The dictionary defines propaganda as “information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view”. Propaganda can be seen around the world today, and it can take many forms. It can be seen on a large scale in countries like North Korea where citizens are told how great their current situation is, and on a smaller scale, we can see it everyday on social media here in the U.S. where organizations will publish misleading articles for the purpose of spreading their agenda.
A recent example of propaganda is China, Russia, and Iran using the Covid-19 pandemic to spread anti-American messaging to its citizens. According to a new State Department report, the three governments along with their state-run media outlets have been perpetuating the idea that the Coronavirus is a bioweapon engineered by the United States, and that the U.S. armed forces are responsible for spreading the virus to their enemies. The narrative has been pushed by all three countries, while websites owned by Russia’s Defense Ministry even alluded to the fact that it wanted to investigate the claim that Bill Gates helped create the pandemic.
The messaging between the three governments has been increasingly converging, as these states continue to push the narrative that China is more concerned about fixing the pandemic situation, while the U.S. continues to do little to resolve it. Iran continues to deny any use of propaganda, and says that any Corona-related disinformation is done by the American government. China’s internet and media, which is notorious for being restricted by the government, has recently allowed anti-American propaganda to manifest on its social media sites, as it helps push the same narrative that they are expressing.
Here in the U.S., concerns have also been raised over propaganda being perpetuated by Donald Trump. Major concerns have always been present over his rhetoric telling people that the media is filled with liars and can’t be trusted due to their criticism of him. In a recent press release, he assured reporters that his administration was handling the virus better than anyone else could, and stating that there is no issue with the availability of ventilators and other medical materials. Later in his speech, he blamed governors for not stockpiling ventilators, to take pressure off himself for his previous comment. While this can be seen as the president’s lack of preparedness to deal with a critical press, it is concerning to many how Trump uses these opportunities to either spread misinformation or make himself look good (while blaming others) for the upcoming election.
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