Propaganda has existed as a form of social control since the first societies, albeit with modern media dissemination it has taken on a more sinister aspect as a form of overt and covert social manipulation. The United Fruit Company helped give rise to the notion of the banana republic, an unstable and highly stratified nation state whose economy subsists on a single major export product. Banana republics are usually overseen by a petty dictator, who lives royally while the people suffer. Even pre-World War 1, American expansionism had utilized national and transnational corporate means to control other countries and use methods of state manipulation to appease the body politic. However, American foreign policy has many good points as well, but the point is the state has the power to manipulate public perception of truth/falsity in relation to information. This is true of most nation states today - discernment of true information versus propaganda can be complicated in our hyper-mediated world, although alternative news sources such as found online help to moderate excess statist propagandistic tendencies.
Defining Propaganda:
Excellent Video Detailing Multiple Aspects of Propaganda and Its Social Influence:
No - movie from 2012- depicts power of advertising to affect national sentiment - pro and counter propaganda campaigns - reference to Chilean President Pinochet's plebiscite on his presidency in which citizens vote Yes or No:
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