Propaganda Lessons from the Iraq War
Looking at propaganda in hindsight can help you recognize and combat it now.
It’s been 20 years since the US-led invasion of Iraq began in 2003. You don’t need me to tell you what a disaster it’s been. The country was ruined, countless lives were lost, trillions of dollars were squandered, and the US has nothing positive to show for its efforts.
When the war began, I was 17. I’d just been accepted to my college of choice to study International Relations. Like many young people, I was eager to make my mark on the world and help make it a better place.
This post isn’t about me, but I’m using a personal anecdote to give some context as to my views. Stay with me for a moment.
The very first op-ed I ever penned was in my high school newspaper that year about how the only outcome we could be sure of in the war was that innocents would die. That’s an easy call to make — it always happens in war. I take no comfort in having been right.
But the previous year, while the war was ramping up, I was all gung-ho for the invasion. I wore provocative t-shirts to school with images of Saddam Hussein captioned “Saddam Hussein: 1937-2003.” I thought it was edgy and funny and clever.
Something changed between then and the next year for me. I can’t pinpoint exactly what changed my mind or helped me grasp reality, but simply, I smelled bullshit. The push was too hard. The lies were too obvious. It was off, and gave me an uneasy, nauseous feeling. See the picture of Colin Powell above? It was everywhere.
In retrospect, I realize now that I’d had my first allergic reaction to propaganda. I certainly wouldn’t have explained it that way then, nor could I have articulated such feelings. It’s not easy now, either.
The last few years have been host to a propaganda blitz of astounding proportions. If you feel emotionally exhausted, you’re not alone. But I’ve noticed that the term “propaganda” itself is confusing for some, so I wanted to give a clear explanation of it and provide examples that are digestible.
Just What Is Propaganda?
Propaganda is messaging designed to influence thoughts and behaviors. It may come from governments or private organizations, but is most frequently associated with governments. It often travels via proxy organizations like media outlets that have close ties with government.
Effective propaganda is carefully crafted to manipulate people’s basest emotions to get them to think or do something they ordinarily wouldn’t. It targets ancient, primal emotions like fear, anger, envy, pride, shame, disgust, or greed. These are emotions many mammals express and they’re embedded deep in our DNA. Well-crafted propaganda aims to bypass the rational, thinking part of the brain to go directly after a person’s emotions. It doesn’t exclusively target negative emotions, but frequently does because those emotions are easier to tweak.
It’s not much different from marketing. However, instead of trying to sell a product or service, it sells an idea — often one that’s against the target’s best interests. Propaganda looks ugly and obvious when viewed retrospectively, but it’s very powerful in the moment because it relies on hard-wired emotions that tell a person to take action right now. Physical threat from an enemy or wild animal? Fight or run! Horrible smell coming from food? Get away! You get the idea.
Many in the Western world believe that propaganda is something that only happens in dictatorships, corrupt authoritarian states, or other “bad guy” countries. This is not the case. Listen to former Time Magazine editor and Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel describe his views on propaganda.
In short: Propaganda is not relegated to villains like Joseph Goebbels. Every country does it, and each has its own way of doing it. American propaganda is most often passed through intermediary sources in television or news publications. These media outlets may act as dutiful stenographers simply reporting government talking points or they may add their own flavor. Rather than outright fabrication, facts are misrepresented, omitted, or reframed to suit a particular narrative. There needs to be at least some kernel of truth to build upon.
Traditionally, US propaganda has been differentiated between that created for an American audience and that for the rest of the world. You may have heard that barrier was broken during the Obama administration, which is partially true. In 2012, the US updated the Smith-Mundt act, which prevented the dissemination of State Department-funded propaganda to American citizens.
As a side note, interestingly, in 2012 journalist Michael Hastings reported on this update to the law. That same Michael Hastings died a year later under suspicious circumstances. I draw no conclusions at this time, but it’s worth noting. Not looking to get into those particular weeds right now.
