Jacques Ellul’s Definition of Propaganda Compared to Common Understanding

Jacques Ellul, in his seminal work Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes (1962), presents a nuanced and expansive definition of propaganda that diverges significantly from its common understanding. Commonly, propaganda is perceived as deliberate, often deceptive messaging by governments or organizations to manipulate public opinion for political ends, such as wartime posters or authoritarian regime broadcasts. Ellul, however, redefines propaganda as a sociological phenomenon inherent to modern, literate, industrial societies, encompassing not only overt political campaigns but also subtle, pervasive influences embedded in media, culture, and technology. This essay contrasts the popular perception of propaganda as obvious, old-style war propaganda with its modern, subtler form, clarifying how propaganda works today by marrying truth to a lie, providing truth out of context, or being misleading in ways that mask the propagandist’s true intent.

The Common Perception: Old-Style Obvious War Propaganda

Most people envision propaganda as the blatant, heavy-handed messaging seen during wartime or under authoritarian regimes. This “old-style” propaganda includes iconic examples like World War I and II posters—think “Uncle Sam Wants You” or “Loose Lips Sink Ships”—or Nazi broadcasts demonizing enemies. These efforts were characterized by:

• Clear Intent: The goal was unmistakable, whether to boost morale, recruit soldiers, or vilify opponents.
• Emotional Appeals: Fear, patriotism, or anger were leveraged to provoke immediate reactions.
• Obvious Bias: Exaggerations, stereotypes, or outright lies made the manipulation evident to a critical observer.

This type of propaganda was easy to spot due to its overt nature and reliance on simplistic, often deceitful narratives. The common perception thus frames propaganda as a tool of specific historical moments—wars or dictatorships—rather than an ongoing, everyday phenomenon.

Modern Propaganda: A Carefully Curated Truth

In contrast, modern propaganda operates with far greater subtlety, blending truth and deception in ways that obscure its manipulative intent. Rather than relying on obvious lies, today’s propaganda is a “carefully curated truth” that passes without immediate recognition of the propagandist’s agenda. Jacques Ellul emphasizes that effective propaganda must resonate with reality, using facts as its foundation while shaping them to serve a specific purpose. Here’s how it works:

• Marrying Truth to a Lie: Facts are paired with distortions to create a compelling, yet misleading, narrative. For example, a political ad might highlight a candidate’s charitable donations (truth) while implying they single-handedly solved a social issue (lie), glossing over broader context.
• Truth Out of Context: Information is presented accurately but stripped of critical details. A news report might cover a protest by focusing solely on isolated acts of violence, ignoring the peaceful majority or underlying grievances, thus skewing public perception.
• Strategic Framing: Emotional appeals and selective emphasis guide interpretation. An advertisement might use scientific data—like “9 out of 10 dentists recommend”—without clarifying the sample size or methodology, nudging consumers toward a biased conclusion.

Unlike old-style propaganda, modern forms avoid outright falsehoods because they risk exposure in an information-rich world. Instead, they exploit trust in factual reporting, slipping past scrutiny by appearing credible. As Ellul notes, “Propaganda must be based on facts… but facts are not enough; they must be interpreted” (1962, p. 52). This curation ensures propaganda aligns with pre-existing beliefs, making it harder to challenge.

Examples of Modern Propaganda

• Media: A news outlet reports a politician’s speech verbatim but highlights only inflammatory snippets, shaping audience outrage while claiming objectivity.
• Advertising: A skincare brand touts a product’s “clinically proven” benefits, omitting that the study was small, biased, or inconclusive.
• Social Media: Viral posts share real statistics—like crime rates—but frame them to stoke fear or division, leaving out mitigating factors.

These tactics illustrate how modern propaganda thrives on partial truths, emotional resonance, and strategic omissions, distinguishing it from the blunt lies of wartime posters.

Propaganda’s Inseparability from Modern Society

Ellul argues that propaganda is not just a tool of specific actors but a sociological phenomenon inherent to literate, industrial societies. Several factors make it pervasive today:

• Information Overload: With mass media and digital platforms, people face too much data to process critically, relying on simplified narratives that propaganda provides.
• Literacy and Technology: Educated populations trust written or broadcast information, while advanced tools—like targeted ads or algorithms—amplify propaganda’s reach.
• Complexity of Life: Industrial societies create uncertainty, driving individuals to accept curated truths that offer clarity, even if manipulated.

Unlike the common view, which ties propaganda to deliberate campaigns, Ellul sees it as a structural feature of modernity, thriving in democracies as much as authoritarian states. “Propaganda is a necessity for the functioning of a technological society,” he writes (1962, p. 87), highlighting its role in managing mass attitudes.

Conclusion

The popular image of propaganda as obvious, old-style war messaging—think posters and wartime broadcasts—captures only a fraction of its reality. Jacques Ellul’s broader definition reveals propaganda as a subtle, pervasive force in modern society, where truth is curated, contextualized, or paired with deception to serve hidden agendas. By contrasting the overt manipulations of the past with today’s sophisticated blending of fact and misdirection, we see that propaganda’s power lies in its disguise: a “carefully curated truth” that slips past without examination. Understanding this shift invites us to question not just blatant lies, but the subtler influences shaping our world daily.

Works Cited: Ellul, Jacques. Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes. Translated by Konrad Kellen and Jean Lerner, Vintage Books, 1973.