Propaganda versus Censorship
In the digital age of the 21st century, with new technology and science being developed almost daily, it's no wonder one falls under the deception of government and corporations. Fabricating data and providing a distruth of information for a conflict seems to work better than censoring the ‘opposing side’ of an argument. There has been evidence of a lack of trust in the government for a long period of time; the government either does too much or too little in situations. In like manner, they’ve used both propaganda and censorship to provide a distruth of information on a topic, however, propaganda works better than censorship to market an idea to people.
Today, with the COVID-19 pandemic consuming the majority of an individual's life, one lives in a reality where we feed off of what the government says versus what the people say. Fake news and misinformation have caused a lack of trust in the government. The government needs better, louder, more engaging content to overpower the false information… Their energy and resources should be better spent on directly messaging the people rather than shutting down media outlets. This leads to the question of ‘what bad marketing, concerning the pandemic, did the government enforce that makes people question what they say’? The question has two answers, they either act too slow or too quickly to censor misinformation.
In 1912, an outbreak of a highly contagious virus caught the attention of the United States, leading to its title of “measles.” After further research and experimentation during the years of 1963 and 1971, the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, and rubella), was developed and is now administered to over 90% of babies and children today. In 2019, an outbreak of another highly contagious disease struck the world, also known as ‘coronavirus’ or ‘COVID-19’. However, with this vaccine, Science’s COVID-19 report, which is supported by the Pulitzer Center, mentions, “as few as 50% of people in the United States are committed to receiving a vaccine” (“Just 50% of Americans…”). Furthermore, in May of 2021, Gallup, a world poll company that tracks main world issues, reported that “32% of adults worldwide would not be willing to receive a free COVID-19 vaccine. This is equivalent to 1.3 billion people globally and represents a barrier to achieving herd immunity” (Chen). But why were so many Americans quick to get the MMR vaccine and hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine? In today’s day and age, we use the term ‘vaccine hesitancy’ to refer to someone who practices “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccination despite availability of vaccination services” (MacDonald). Vaccine hesitancy in the age of the COVID-19 has become a striking topic for news corporations and social media. It spurs from the lack of research and long-term effects of the vaccine, as well as a lack of trust in the government. Likewise, Edward Chen, a writer for Harvard University, mentions, “Surveys from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified other factors beyond safety, such as reliance on a ‘wait and see’ approach, a lack of trust in the government, and concerns about the speed at which COVID-19 vaccines were developed”. Trust in government and big science corporations is essential in order for the government to act without coercion. Trust in the government allows communities and citizens to flourish, while the absence of trust can cause fragmentation, conflict, and riots. Throughout Orwell’s 1984, members of Oceania were under constant distruth about their government and forced to believe the parties verbatim. Propaganda through posters and direct messaging towards members of the party silently forced them to think a certain way, while the constant censoring of history and free speech seemed to cause a continuous stream of questions and anger. The party used these forms of propaganda to ‘market’ the idea of ‘Big Brother’ to the citizens of Oceania, in an effort to persuade them to think and act a certain way for their personal interest. Likewise, Orwell mentions, “And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. ‘Who controls the past’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past’” (#44).
Fake news. A term present across almost any and every social media platform and corporation commonly used today. The University of Michigan defines fake news as, “those news stories that are false: the story itself is fabricated, with no verifiable facts, sources or quotas” (“Research Guides…”). Fake news is propaganda usually designed to mislead the reader, or for economic incentives (the writer profits on the number of people who click on the story). This form of propaganda is used so often on social media platforms because of its easy access and ability to be shared online. Fake news relies on the concept of ‘any traffic is good traffic’, as the government and big corporations have become slow to censor articles and videos that provide misinformation about a topic. Some anti vaxxers rely on fake news and have promoted the idea of “the supposedly “dangerous metals”... but were quickly replaced by microchips, liquid crystals and nanoparticles as new secret and/or toxic vaccine ingredients (totally unfounded), together with false demonstrations of “magnetism” as proof.” (Sarukhan). Likewise, Keenan Chen, who holds a MS in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and a BS in journalism and political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, mentions, “Tenpenny, who has profited from conspiracy theories and who once described Covid-19 vaccines as “a perfect killing machine,” told lawmakers that viral online videos suggested the vaccines bear a protein with “a metal attached to it.” These well-known citizens are aware that their false information has a profit incentive, which is usually enough to drive them to distribute the false information. However, this piece of ‘fake news’ was quickly debunked and the right information was provided to people through direct statistics and messaging. Content should be censored when it provides misinformation on a certain topic or inappropriate comments, not on opinion based conflicts.
