It is possible for media bias to NOT be propaganda, but ALL propaganda is media bias. Understanding this helps the TYT Army to decide on how to approach a story or viral online product (ex: meme). If it is media bias minus propaganda, we recognize the contribution and effort of the journalist, and insist that they correct their story and work to be more objective moving forward. If it is propaganda, we will address these directly and firmly in order to end this harmful degradation of our communities.
Propaganda is information purposefully used to promote biases in order to persuade a particular audience and further an agenda. While it can be more challenging to identify propaganda because it assumes intention, below are some common characteristics that help us to be more objective in determining propaganda vs bias:
- Blatantly false information that can be verified
- Theories, arguments, conclusions made without evidence
- Evidence provided by media as objective when it is biased towards those who funded or conducted the research
- Refusing to address misinformation regardless of new evidence
- Not being transparent about biases and instead claiming to be objective
Have you found propaganda? Send us your submission.