Leap 1

Propaganda has been a part of the media forever and we are now beginning to see it progress in different forms. When hearing the word propaganda, a lot of negative assumptions are made about what it does to the media, however not all propaganda is bad. Actually, a lot of propaganda is very good for people and can really help the general population. An example of this is if an advertisement goes out about drinking and driving and the scene shows someone getting into a car accident and dying. While this may not happen every time someone drinks and drives, it portrays a message that would convince people to follow and stick by. It basically helps the general population. There is also that form of propaganda that is bad and manipulative to the point where it causes large controversies. An example of this is if a news story goes out about how the president of the United States is very close to going bankrupt even though he may not be. This would cause a lot of controversy because it would put the nation in a state of panic and if people tend to believe and exaggerate very large ordeals such as this. Although propaganda has a generally bad reputation, as talked about above, it is not always a terrible thing.

I generally do not specifically look for forms of propaganda when reading an article or watching T.V so I had to do some extra research when attempting to find examples for this. The first place I went was CNN.com. With politics being such a touchy and fragile subject at the moment, I knew there would be a few good examples on there. With cnn being a generally liberal form of media, they released an article pertaining to the first UN General Assembly. THe title of the article was “Iran, North Korea, expected to dominate Trump’s first UN General Assembly.” This title on its own is very controversial. With Trump being a republican and CNN being on the liberal side of the media, they are creating this title in a way that would make Trump look bad. While this may be a true statement, nobody can really be sure because CNN is viewed as a liberal form of media and are assumed to be hating on Trump no matter what their stories talk about. However, if you look at Fox news who wrote an article also pertaining to the UN General Assembly, their article is titled, “Trump's U.N. General Assembly Debut to Assert His 'America First' Message.” Fox is normally considered a Republican form of media thus they are supporting the Republican president at this convention. This is a great form of propaganda because it shows two different views on the same event happening and how a liberal form of media perceives it to the population vs. a conservative form of media.

Another example of propaganda that arises every year is the controversy over the flu shot. All doctors in person and over the internet will tell you that if you do not get your flu shot, you have a great chance of getting the flu and even dying. However, I have been hearing and seeing many instances where small children have gotten the flu shot and gotten very sick right after getting the shot. I went through a similar instance when I received the nasal spray form of the flu shot. I had a very bad cold for about a week after getting that and although I did not get the flu, I may have not gotten the cold if I did not get the nasal spray. Doctors around the world need people to continue getting the flu shot because it is a large form of revenue in the medical field. In an article on medlineplus.gov, “20 percent of the American public gets the flu each year, and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized annually from flu-related complications” (medlineplus.gov 2011). Although this fact is alarming, they do not give the percentage of people who deal with common cold symptoms after receiving the vaccination which is important information for people who may be skeptical on getting the vaccination. This is a great example of propaganda because it is creating a message saying if you do not get the flu shot, you have a chance of dying even though that may not be true.

The DACA situation in the U.S is turning into a huge crisis and major news networks are delivering different information regarding this issue. As mentioned earlier, CNN is a generally liberal form of news and Fox News is considered to be more conservative. While this is just information being told to the public, they both have different strategies of informing us about this issue. There is a video posted on Fox News regarding this issue and a Republican senator by the name of David Perdue joins the team to talk on this issue. He talks about how he feels that this is a real issue and that Trump made the right call in removing DACA. Since Fox News is a conservative network similar to Trump himself, they decided to portray this decision as a good decision for the U.S as a whole. On the other hand, CNN portrayed this as a bigger issue which is causing a lot of controversy among the population. CNN released a video as well with the caption “End of DACA, a sad day” (CNN 2017). This caption in itself shows that CNN is not on the president’s side and is trying to give this information in a negative way. Although this is very controversial and neither a negative nor positive decision made by the president, it is something that happened and is being released by the media in different ways.

Another example of propaganda that has been in the news recently revolves around the Ball family and their “Big Baller Brand.” In a segment of “The Herd” hosted by Colin Cowherd, Lavar Ball who is the founder of the “Big Baller Brand” joins them to talk about the latest shoe release they have with the ZO2s. When asked why the price of the shoes, which are currently priced at $400, are so steep, Lavar replies with, “If you cannot afford these shoes then you are not a “Big Baller”” (Youtube.com). This statement creates the assumption that you have to have a lot of money to be able to be a “Big Baller” and if you do not then you do not deserve to own any of their apparel. While the brand does have apparel that are much more affordable than these shoes, Lavar is saying that in order to even rep the brand, you must be wealthy. This provides a different outlook on the brand to the general public and that if you cannot afford these shoes, you cannot be a “Big Baller” even though that may not be true.

Clothing and fashion lines tend to consistently participate in propaganda in all forms. For example, Vineyard Vines has the slogan “Everyday should feel this good.” This is not a negative form of propaganda, it is more an advertisement that means if you wear their clothes, you will be a happier and better person. One way they portray this, “Good Life” through their clothing line is by hiring models to wear their clothes who are attractive, young, and in shape. They also tend to always take pictures of these models on an expensive boat, on the beach, or in some place that portrays the general good life of a person. An image I found on Pinterest shows 4 individuals, 2 guys and two girls wearing Vineyard Vines clothing in a setting that looks calm, warm and nice.This picture is shown here:

This form of propaganda tends to make people buy their clothing more due to the setting and image they are portraying through their

ads.

The last example I would like to talk about pertaining to propaganda in our lives is the many skits SNL puts on featuring Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. One skit that began the whole controversy was the Presidential Debate skit done back in October of last year. SNL used Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon for the roles. They pretty much made a mockery of both candidates by using facial expressions that are very exaggerated as well as answers that make both candidates look like absolute idiots. This form of propaganda portrays that both of these candidates are not fit for this role which is obviously the view a lot of the public had. This was also used to create more publicity for the show which did work however it created a different view of both these candidates. This is the main reason for manipulation in the media as read about in Ryan Holiday’s “Trust me I’m Lying.” Holiday talks about how he as well as most bloggers are guilty of changing facts so more people will see it and talk about it.

With this assignment, I was able to look at different forms of media that use different strategies to deliver the same message. With CNN and Fox News delivering similar messages regarding the president, it is easy to tell which side they are each on and also with advertisements such as the vineyard vines one mentioned earlier. Propaganda is something that will stay in the media because it is a very good and easy way to persuade people to do something you want them to do.

Get Your Flu Shot! (n.d.). Retrieved 2011, from https://medlineplus.gov/magazine/issues/winter11/articles/winter11pg22.html

Trump's U.N. General Assembly Debut to Assert His 'America First' Message. (2017, September 18). Retrieved September 19, 2017, from http://nation.foxnews.com/2017/09/18/trumps-un-general-assembly-debut-assert-his-america-first-message

Liptak, K. (2017, September 18). Iran, North Korea expected to dominate UNGA. Retrieved September 19, 2017, from http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/18/politics/donald-trump-unga-preview/index.html

Kopan, T. (2017, September 05). Trump ends DACA but gives Congress window to save it. Retrieved September 19, 2017, from http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/05/politics/daca-trump-congress/index.html

Sen. Perdue Wants Tougher Immigration Language in Any DACA Deal. (2017, September 18). Retrieved September 19, 2017, from http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/09/18/david-perdue-daca-deal-raise-act-illegal-immigration

Lavar Ball Goes Off!! STAY IN YOUR LANE WOMAN!! (2017, May 17). Retrieved September 19, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKzMppU1SvU