Propaganda During World War I

Amanda Guididas

How was propaganda used during World War I?

Propaganda was used in many countries during World War I. Most of the propaganda used were posters persuading eligible men to join their respective countries' military. Propaganda was also used to empower women back at home to help with the war effort, and also to persuade people to buy war bonds for the militaries' needs. The posters used during this time are still famous today. In this essay, I will discuss what propaganda is, and why it was so important during this time.

So, what is propaganda? Propaganda is a method of persuasion that uses an object to change someone's mind. A poster is the best example of propaganda. The aim of using propaganda is to target a person's strong feeling about a certain topic to change their opinion. For example, when John Kerry was running for President, in every commercial you saw him mention that George Bush was for keeping abortion as a legal act. Bush definitely lost some voters just over that matter alone. Using a sensitive and controversial topic is a great way to alter someone's opinion. When people use propaganda, most of the time you will notice that they have stretched or altered the truth. Propaganda almost always contains a strong bias against the opposing topic.

So, what started the war? To this day, not one person knows exactly what started World War I. There are many theories, though. The most common would be that the Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian man in June of 1914. Soon enough, then Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Soon after, Germany invaded Belgium, Austria-Hungary invaded Russia, and by the end of 1919 most countries were involved in the war. The second theory is the forming of political parties and militaries caused much tension between the European countries. Then there became sides between different countries, causing the war. Together were Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy against Great Britain, France, and Russia. Like the other theory, more and more countries joined alliances, evolving into World War I.

In the U.S., propaganda was used in various ways. In April of 1917, president Woodrow Wilson created the Committee on Public Information, also known as the CPI. This committee went all over the country, attempting to get cooperation with citizens by making speeches, sending out pamphlets, making posters, and even making patriotic films. Even famous people such as movie stars and marching bands joined the war effort. Also large billboards were built all over. Many citizens responded to the propaganda.

The Propaganda that was most used during World War I was to get eligible men to join the military. There was a large shortage of people to fight during this time, and they were desperate to find all the help they could get. As a result of the rush of advertisement, many men rushed to join the army, and men were praised with billboards