capitalized: a congregation of the Roman curia having jurisdiction over missionary territories and related institutions
2
: the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person
3
: ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause
also: a public action having such an effect
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The History of Propaganda
Propaganda is today most often used in reference to political statements, but the word comes to our language through its use in a religious context. The Congregatio de propaganda fide (“Congregation for propagating the faith”) was an organization established in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV as a means of furthering Catholic missionary activity. The word propaganda is from the ablative singular feminine of propogandus, which is the gerundive of the Latin propagare, meaning “to propagate.”The first use of the word propaganda (without the rest of the Latin title) in English was in reference to this Catholic organization. It was not until the beginning of the 19th century that it began to be used as a term denoting ideas or information that are of questionable accuracy as a means of advancing a cause.
Example Sentences
She didn't buy into the propaganda of her day that women had to be soft and submissive. Maria Shriver, Time, 26 Oct. 2009They see all clear thinking, all sense of reality, and all fineness of living, threatened on every side by propaganda, by advertisement, by film and television. C. S. Lewis, An Experiment in Criticism, (1961) 2009We've so bought into the mass delusion, the nutty propaganda, that now the ideal American family is one that's on steroids … Anna Quindlen, Newsweek, 27 Apr. 2009… just propaganda for a mode of life no one could live without access to the very impulse-suppressing, nostalgia-provoking drugs they don't want you to have … Richard Ford, Independence Day, 1995 He was accused of spreading propaganda. The report was nothing but lies and propaganda. See More
Recent Examples on the WebKu Klux Klan propaganda was displayed in a Spearfish gas station. Carolyn Kormann, The New Yorker, 12 Sep. 2022 Xu’s work conflates basketball with Communist propaganda. Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery and the Center for East Asian Studies are both on Washington Terrace at Wesleyan University in Middletown. Susan Dunne, Hartford Courant, 8 Sep. 2022 Socially, the community is invigorated—especially younger researchers, many of whom sported stylish muon collider T-shirts at Snowmass (a propaganda feat that was later mimicked by cold-copper-collider proponents who handed out chic buttons). Daniel Garisto, Scientific American, 8 Sep. 2022 Bui Tuan Lam, 38, who runs a beef noodle stall in the city of Danang, is accused of anti-state propaganda in posting online content that distorted guidelines and policies of the ruling party, police said in a statement late on Wednesday. Reuters, CNN, 8 Sep. 2022 The government has pushed propaganda depicting the virus as having devastated Western countries, feeding widespread stigma and a fear of infections even among the young and healthy. Vivian Wang, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2022 The 47 percent of strong supporters of the war tended to be dogmatic and proud of Russia’s military actions, and appeared to adopt some of the Kremlin’s most common propaganda, according to the analysis. Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 7 Sep. 2022 The government has pushed propaganda depicting the virus as having devastated Western countries, feeding widespread stigma and a fear of infections even among the young and healthy.New York Times, 7 Sep. 2022 Hitler decided to let Helene on the team for propaganda purposes. Neil Keller, Sun Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from Congregatio de propaganda fide Congregation for propagating the faith, organization established by Pope Gregory XV †1623