Around that time, hyperventilating posts traveled around social media saying that President Obama had “legalized government lying.” You’ll encounter vigorous Fact Checks™ when you search for this information. It is indeed nowhere near as simple as Facebook posts may have made it seem, but it still is a significant change. Also worth noting is that the government has never needed a license to lie: The Gulf of Tonkin incident is plenty of evidence.
Back to Iraq: Because it’s behind us and we can look at it objectively now, I’d like to take some time to examine some of the propaganda leading up to and in the early stages of the Iraq War. Then we can discuss how we can better arm ourselves to first identify and then neutralize or ignore future propaganda campaigns. Because you can be sure they’re not going out of style anytime soon.
First, however, let’s get mentally prepared.
Propaganda Watch Self-Questionnaire
When presented with a message that appears to be propaganda, it’s wise to step back for a moment and consider the content of the message as well as its effect on you. Do not allow your emotions to take the reins — instead, allow your emotions to exist, but examine them as if you were an observer of yourself.
Fundamentally, propaganda is dishonest. That’s why it must be understood and analyzed. If someone is trying to manipulate you, you had better damn well figure out why.
The following are questions I recommend asking yourself when you encounter messaging you believe to be propaganda. Feel free to come up with your own, add to the list, or condense as necessary.
Is the information provided in this message delivered as-is or is there emotion attached to it?
What emotions is the message trying to target? How does it make me feel?
What does the message producer want me to do or believe?
Why might the message producer want me to do or believe what they say?
Would I have an emotional reaction if I had discovered this information myself?
Does this message go contrary to my personal experience or understanding?
Does this message amplify or confirm opinions I already hold?
Do I benefit from this message and the feeling it conveys? If not, who does?
Can I do anything about the matter being discussed? If not, who can?
What arguments are there against the message?
Is this message being repeated often and via multiple sources?
Iraq War Propaganda Highlights
George W Bush set a high score for cringe just six weeks into the war.
I apologize in advance for reminding those who would rather forget this ignoble period of American history. But we shouldn’t forget, because we can draw significant lessons from it. So, I’ve chosen some of the most salient bits from the 2002-2003 era. There are literally thousands of hours of cable TV and thousands of news articles that would work, and I’m happy to hear from readers which ones stick out the most in your memory. I couldn’t pick a favorite Cheney or Rumsfeld bit, for example, but linked a couple of good ones in this sentence.
A significant point to note is that this propaganda worked: The week the invasion began, some 74% of Americans polled supported the war.
If you’re feeling ambitious and have a pen and paper handy, consider writing down what emotion each message seeks to manipulate as well as your own response to it. If you were paying attention at that time, compare how you feel now to how you felt then. I’m curious to hear how that goes.
Colin Powell’s Centerpiece
The centerpiece of pre-war propaganda was Colin Powell’s speech at the United Nations in which he made a case for the invasion. It’s worth revisiting in full.
Emotions targeted: Fear, anger, disgust
George W Bush
It was hard to pick just which W bit to put here, but I chose the one in which he announced the start of the war simply because of how densely the lies are packed together.
Emotions targeted: Lol all of them
NY Times, Washington Post Scaremongering
The New York Times played a significant role in pushing the war. An op-ed piece from February 15, 2003, made this assertion:
“There is ample evidence that Iraq has produced highly toxic VX nerve gas and anthrax and has the capacity to produce a lot more. It has concealed these materials, lied about them, and more recently failed to account for them to the current inspectors. The Security Council doesn't need to sit through more months of inconclusive reports. It needs full and immediate Iraqi disarmament. It needs to say so, backed by the threat of military force.”
Emotions targeted: Fear, anger
The Washington Post opined similarly. As it wrote on February 6, 2003,
“AFTER SECRETARY OF STATE Colin L. Powell's presentation to the United Nations Security Council yesterday, it is hard to imagine how anyone could doubt that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Powell left no room to argue seriously that Iraq has accepted the Security Council's offer of a "final opportunity" to disarm. And he offered a powerful new case that Saddam Hussein's regime is cooperating with a branch of the al Qaeda organization that is trying to acquire chemical weapons and stage attacks in Europe.“
Emotions targeted: Fear, anger (notice a pattern?)
