COVID-19, Why we should wear masks.
Propaganda is more than just persuasion and their relationship is even more complicated. This medium stands at the forefront of information and entertainment in the modern world. It has the ability to inform, persuade, and entertain all in one, which is why it is used by so many people who are in power or would like to become powerful. Often the “most respected people in the community use propaganda simply because they are compelling, effective communicators” (Hobbs, 2020). Propaganda also seems more apparent today due to the internet however, forms of propaganda have been present for hundreds of years, the internet has just made accessing and viewing easier and more convenient. Most Americans get their information and news from social media outlets. Which has caused a surge in digital propaganda as it can reach a much larger audience than the traditional forms on paper. This digital age, however, has caused a strong rift between the public and the news. The content that is broadcasted all over the digital landscape is repetitive so much so that the public begins to believe it. This is known as the illusory truth effect and this is how those in power, new stations, and social media outlets use propaganda in the modern age to evoke persuasion.
This project requiring me to create propaganda was not an easy one but was very enlightening. For this project when selecting a topic I choose one that hits close to home for me. I choose a topic related to COVID-19 because it is very relevant to the world today. I work in a restaurant as well, so masks are a very big issue every day when I go to work. People still come into my workplace thinking they do not have to wear a mask and fight about it with my managers. According to a healthcare professional Dr. Redfield, “At best, a vaccine will be about 75% effective against moderate to severe disease, while a mask is about 90% effective for not spreading, or contracting the disease” (Croll, 2020). So I choose my topic of interest to mask-wearing My campaign is to try to convince and inform people why they should wear a mask. From choosing my topic I had no idea what to do as my form of propaganda but I am glad I was provided options. I took my time trying to sift through all the options to see what form would be the best for me and would stand out the most. I felt as if the blog posts, press releases, and infographics had already saturated the mask-wearing campaign and felt as if I could take my creative talents elsewhere.
Then I saw it the gem that would take my propaganda campaign over the top, the collection of 5 memes. As I mentioned previously we live in a digital world, and many people do get their information through this medium. So what better way to kickstart a killer propaganda campaign than to hit people where they are they are the most; online. Memes are also one of the most popular cultural elements happening right now. They get passed from one individual to another at a rapid rate of speed and are everywhere so its virtually impossible to escape them. This is why I choose this form, because they are easy to read quickly, easy to share quickly, and create that illusory truth effect that so many other powerful people utilize in their propaganda campaigns.
I hope you are seeing a trend in my decision-making here. I tried to create a campaign that was relevant in every aspect, from the current event to the most popular medium, to the trendiest form one can use for propaganda these days. So how did I create my memes? I can tell you one thing people make it look a lot easier than it is. I had to find cute, whimsical pictures that would stand out and even some that people are culturally familiar with. This was the easy part. The hardest part of this assignment was actually creating the meme because sometimes the pictures I choose didn’t fit the words so I would have to start all over or find a different picture to fit my words or find different words to fit the meme. It was like a puzzle to me, that at first I just could not figure out. So what I had to do was layout all my options, from the pictures, to whatever sayings I had created in one document. Once I did this, memes started to come together because I was able to take some phrases and combine them with others to create my propaganda meme campaign.
My strategy for this campaign was not random but very much so based on what I have learned thus far about propaganda. I learned throughout this class that propaganda can take any form even the form of memes. Also sometimes the wackiest forms have the biggest impacts. As well if I want someone to see and understand my mission I have to go to the source and attack as to why I choose a digital form of propaganda. I also tried to intensify my message by making trying to repeat my message through all my memes, try to strike fear in those that viewed them who don’t wear masks, and lastly, I tried to attract and hold my audience’s attention so it would make a lasting impression. As well in some of my meme’s I tried to attack the pathos of the audience and get them to be emotionally activated by these posts. I wanted to try and persuade a large online audience and influence their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors towards the problem America is facing with citizens and mask-wearing
Overall this was a great project to get me out of my comfort zone. I liked that it made me think and create differently from what I am normally used to in most of my classes. It took me past the simplicity of having to define definitions or writing my opinion on a topic. I got to use my creativity skills which is something I have not experienced much of in my time at college. I also really liked the structure that was provided to me throughout the process of the steps. If I did not have topics or forms to choose from I feel as if it would have been too open-ended and I may have struggled a lot more with how to create propaganda. Especially the forms I probably would have never thought of memes are a form of propaganda, but they are whether they are random, negative, or positive. The only thing I did not like about the experience of creating propaganda was how long it took me to finally come up with my sayings for the memes. However, this did teach me that no matter how small or simple the message there is so much that goes into it. That making propaganda isn’t easy but the simplest phrases do have the biggest impacts. Through creating propaganda I discovered that it is very challenging because it requires imagination, discipline, and determination. However, I know have a great baseline if I ever need to create more in the future.
