The term "propaganda" originated in 1622 when the Roman Catholic Church established the Congregation de Propaganda (Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith). However, the practical application of spreading false information and biased, manipulative information has been going on since ancient civilizations.

Propaganda is spread by sharing biased, selective information through mass media, public speeches, social networks, etc. Propagandists use repetition, emotional triggering, and symbols to push agendas.

Throughout history, propaganda was spread using the most effective communication tools available at that time. Examples include physical art, architecture, and public speeches.

Xerxes, the successor of Darius the Great, led war with ancient Greeks. He would let war prisoners return instead of killing them. He would then show them the power of his army, and send them to Athens, where they would spread the fear and propaganda.

Genghis Khan namely sent disguised people in front of his army who told stories of the strength of the army, making it easier to conquer.

Around 1440, Johann Gutenberg invented the movable printing press. Through the printing press, rulers manipulated large numbers of people.

In the 16th century, Philip II and Queen Elizabeth realized the importance of propaganda and thus, during war, both sides blamed everything on each other.

Napoleon spread misinformation through newspapers, theatres, and art.

The Soviets, Nazis, and many others used art to spread their views. Sergei Eisenstein's Strike (1925) and Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will (1935) are some of the films that promote political ideologies.

During WWII, governments used mass media, radio, and posters to shape public opinion, recruit soldiers, and dehumanize enemy nations.

In 1933, in a student-led book-burning movement supported by the Nazis, university students burned books by Jewish authors, books which promoted pacifist works, and books promoting leftist movements, socialism, and communism.

During the war, antisemitic books were promoted and encouraged for children to read. Books titled 'You Cannot Trust a Fox in a Heath and a Jew on His Oath', 'The Poisonous Mushroom' were encouraged.

Joseph Goebbels was the Minister of Enlightenment and Propaganda. He made radios more affordable and spoke against Jews in public speeches.

These same tactics are still used against minority groups in several countries.

Through movies, songs, actors, newspapers and books propaganda and misinformation are still being fed to the people. In India, the censor board allows movies like Dhurandhar, The Sabarmati Report, and The Kerala Story, knowing they harm the image of minorities, but doesn't allow movies like Satluj and santosh which criticise the government. It shows how democracy and our rights are slowly being taken away from us. The government shouldn't dictate what books citizens should read or what art they should consume. Books like The Satanic Verses by salman rusdie and Azadi by Arundhati roy shouldn't be banned.

Political leaders spread hatred openly through speeches and get away with it. It causes distrust and disharmony among the public. It is high time we stop getting manipulated and make sure that whatever political media we consume is fact checked and is not spreading lies.

Thankyou for reading. This is my first time writing an article about history or information in general. Would love a comment and a subscribe.

If possible kindly support my work at Buy me a chai and alao when you do pls send me a message and then I will send you a video of me dancing in joy.

But not mine. Not me.

I don't come under that category. I will only be beautiful if I lose some weight or wear some makeup

If possible please support my work at Buy me a chai .

Subscribe

One day, with full courage, I open the windows I let the sunlight in. I see my body. I climb out the window. Nobody seems to be there. They must have left the house. I climb into another window. No one.

Another window. No one.

So I walk back to my cave, close the curtains as darkness swallow me again.

Thankyou for reading, consider subscribing and buying me a coffee. Lol:)

Subscribe

If possible please support my work at Buy me a chaj

After the exams, I went up to the terrace and sat on the swing. There wasn't any breeze or sunlight there. I climbed up the ladder and stood on the roof. The wind tried to take my clothes away. I closed my eyes in the evening sun, my hair damp from chlorine and my skin dry. I looked at the very big, ugly buildings around me. An old couple was walking on the terrace of a nearby building. Two kids were playing on another. The sun shone on us, and I saw birds fly home. I couldn't help but wonder how I would destroy these buildings around me if I could. I would take grenades and throw them at these buildings. There would be smoke everywhere, and people would come out of their houses. They would thank me.