If the government and big pharmaceutical corporations conduct more research studies using logos, connect to people on a more personal level using pathos, and use credible scientists and figures to promote the vaccine using ethos, the government creates direct connection to its citizens. Rather than shutting down media outlets, loudly advocating for the covid vaccine is more effective. Likewise, Renee Hobbs, who was awarded the 2021 PROSE Award for Excellence in Social Sciences by the American Publishers, expressed “Government officials around the world are using simple language to create straightforward messages that urge people to get vaccinated… Such messages rely on the rhetorical concept of ethos by presenting an attractive character who delivers a persuasive message. If you like the person who delivers the message, you will be more likely to accept it – and act on it.” In like manner, Young Anna Argyris, an assistant professor in the College of Communications Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University, was asked the question of “How can we frame the message around vaccines on social media to encourage higher participation in vaccination efforts?” and responded with, “Prior studies on health communication have shown the importance of emphasizing the benefits of taking a health behavior rather than portraying the harms of refusing to take the health behavior. Also, focusing on the immediate and personalized benefits have been found more effective than distant, societal benefits.” In addition, Young Anna Argyris also mentions, “The effectiveness will also magnify if these benefits can be visually framed in photos, videos, memes, and/or posters, for the augmented persuasiveness of visual stimuli than textual narratives.”
In analyzing this argument, it is clear that propaganda works better than censorship when the intention is marketing an idea to people. The government needs better, louder, more engaging content to overpower the false information… Their energy and resources should be better spent on directly messaging the people rather than shutting down media outlets. When marketing the idea of the COVID-19 vaccine, the initiative of directly messaging and connecting to people both logically and emotionally seem to prove to be more effective than shutting down media outlets. People are more likely to get the COVID-19 vaccine if they are provided visuals and statistics about its benefits.
Works Cited
Argyris, Young Anna. “Ask the Expert: Social Media’s Impact on Vaccine Hesitancy.” MSUToday | Michigan State University, 15 June 2021, msutoday.msu.edu/news/2021/ask-the-expert-social-medias-impact-on-vaccine-hesitancy?collection=79022467-cc5d-4b0d-9d69-8f773df52178.
Chen, Edward. “Vaccine Hesitancy: More than a Pandemic.” Science in the News, 29 June 2021, sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2021/vaccine-hesitancy-more-than-a-pandemic/.
Chen, Keenan. “False Claims about ‘Magnetic’ Covid-19 Vaccines Continue to Spread.” First Draft, 10 June 2021, firstdraftnews.org/articles/false-claims-about-magnetic-covid-19-vaccines-continue-to-spread/.
Hobbs, Renee. “Vaccine Propaganda – Media and Learning.” Media-And-Learning.eu, 2021, media-and-learning.eu/type/featured-articles/vaccine-propaganda/.
Jamison, Amelia M., et al. “‘You Don’t Trust a Government Vaccine’: Narratives of Institutional Trust and Influenza Vaccination among African American and White Adults.” Social Science & Medicine, vol. 221, 1 Jan. 2019, pp. 87–94, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953618306932, 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.12.020.
“Just 50% of Americans Plan to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine. Here’s How to Win over the Rest.” Www.science.org, www.science.org/content/article/just-50-americans-plan-get-covid-19-vaccine-here-s-how-win-over-rest.
MacDonald, Noni E. “Vaccine Hesitancy: Definition, Scope and Determinants.” Vaccine, vol. 33, no. 34, Aug. 2015, pp. 4161–4164.
“Measles.” CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 5 Nov. 2020, www.cdc.gov/measles/about/history.html.
“Research Guides: ‘Fake News,’ Lies and Propaganda: How to Sort Fact from Fiction: What Is ‘Fake News’?” Umich.edu, 2018, guides.lib.umich.edu/fakenews.
Sarukhan, Adelaida. “Disinformation Has No Religion: The Most Common Fake News on COVID-19 Vaccines - Blog.” ISGlobal, 17 Nov. 2021, www.isglobal.org/en/healthisglobal/-/custom-blog-portlet/los-bulos-no-tienen-religion-las-fake-news-mas-comunes-sobre-las-vacunas-covid-19/3098670/0. Accessed 3 Jan. 2022.
“Trust in Government - OECD.” Oecd.org, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. 2019, www.oecd.org/gov/trust-in-government.htm.