Media and Propaganda: Navigating the Era of Disinformation

In a world awash with terms like “fake news,” “disinformation,” and “misinformation,” one scholar argues that we’ve neglected a crucial concept that ties them all together: propaganda.

Barbie Zelizer, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, contends that propaganda remains a powerful force in today’s media landscape, despite falling out of favor in public discourse. Her new co-edited volume explores this overlooked phenomenon across different contexts and historical periods.

“Media and Propaganda in an Age of Disinformation,” edited by Zelizer and Nelson Ribeiro, Professor of Communication Studies at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, examines how propaganda operates across borders and subject matters, arguing that contemporary terms fail to capture its full scope and impact.

The book emerged from the Lisbon Winter School for the Study of Communication, a collaborative workshop that brings together early-career researchers and established scholars to examine pressing media and communication issues. For the past five years, Zelizer, who directs Annenberg’s Center for Media at Risk, has worked with Ribeiro to organize these gatherings.

“The workshop is designed to give advanced doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers the opportunity to engage with global experts on topics that are constantly evolving in meaning and significance,” explained Zelizer. Previous workshops have examined the intersection of media with themes such as fear, uncertainty, ambivalence, and populism.

The book compiles expanded versions of keynote addresses delivered at the Winter School, including a notable contribution from Annenberg Dean Sarah Banet-Weiser on how sexual violence threats function as propaganda tools. Additionally, the International Journal of Communication published a special section in 2024 featuring selected presentations from the workshop’s early-career participants.

Zelizer’s research points to a problematic tendency in democratic societies to avoid labeling information campaigns as “propaganda.” She traces this reluctance to Cold War binary thinking that associated propaganda exclusively with autocratic regimes while characterizing similar activities in democracies as mere “information” or “persuasion.”

“This idea—that autocracies propagandize while democracies persuade—has been strengthened ever since,” Zelizer notes. “It’s particularly prevalent today, where a combination of privatization, polarization, and digitization hides the similarities between current information disorder and traditional notions of propaganda.”

This reluctance to recognize propaganda in democratic contexts poses significant challenges for addressing today’s information crisis. According to Zelizer, the historical perspective reveals that the distinction between “good” and “bad” regimes—often associated with propaganda’s supposed absence or presence—is largely artificial.

“If we don’t link current information disorder to its historical antecedents more fully, we face the risk of being unable to mitigate its spread,” she warns.

The comparative study of propaganda across different political systems reveals important insights. While traditional top-down, state-controlled propaganda still exists, contemporary practices have evolved. Modern propaganda often substitutes private actors for state activity, employs lateral and multi-directional polarization rather than centralized control, and leverages digital technology instead of traditional media channels.

Zelizer advocates for a more comprehensive understanding of propaganda that encompasses various forms of information manipulation prevalent today. “We need to do a better job of identifying propaganda that works differently from the traditional model and to be clearer about how notions like disinformation, misinformation, and fake news are all very much varying forms of propaganda,” she argues.

The volume represents a significant contribution to media studies at a time when information integrity faces unprecedented challenges. By reframing contemporary media manipulation through the historical lens of propaganda, Zelizer and her colleagues offer valuable context for understanding today’s complex information environment.

As societies worldwide grapple with declining trust in media institutions and the proliferation of misleading information, Zelizer’s work suggests that recovering and updating our understanding of propaganda may be essential to restoring a healthier information ecosystem.