We constantly read in the media or hear on TV that certain political forces are engaged in propaganda. Intuitively, we are talking about disseminating information. And what does the word “promote” mean? Is this a term that has a positive or negative meaning? Let's look through the directories and sort it out together so as not to fall for the bait of manipulators who enjoy universal illiteracy.
What does it mean to promote
The explanatory dictionaries say that our term refers to the dissemination of any information. Advocacy is to carry out deliberate actions in order to convey a certain idea to the masses. Synonyms of the term: “distribute”, “agitate”, “popularize”, “puff out brains”. Perhaps, only the last phrase is clearly negative and is associated with deception.
Let's try to get to the bottom with an example. After all, propaganda is not advertising in the literal sense. These are just related areas, although both actions have traits of aggressiveness. Popularization is slightly different in that it is carried out on a voluntary basis. And distribution can be both aggressive and not. But all these concepts are considered similar to each other, describing similar behavior. Let’s try to approach from a different side and make out an example.
Political propaganda
In a democratic society, there are parties and other organizations that try to attract as many people as possible. Their goal is to come to power. The tool is including propaganda.
Every political player is interested in an increase in the number of supporters, but for the most part people do not particularly like politics. They are busy with everyday life, making money, entertainment and the like. Players have to interpret their ideas, that is, to promote. This process is complex and time-consuming. In order for people to be inspired by an idea, it must be of interest. Here comes the advertising phase. Interesters should not be let go, otherwise they will forget about the idea. Therefore, people need to present the material in such a way that they are imbued with them, sick with a soul, so to speak. This is already the stage of agitation and popularization. Further, the electorate should be involved in common activities. For this, other methods are used.
It turned out with you that to promote is to simultaneously (or in stages) advertise, popularize and agitate.
Out of politics
People have always offered their ideas to the public. This was done in order to give the world something new, previously unknown. Today, such activities have become widespread. People, in essence, are kind and generous. They want to draw the attention of others to progressive thought, thereby contributing to a change in the world for the better. Promoted values, as a rule, are a kind of innovation, a product of the creativity of one person or group. And far from always they can be attributed to politics, even vice versa. More often, a certain society gives rise to a cultural idea and carries it into the world. The technology is still the same. It is necessary to go through all the indicated steps:
- Alert or advertise;
- attraction or popularization;
- retention or agitation.
Ask, where is the last synonym of “inflate the brain”? It should be sought in goal setting. We are considering an ideal case when propagandists want to make humanity happy with their idea. But this does not always happen. If people try to seize the attention of the population by deceit, then this is brain inflation.
Conclusion
Advocacy is the activity of attracting the attention of others to a certain idea. Its essence is the recruitment of adherents, supporters of a certain value or thought. And whether the purpose of propaganda is true or false, should be dealt with individually.