Is Propaganda Justifiable?

dealing with it wrote:I think that people should always be wary of information (new and old). And finding bias should be as natural as breathing. Citizens should not be patronized by any ruler who thinks they, the masses, can't sort the wheat from the chaff. Therefore, it is completely irrelevant whether or not our legislative bodies pass orders to confuse citizens with propaganda. It is something we should always expect from our governments.

This is all well and good. However, now everyone is skewing everything they come across to counter the bias they expect to be there. It is the boy who cried wolf. We expect the government to lie and spin so often, now there is no room for honesty. We always expect there is more to everything. Something being hidden from us or not quite being said right. If we're expecting the government to be the guardians of our interests, how do you propose we continue this trend if we can't trust it to do anything at face value?

dealing with it wrote:Unless propaganda actually causes measurable harm, I see it as fully justifiable. The right of governments to lie should be as protected as the right of all citizens to freedom of speech.

It causes harm to democracies. The democratic process only works when the voters are informed. If the voters are being constantly lied to, especially if the parties are constantly attack the other with lies, how then, can the citizen choose the best candidate? If we are not choosing the best candidate, we are not creating a better government and the whole country suffers. Though the propaganda may not be restricted to simply election campaigns, if everything the government says to the people is some form of misinformation, it causes measurable effect on the populations perception of the people they chose. It is the general right of the citizenry to know what is actually going on in the government they consented to place in the positions they are in.

While free speech is protected, outright lies are in several cases forbidden by law, such as in advertising (which is what propaganda is), contracts (which is what a public office is) and courts (to protect the citizens). It is necessary because we realize people making important decisions must do so with the most truthful information possible. What more important decisions could we be making than which people we place into government?

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