Communication Science Class 9 PDF

Communication science Class 9 Prof. Dr. Thomas Jacobs The ‘masses’ Since the late 19th century enduring worries about the masses as a political force (cfr. mass society theories), belief in the need to ‘keep the masses in line’ ○ Decline of the old ‘frameworks’ th...

Communication science Class 9 Prof. Dr. Thomas Jacobs The ‘masses’ Since the late 19th century enduring worries about the masses as a political force (cfr. mass society theories), belief in the need to ‘keep the masses in line’ ○ Decline of the old ‘frameworks’ that surrounded the lower classes and kept them “happy” (religion, community,…); rise of individualism ○ Belief that individuals can be transformed into a larger force when they become part of a mass (transformation hypothesis) Þ Rise of propaganda as a social force tied to the dawn of the ‘mass society’ (even if antecedents) Þ Propaganda can be used as a tool by authoritarian or totalitarian forces, but also present in liberal democracies as a way to keep the masses ‘in check’ o E.g. war World war I WWI and the Russian revolution alert political leaders to the power and the importance of propaganda (but partially self-fulfilling prophecy) WWI: mobilize new troops, keep the factories running, keep the population happy Russian Revolution: fight ‘false consciousness’, reveal to the masses their true power ○ Origin of the modern meaning of propaganda as something negative (before, religions would ‘propagate’ the faith) ○ Agit-prop: work both on the emotional side (agitation) and on the mind (propaganda) ○ Use of ‘watchwords’ (”vooruit”) and slogans ("all power to the Soviets!”) World war II WWII put the horrors that propaganda, disinformation, and censorship can provoke on a gruesome display ○ Propaganda purely emotional, instinctive, symbolic and Pavlovian, no longer associated with concrete objectives as in the Russian Revolution What is propaganda? Huge literature, lots of different definitions Laswell: Opinions or actions deliberately expressed in order to influence the opinion and actions of others via psychological manipulation, with predetermined goals in mind Jowett & O’Donnell: “the deliberate and systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behaviour to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist” What is propaganda? Negative connotation Emphasis on the psychological dimension: manipulate, deceive, trick, mind control Unilateral, imposition of one single mode of action or thinking: propaganda is done by a powerful actor to a passive subject ○ Propaganda has the effect of a ‘hypodermic needle’ or a ‘magic bullet’ Systematic: lock the target up in a communicative trap, leaves no choice to the target, overrides their free will by eliminating any capacity for analysis and critical reflection Partisan: propaganda serves the goals of the sender without regard to what the receiver wants, wants a specific solution/idea/action to trump its alternatives. Propaganda has particular goals in mind and deliberately pursues them. These goals go beyond the ‘neutral’ goals of information and education (to inform and to educate) ○ Information is neutral, propaganda ‘picks a side’ ○ Education teaches techniques, propaganda teaches attitudes  But what about advertisement? But what about public relations? But what about public diplomacy? But what about NGO campaigns? ○ Psychological manipulation, systematic imposition, unilateral communication, partisan goals Þ If we see these activities as legitimate, should the term ‘propaganda’ lose its negative connotation in a scientific context? Þ But in that case, how does propaganda differ from persuasion? How can we criticize the use of manipulation and disinformation from an ethical and normative point of view? Sociological propaganda & capitalist realism Propaganda is not just related to war or to politics, most propaganda is indented to ensure our adherence, our compliance, and our consent to a certain mode of social organisation, a certain way of life Sociological propaganda ○ Vast and imprecise phenomenon ○ Integrates individuals and their behaviour into a particular mould, diffuses a particular way of life ○ Reproduction of the extant hegemony through sociological propaganda ○ Cinema, advertisement, education, social relations,… Mark Fisher, Fredric Jameson and Slavoj Žižek: capitalist realism ○ “It’s easier to imagine the end of the world, than to imagine the end of capitalism” ○ Capitalism, as a social construct, has been reified to such a degree that we mistakenly believe it is “real” Þ only viable option is the reproduction of the existing social relations Behaviourism Booming research on mass media and propaganda in the 20s and 30s (post-WWI, Russian Revolution) ○ Input needed for war propaganda, marketing, opinion polling, political campaigns,… Disappointing Observation of observations: strong response limited effect, and impressive functionalism results: behaviourism Behaviourism Tendency within behavioural psychology (// early mass media theorists, functionalism) ○ Behaviour is defined by the stimulus-response model: behaviour is the result of a biological mechanism that is activated in response to a given, external stimulus This mechanism can be leveraged and manipulated: operant conditioning ○ Certain behaviours are consistently rewarded/punished with a positive/negative stimulus (= the simple conditioning agent) ○ Punishment/reward leads to an adjustment of behaviour so as to obtain the reward/avoid the punishment ○ Ensuingly, the expectation of this stimulus is trained by associating the simple conditioning agent to a complex conditioning agent through their repeated combination ○ Expectations of punishment/reward lead to an adjustment of behaviour even in absence of the stimulus Behaviourism Propaganda can be a tool to apply operant conditioning to millions of people ○ Propaganda consists of both promises and ideas (simple conditioning agent) and symbols (complex conditioning agent) as the stimuli that trigger the desired response (docile obedience, idolatry, reverence to the leader, outrage, hatred,…) Mechanism is purely instinctive, no active cognitive component E.g. Nazi propaganda ○ The promise of a return to German glory and the fear over the nefarious influence of the Jews serve as a simple conditioning agents (positive and negative