The Fact
Communication scholars Garth Jowett and Victoria O’Donnell define propaganda as a deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior toward a response desired by the propagandist.
What This Means
In academic usage, propaganda is defined by purposeful, systematic influence—not simply by whether a message is false. Propaganda can contain true information, false information, or mixtures of both.
Sources
- Jowett, G. S., & O’Donnell, V., definition summarized in Wiley’s International Encyclopedia of Communication entry “Propaganda, Visual Communication of.” https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405186407.wbiecp110