Essay Sample Dedicated to Propaganda of World War 1

World War 1 was among the first wars that had the mass media being used as a way of spreading all sorts of propaganda based on the kind of events that were taking place at that time. The propaganda had a significant role in making sure that the people at home and those who were in the interior parts of the country had a clue on all that was taking place in the war. The battlefield was full of events and propaganda was a way in which everyone could be informed regarding updates and the things that were about to take place. The different governments were using propaganda to target the public and also interfere with the kind of opinions that they had. There was also the use of external propaganda which was spread to other countries and it took the integral role of making sure that the Diplomatic history of World War 1 was in line with the support that came from them (Field 56). In that case, it is evident that the use of propaganda started a long time ago and it cannot be classified among the modern inventions that were necessary to make things move. In this case, the main aim will be on some of the ways propaganda in World War 1 affected social values and also took part in the shaping of new identities of the people who came from the counties that took part in the war.

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Before World War 1 took place, most of the societies were well connected to each other, and they bore values that cut across trustworthiness, integrity, peace, love, harmony, and confidentiality. In that case, they made sure that all the support that they got from the other people was legitimate and it could be used for decision making. Britain was among the countries that took part in World War 1, and it was in the front line to come up with a group or department that was supposed to take part in the development of opinions and propaganda. This affected the social value of integrity as the people now had to trust all that came from the department regardless of whether it was true or false (Thomas 9). The British wanted to get help from other nations using propaganda by stating that they could benefit from the war and some researchers could be released to the countries. This was propaganda that was spread using media houses in the form of adverts and newsletters. In this case, the society lost its values and ended up following all the informant that came from the media regardless having in mind that they did not have a way of proving whether it was true or false.

The other social value of that was affected was the one that focused on peace and solving issues by taking part in discussions and consensus. In this case, the countries that took part in the war made the whole world to develop the notion that war did not have any adverse impact. For instance, the United States needed to have more people to join the army so that they could be able to support it when it came to the World War 1. In that case, it spread propaganda that stated, the primary function of the war to make one intrinsically heroic after winning and that was a way of dealing with the kind morale that infested in the enemy. The citizens were not ready to be devoured by the efforts and attacks of the enemies, and they, therefore, gave in to the propaganda. They forgot the fact that the war was going to lead to the loss of lives and vast destruction of property. In that case, they lost all the social values that they had embraced for many years.

The society still valued the aspect of togetherness and also making sure that a culture of harmony and peace was maintained at all times. The problem, in this case, is that many societies had not engaged in a war that had many countries and therefore everyone had a feeling that was going to be grisly. In that case, countries such as the United States had to use propaganda, and this defiled the provision of the social values that were embraced in the form of togetherness. For instance, George M. Cohan composed propaganda spreading song that he titled, "Over There" as a way of making many of the Americans to take part in the war. He wanted the Americans to develop the aspect national identity and also to show some sense of patriotism when it came to protecting the country. The song, therefore, had lyrics that were telling the Americans that they would go and stop the war and later on return home safely. The Americans did not think twice about the song, and they used it as a slogan when they were moving on to be part of the war. Many Americans lost their lives, and no one came back home safely. This was a clear indication that the propaganda fulfilled its mission of dealing with the people who did not want to the war to take place.

Propaganda in World War 1 was still used as a way of shaping new identities among the people who came from the countries that took part in the war. Most of the people identified themselves as peace-loving and also came from societies that were not ready to use war as a way of gaining superiority (Eitan 87). In that case, there had to be the use of propaganda to lure them into taking part in the war. In the long run, they ended up being war-centric and forgot the fact that peace was the order of the day when looked from the way they identified themselves. For instance, the bad news for the war was censored in the print media as a way of making sure that the morale and support of the people who took part in the battle were high. They were supported to take part in the war with the knowledge that no one lost his life and that all the missions were about to be accomplished successfully. This was propaganda that made people move from possessing good and positive personalities into being individuals who were not read to surrender during a war.

Most of the people from the countries that took part in World War 1 had identities that were revolving around lack of resilience and maintaining aspects of confidentiality when it came to matters that are affecting their nation (Cooke 5). In this case, propaganda made them change the kind of identities that they had and ended up being resilient and ready to take part in a war of a kind. For instance, propaganda was used as a way of making the enemies to realize the fact that they were hopeless from the start of the war and they did not have any chance of experiencing success. This would, therefore, hinder the decisions that they had already made concerning posing attacks and coming up with strategies on how to win the war. The new identities that had been imposed on the people by the propaganda are what made them refrains from being civilians so that they could be able to join the military. In that case, propaganda played a significant role of making people change from the kind of character that they had as a way of fitting in the success that was needed by the time when the war was coming to an end.

In conclusion, propaganda was therefore used as a form of warfare, and it was important as many landed into happy endings. It was a way of making sure that unity was embraced amount the people who were taking part in the war and also justify the fact that some countries were taking part in World War 1. In that case, the allied and central states had to use propaganda as a way of dealing with all the events that took place in World War 1. The impact of the propaganda is that it spread the news that was not true making many people lose the kind of positive values that were attached to them. Also, many people changed the kind of identities that they had when it came to conflict resolution as a whole.

References

Cooke, Ian. "Propaganda in World War 1: Means, Impacts and Legacies." Fair Observer. 2014.

Eitan, Bar-Yosef. "British WW1 Propaganda." Journal of Contemporary History 36 (2002): 87-109

Field, Frank. "British and French Operations of the First World War." Cambridge University Press. 1991.

Thomas, Maria. "The Role of Propaganda in WW1." (2013)