stimulus) ○ The responses are strong support and enthusiasm as well as deep-seated fear and hatred, respectively ○ Nazi salute, swastika, Hitlerian slogans, and other Nazi symbols serve as complex function as conditioning agents triggering expectations and suggestions of German glory and antisemitism even in the absence of their direct invocation ○ The results is simple symbols generating a ritualistic, automated acceptance and following of the Nazi creed: obeying the fuhrer and hating the Jewish people Behaviourism Propaganda as a ‘hypodermic needle’ or a ‘magical bullet’ ○ Media ‘inject’ uniform thoughts and behaviours in everyone in a direct and overpowering fashion ○ Public is weak and passive Propaganda has a direct effect: no filter, immediate, no intermediary Propaganda has a homogeneous effect: same for everyone, undifferentiated response ○ Since the stimulus and the conditioning are identical for everyone, expectation of uniform and identical behaviour in reaction to propaganda Þ Expectation that propaganda will be highly effective Propaganda has a powerful effect: media can affect our thoughts and behaviour in a profound and lasting fashion Behaviourism Pavlov effect is purely instinctive, lacks a cognitive component, focuses on emotions and impulses and instincts and feelings Þ difference between ratio-propaganda (“all power to the Soviets”) and senso-propaganda (“Sieg Heil”): former rests (partially) on persuasion and reasoning, latter on suggestion and conditioning ○ Behaviourist theory focuses on the latter Senso-propaganda targets a passive, reluctant crowd with repeated ○ excitement, enthusiasm, aggressiveness (positive stimuli) ○ anxiety, fear, depression (negative stimuli) Propaganda as a drug: constant depression by negative stimuli (administered through propaganda) can only be treated with excitement by positive stimuli (provided through the same propaganda) Behaviourism By taking control over the entire emotional lifeworld of its victims, senso-propaganda slowly turns them into zombies/sleepwalkers/… ○ Psychological crystallization: latent, vague, imprecise, repressed tendencies can become strong, powerful, dominant impulses under the effect of propaganda ○ Alienation: people become someone who they are not Behaviourism Both enthusiasm and worry ○ Laswell: “propaganda is one of the most powerful instrumentalities in the modern world. It has arisen to its present eminence in response to a complex of changed circumstances which have altered the nature of society…. A newer and subtler instrument must weld thousands and even millions of human beings into one amalgamated mass of hate and will and hope. A new flame must burn out the canker of dissent and temper the steel of bellicose enthusiasm. The name of this new hammer and anvil of social solidarity is propaganda” Domenach’s principles of political propaganda The rule of simplification and the singular, unique enemy ○ Propaganda gives a simple and concise worldview that is reductive of the complexity of the real world ○ Detail is the enemy of good propaganda ○ Key in this regard: watchwords, slogans E.g. Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer ○ Personification of politics: one good guy, one bad guy E.g. Trump The rule of exaggeration and defiguration ○ Point must be driven home, the most striking examples are chosen ○ The enemy is portrayed as gross and evil, the good as virtuous and perfect ○ Nuance is an enemy of good propaganda Domenach’s principles of political propaganda The rule of orchestration ○ Propaganda repeats the same point and the same themes over and over again ○ Across all channels, by all actors, via all out-going messages “All effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan. As soon as you sacrifice this slogan and try to be many-sided, the effect will piddle away, for the crowd can neither digest nor retain the material offered. In this way, the result is weakened and in the end entirely cancelled out. Thus we see that propaganda must follow a simple line and correspondingly the basic tactics must be psychologically sound. What, for example, would we say about a poster that was supposed to advertise a new soap and that described other soaps as ‘good’? We would only shake our heads. Exactly the same applies to political advertising.” Domenach’s principles of political propaganda The rule of transfusion ○ Propaganda does not start from scratch, but builds on existing opinions and representations (national mythology, existing prejudices,…) Propaganda not omnipotent, limits to its power: more about reinforcing existing opinions than about convincing/persuading/creating new ones // functionalist limited effect thesis? Uncharacteristic remark for propaganda research The rule of unanimity and contagion ○ Propaganda builds on people’s tendency towards conformism (// spiral of silence): everyone must be convinced To do so, propaganda creates impression of unanimity: exemplary personalities, unity themes (friendship, solidarity, happiness, freedom) that nobody can be opposed to Impression of unity forces the unconvinced to conform (victim to the spiral of silence): they get contaminated Propaganda in the digital era In the digital era, propaganda is easier (and more effective?) than ever ○ Big data makes it easier to detect and exploit existing patterns (e.g. Cambridge Analytica scandal) ○ Digital propaganda as part of ‘hybrid warfare’ ○ ‘troll farms’, ‘astroturfing’ Participatory propaganda (e.g. Qanon movement), where targets of propaganda actively distribute, disseminate, produce, relay, comment; thereby both deepening and widening its effect ○ Participatory propaganda is easily amplified (bots, participants) ○ Participatory propaganda can be segmented, targeted, and even personalized ○ Participatory propaganda allows the propagandist to obscure the source of the message Disinformation AI and online disinformation make manipulation easier than ever Disinformation is an active and intentional attempt to present factually incorrect or invented information as true and real for political or commercial purposes Þ Goes further than simply wrong information or a subjective point of view, something can be biased or incorrect without constituting disinformation Not all propaganda is based on disinformation, but most disinformation is used for propaganda purposes