How does the IPA define propaganda?
Propaganda, defined by the IPA, means deliberately designing messages so that people will be influenced to think or act in predetermined ways, in ways the propagandist prefers. That is, it’s an instrument of persuasion meant to get people to form rash judgments. Why rash? Because they’re not based on rational thought or inquiry, just bald feeling. In this broad sense, you can see how advertising is “propagandistic,” but properly understood, “propaganda” is a term usually reserved for those who wield it, or want to wield it, in an organized way for political purposes. Despite their similarities advertising and propaganda are different. There’s a qualitative difference between using persuasion to get you to purchase a pair of jeans and using persuasion to get you to elect a person to office, to give that person enormous power. The difference is that the success or failure of the persuasion advertisers use will affect individuals, whereas political persuasion potentially affects millions.
