HAWAII

42. Close Analysis of Propaganda through
Digital Annotation
VIDEO ANT: https://ant.umn.edu

43. Visually Summarize
5 Key Ideas from a Reading about Propaganda
ADOBE SPARK: https:/spark.adobe.com

44. Hobbs, R., Seyferth-Zapf, C., & Grafe, S. (2018). Using virtual exchange to advance media literacy competencies through analysis of contemporary
propaganda. Journal of Media Literacy Education 10 (2), 152 – 168
GERMANY UNITED STATES
FLIPGRID: https:/flipgrid.com

45. Student-Created Example
COM 416, University of Rhode Island

46. Student-Created Example
COM 416, University of Rhode Island

47. Student-Created Example
COM 416, University of Rhode Island

48. Misconceptions about propaganda
interfere with effective teaching and
learning
Critical analysis of contemporary
propaganda helps counter its
emotional power
Multi-perspectival dialogue about
global propaganda can activate
intellectual curiosity and promote
cultural understanding
By expressing opinions, creating and
commenting on propaganda, people
build citizenship skills that advance
democratic goals
Review of Key Ideas

49. Propaganda is both the
cause and the cure for
our increasingly
polarized world

50.  Propaganda gives people feelings of being involved in
something larger than the self
 Propaganda promises a remedy for loneliness by making
us feel emotionally attached to beliefs, opinions & ideas
 By simplifying, propaganda protects us from the chaos of
too much information
 BUT because propaganda cannot deliver on its promises,
alienation is increased and dissatisfaction is amplified
---inspired by Slavoj Zizek and Jacques Ellul
REFLECTION ON THE PARADOXES OF PROPAGANDA

51. All That We Share - Denmark

52. Teach the
Power of
Propaganda

53. Renee Hobbs
Professor of Communication Studies
Director, Media Education Lab
Harrington School of Communication
and Media
University of Rhode Island USA
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: @reneehobbs
#mindovermedia
www.mediaeducationlab.com