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Propaganda’s Most Effective Trick: Silence
This one works on EVERYBODY
When people think of the word “propaganda” they usually think it’s something they’re not affected by.
They may think of the anti-sematic propaganda of the Nazis in WW2 and consider it to be so obvious and so in-your-face that they would never be taken in by it.
They underestimate the power of propaganda because they are unaware of propaganda’s most effective trick: Silence.
“I won’t permit this theme to be discussed by our writers because I am convinced that so delicate a problem had best be put on ice and killed by silence” — Joseph Goebbels Diaries 1942–1943
If you read the diary of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi’s chief propaganda minister, you’ll find out that he uses the power of silence over and over again to great effect.
That is, to simply decide to completely ignore information that runs counter to the official narrative of the propaganda.
As an example, during WW2, the Americans had begun making a distinction between Nazis and regular Germans in their messaging. Goebbels was deeply concerned by this American tactic — he thought it could drive a wedge between the Nazis and the regular German public.