After a few days, trees would grow everywhere. The roads would grow grass, and the vehicles would disappear. Animals would return to the greenery, and my dog would find a new friend. People would walk everywhere. The old couple would walk on the grass and the kids would play. The sunlight would reach them there, and the breeze would try to take my clothes away.

If possible kindly support my work at Buy me a chai

Subscribe

Thanks for reading. Kindly consider subscribing and buying me a chai lol :)

Choose whether you want to stay at home or work.

Choose whether you want to put a veil over your face or wear a dress or a sari.

I used to be a choice feminist until I gave it some thought.

Feminism is about choice, isn't it?

But it's not really a choice when the other option comes with a lot of prejudice and judgment. We can say that she is wearing a veil over her face because it is her choice, or that she is a housewife because she wants to do nothing more than take care of her kids.

But it's NOT her choice if it actually comes from am internalized patriarchal upbringing.

It's not her choice if she grew up in a surrounding where everyone in her family called a working woman "forward" or told her that it is okay not to study and that she could just get married instead. If they told her that a woman should always know how to cook even if she doesn't learn any other skill. Cooking is important.

It's not her choice if she heard people pass comments about a woman wearing a short dress.

It's not her choice if she sees how everyone tries to bring down that one lady in her society who works even after having kids.

The society that always blames the mother if something wrong happens: "She should've known better, she goes out and she doesn't know what's happening in her house. Who will pay attention to the child if the mother doesn't? How will the child learn values?"

It's not her choice if she learns that a 10-year-old got assaulted because her shoulders were showing.

After all this, when she grows up and is privileged to choose between work and home, she will choose home because in her mind it's pleasing and more acceptable. She will say it's her choice, but it's actually the years of conditioning. She will say that she knows she can wear anything, but she still prefers to wear "modest" clothes.

She will say being a mother is a job itself.

Because all of these "safe" choices give her a sense of safety, knowing bad things won't happen and that people won't judge her or make comments about her clothes.

Here is a little story.

When I was little, I used to play cricket in my society. One day our tennis ball fell on the balcony of a lady's house. We went and asked her for it, but she got mad instead. When I told my parents about it, they said she gets angry all the time because she didn't get married at the right age and now regrets it. Years later, I understood what a bullshit statement this was. When a person grows up in a surrounding that supports women but is still somewhat patriarchal, the little misogyny doesn't look like it.

Because when our family tells us to study and be independent and still says that a woman should get married and have children, that feels normal.

The little difference between raising a boy and a girl doesn't seem like a difference because, "OUR PARENTS AREN'T MISOGYNISTIC!! THEY WANT US TO BE INDEPENDENT! AND ANYWAYS WOMEN SHOULD TAKE MORE CARE OF A CHILD BECAUSE AFTER ALL SHE IS THE MOTHER! MOTHERS KNOW THEIR KIDS BETTER THAN THEIR FATHERS!"

To end this article, I am not saying women shouldn't stay at home or that women need to wear short clothes. I am just saying that you can wear what you want, but don't call it your choice because it is not.

It will only be your choice when both the options are equal and the choice is coming from YOU and not society.

Subscribe

Kindly support my work at Buy me a chai

I feel like I am incapable of love because of my body. And I know there is true love out there. True love doesn't care how you look, because I see it on the internet—people finding their true love. But it feels like that can never happen to me. It feels impossible for someone to love me. Nobody will love me.

So I am always trying to be everything but myself so that nobody truly sees me. If I want love from someone, I stop caring about the things I love. I don't show them my crazy obsession with something because I'm afraid they might run away and tell their friends how crazy I am.

I want to be loved. I want to love.

I don't have anyone in this world who accepts me and loves me with all my flaws. Yes, I have my family and my friends, but they don't really know me. Partly because I am not open with them. When I try to be, I can see their disapproving glances and quiet judgments. So I have stopped.

I put on a mask of acceptable behavior that gets me included in my cousins' secrets and my friends' hangouts. I don't want to live like this. It's exhausting. I don't want to constantly feel like I am not good enough.

I look at myself in the mirror and see so many things that are wrong with my body. I despise this feeling. I don't dress up because it doesn't matter what I wear—it's going to look bad anyway. I have given up.