Abstract

This paper investigates when propagandists criticize their country's war effort, examining instances where propagandists openly criticize the regimes they are expected to support during an armed conflict. This is a unique and relatively unexplored angle on propaganda, differing from widespread research on the range of effects that propaganda has on a target population, the reasons behind using propaganda on a target population, and the methods propagandists use to raise support for a political authority. Understanding when propagandists criticize their country's war effort can mitigate their influence by helping audiences identify when and how propagandists use criticism to their advantage. The paper hypothesizes that propagandists criticize their country's war effort when a military failure is too apparent to ignore or deny and that they acknowledge smaller failures more often as war goes on to maintain credibility. These hypotheses were tested by measuring TV propagandist's responses to several cases in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. The results are that more apparent failures garnered increased amounts of criticism from propagandists, and that the passage of time didn't increase criticism of smaller failures unless they affected the Russian public.

Thesis Completion

2023

Semester

Fall

Thesis Chair/Advisor

Thomas, Dolan

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs

Degree Program

International Relations and Comparative Politics

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Release Date

12-15-2023

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