Final answer:
Propaganda is the strategic use of communication to influence public perception and behavior towards a particular viewpoint, commonly used in political and wartime contexts. It can employ various media and tactics, like radio, film, or evocative imagery, to resonate with its audience and promote compliance with specific ideologies or actions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Propaganda is a term that encapsulates the deliberate use of communication techniques to influence the attitudes and behaviors of a group towards a specific cause or position. Although often associated with negative connotations, propaganda is not inherently malevolent and can be employed for benign or beneficial agendas. It has been widely utilized throughout history in various contexts, such as to mobilize populations during wartime, to support political ideologies, or to promote social campaigns.
During the 20th century, particularly in both World Wars and the Cold War, propaganda reached new heights, leveraging emerging mass media like radio, film, and large-circulation newspapers to disseminate information to the public. Governments and political groups have used it to gain support for their policies and aims by deploying techniques such as bandwagon appeals, which encourage people to conform to the majority, and fear tactics designed to elicit an emotional response. The Bolshevik regime, for example, used propaganda to foster support for industrialization, and collectivization, and to educate the population according to Marxist-Leninist principles.