Propaganda and media subversion in Malawi

Part 1: Origin of Propaganda

Propaganda can be defined as information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause. Its origin is traced from the Roman Catholic Church in its utilisation of the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (Committee for the Propagation of the Faith). This was an order of the church established by a papal bull in 1622 in order to suppress the Protestant Reformation due to the perceived apostasy — the customs of heathenism that found their way into the Christian church and allegedly forced the Catholic church to lay aside the humble simplicity of Christianity for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers (Baran and Davis, 2012: 76). It was a moment of crisis for the Catholic Church as Martin Luther, John Wycliffe and John Huss accused the church of substituting the requirements of God with human theories and traditions. This was in the wake of the nominal conversion of Constantine, in the early part of the fourth century that caused great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a form of righteousness, walked into the church such that the work of corruption rapidly progressed.

In these hard times that threated the Catholic church, the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (Committee for the Propagation of the Faith) was instituted to counter the Reformers accusations. Gradually, the term propaganda came to refer to a certain type of communication strategy which aims at propagating specific beliefs and expectations. The ultimate goal of propagandists is to change the way people act and to leave them believing that those actions are voluntary, that the newly adopted behaviors—and the opinions underlying them—are their own.

Misinformation and Disinformation as propaganda tool

During the Second World War, the Germany Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler was synonymous with usage of propaganda. The tactic involved simplifying the complexity of the war and repeating that simplification over and over again in order to persuade people to buy the concept of the war and convincing the masses into enlisting in the army. Fritz Hippler, head of Nazi Germany’s film propaganda division, said that the secret to effective propaganda is to:

(a) simplify a complex issue and

(b) repeat that simplification over and over again (World War II, 1982).  

This is why effective propaganda is covert: it persuades people without seeming to do so; features the massive orchestration of communication; and emphasizes tricky language designed to discourage reflective thought.

Journalists cerebrating world press freedom day in Malawi

Spin doctors believe that the end justifies the means. Therefore, it is not only right but necessary that half-truths and even outright lies (misinformation) be used to convince people to abandon ideas that are “wrong” and to adopt those favored by the propagandist. Propagandists also rely on disinformation to discredit their opposition. They spread false information about opposition groups and their objectives. Often the source of this false information is concealed (anonymous sources). Does it now come by surprise that there abound stories in print, social media and the broadcast media that quote unidentified source or wittily hides under anonymous sources? Treat such stories with pinch of salt as they are a product of propaganda.

Propaganda and Democracy  

Harold Lasswell, in 1927, coined the Propaganda Theory in which he posits that the power of propaganda was not so much the result of the substance or appeal of specific messages but, rather, the result of the vulnerable state of mind of average people. (Baran and Davis, 2012). Lasswell argued that economic depression and escalating political conflict induces widespread psychosis, and this renders the minds of people vulnerable to even crude forms of propaganda. When average people are confronted daily by powerful threats to their personal lives, they turn to propaganda for reassurance and a way to overcome the threat.

In Lasswell’s view, democracy has a fatal flaw ̶ it seeks to locate truth and make decisions through openly conducted debates about issues. But if these debates escalate into verbal or even physical conflict between advocates for different ideas, then widespread psychosis will result. Spectators to these conflicts will be traumatized by them. Lasswell’s conclusion is that even relatively benign forms of political conflict were inherently pathological. When conflict escalates to the level it does in Malawi during campaigns or political turmoil, an entire nation could become psychologically unbalanced and vulnerable to manipulation.

Even routine forms of political debates that ensue between the five major and rival parties: the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), the UTM, the United Front for Democracy (UDF), and the Peoples Party (PP); could escalate into conflicts threatening the social order especially during elections due to ensued campaign attacks by candidates competing for the political mantle. Propaganda theorists’ presumption is that political action is maladjustive, political participation is irrational, and political expression is irrelevant”. But how do you maintain a democratic social order if any form of political debate or demonstration is problematic? Lasswell had an answer to this question: replace public discourse with democratic propaganda.

Malawian Journalists denouncing Government's use of propaganda on MBC 

Lasswell’s propaganda-for-good was adopted by the Office of War Information in the USA as its basic strategy during World War II. In the Cold War that followed that global hot war, using agencies such as the Voice of America, the United States Information Agency, the Office of International Information and Educational Exchange, and the State Department, it served as the foundation for numerous official efforts to counter Communism and spread democracy. No wonder, contemporary regimes in Africa and worldwide, adopt this as they institute similar agencies to be used in churning out democratic propaganda. These agencies range from public broadcasters, Government newspapers and press agencies. From this premise therefore, it should not be surprising that Government in Malawi uses the public broadcaster, the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), the Ministry of Information (Malawi News Agency and the Malawi Film Unit) to diffuse negative publicity against its initiatives and project a positive image for the government of the day. This is Lasswell’s democratic propaganda.

The gist of the argument by spin doctors is that people are so irrational, so illiterate, or so inattentive that it is necessary to coerce, seduce, or trick them into learning bits of misinformation. The argument is simple: If only people were more rational or intelligent, we could just sit down and explain things to them, person to person. But most aren’t given Malawi’s illiteracy levels that hovers around 70% and this makes most people children when it comes to important affairs like politics. How can we expect them to listen to reason? It’s just not possible. In the post-World War II United States, for example, this became known as the “engineering of consent”, a term coined by the father of modern public relations, Edward L. Bernays. Engineering consent is a democratic tenet as it expands freedom of press and speech to include the government’s freedom to persuade. Only by mastering the techniques of communication can leadership be exercised fruitfully in the vast complex that is modern democracy, because in a democracy, results do not just happen. Therefore, Malawi should not therefore be surprised when Government uses spin doctors for suppressing opposition messages: average people are just too gullible. They will be taken in by the lies and tricks of others/ opposition parties. If opponents are allowed to freely communicate their messages, so spin doctors must stop opponents from blocking Government’s actions and convince people to join the cause. This is a critical tenant that democracy promotes.

Given this, so how do communication experts justify the use of crude forms of propaganda? Watch out part two in which I discuss forms of propaganda and the difference between black, white and brown propaganda.

WHYGHTONE MOVESI KAPASULE is Malawian Journalist and Communication expert with specialisation in political economy of the media, media research, broadcasting and public relations.