Condi Rice, Cheerleader in Chief
Condoleezza Rice, President Bush’s then-National Security Adviser, was one of the prime advocates for a war. As she concluded in a column titled “Why We Know Iraq Is Lying:”
“Many questions remain about Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and arsenal and it is Iraq's obligation to provide answers. It is failing in spectacular fashion. By both its actions and its inactions, Iraq is proving not that it is a nation bent on disarmament, but that it is a nation with something to hide. Iraq is still treating inspections as a game. It should know that time is running out.”
Condi Rice was one of the war’s biggest cheerleaders. In September, 2002, she made one of the propaganda campaign’s biggest PR coups with this line:
"The problem here is that there will always be some uncertainty about how quickly he can acquire nuclear weapons. But we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."
But it wasn’t just nukes she was warning us about. There was anthrax, too, and he could hand a vial of it to a terrorist!
Emotions targeted: Fear
Broadcast TV
When the war began, lapdog media dutifully reported everything Washington wanted them to, even including the oxymoronic war nickname “Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
Then of course, we all got to watch the destruction of a nation’s capital in real time in the made-for-TV “shock and awe” moment.
Emotions targeted: Pride, awe, fear, anger
Cancel Culture Debut
The war drums really reached a fever pitch and things got weird. Cancel culture has recently been more a tool of the left, but during the buildup and early stages of the Iraq War it was a neoconservative cudgel. For example, the US did its best to mock and belittle French opposition to the war. This came in the form of countless attack articles and cable news screeds against France and even got as silly as renaming French fries “Freedom Fries” and French toast “Freedom Toast” in some Capitol complex cafeterias. Yes, the US tried to cancel France, and it wasn’t just a fever dream.
Even popular country singers the Dixie Chicks were canceled — in, amazingly, what many consider the first episode of cancel culture in the celebrity world. It feels really retro to even think about that.
Emotions targeted: Shame, belonging, anger
Conclusions to Draw
In hindsight, the above stuff seems really stupid, doesn’t it? To believe that the majority of the country fell for it is quite telling. The most important lesson is that propaganda works, which is why it’s used in the first place. No one is immune to it. So, your best way to combat it is to be aware of yourself and catch yourself before emotions affect your judgment.
Another notable lesson to draw is that when the US has war on the brain, it’ll go a long way to fabricate a casus belli. Critical to the success of Bush’s propaganda campaign was a compliant press exhibiting what was essentially a master-canine relationship. Of course, this relationship is not unique to the US by any means.
The Twitter files have demonstrated a similar dynamic between modern social media companies and DC alphabet soup agencies. Propaganda and government manipulation of media has come a very long way in the last 20 years, and is far more sophisticated — meaning it’s incumbent upon ordinary people to bolster their mental defenses.
If you feel like a message directed towards you is propaganda, consider taking some simple, immediately actionable steps designed to activate the rational part of your brain. I’m happy to hear suggestions from readers to help expand this list. What do you do to reduce your exposure to and limit the effects of propaganda on you? Here are steps I take:
Turn off the screen
Go outside
Talk to a real person, face to face
Run the message you just saw through the self-questionnaire above
After some time, give the message the sniff test: What does your gut say?
Hell, go ahead and do that now, because this piece is anti-propaganda propaganda.
https://censorshipindustrialcomplex.org/ We need to join on this one
My method of consuming news at one point was to expose myself to propaganda to all sides of the cold war. Presstv, cgtn, RT, telesur, AP, Reuters. This is the advice I give to family members. But lately I just take the shortcut of leaving off the last two and focus on non-western media. and I'll keep this up for this era while there is a consensus at just how terminally cursed the west is. at least until the west is decolonized from settler-colonialism and Palestine is freed.
Here is my curated list of media: https://twitter.com/i/lists/1538982929833009153/members