Countering Propaganda in the Global War on Terrorism: What can a Democracy do?

Abstract

The extensive use of propaganda by all belligerents during World War I created sensitivity to the relationship between modern communications technologies and the manipulation of public opinion. Government elites and academicians were so concerned with a perceived malleability of Americans that they initiated government and private institutions to protect the masses from anti-patriotic rhetoric. Many of these activities were challenged as the democratic system searched for a balance between first amendment rights and national security. The United States is once again fighting an adversary who challenges the legitimacy of its political system. The USG does not appear to have learned from WWI and the prelude to WWII. The USG should be careful to not assist the adversary in creating an alternate reality of signs and symbols with which to degrade the democratic political system.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2008
Accession Number
ADA531946

Entities

People

  • Leesa J. Papier

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil Rights
  • Congress
  • Foreign Relations
  • Freedom Of Speech
  • Governments
  • Information Operations
  • Law
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Political Systems
  • Psychology
  • Public Opinion
  • Social Sciences
  • Sociopolitics
  • United States
  • United States Government

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Strategic Security Studies