Briefing // 01

What is propaganda?

Where the word comes from, why states use it, how modern propaganda works, and how to protect yourself. Based on military doctrine, NATO research and peer-reviewed studies.

Read 10 min Sources 15 Updated 09.2026
01 // Definition

A deliberate attempt to shape what you think.

Propaganda is not just "lies". It can use true facts, half-truths or pure fiction. What makes it propaganda is the intent: it is designed to push you toward a belief or action that serves whoever is behind it, not to help you understand.

Academic definition · Jowett & O'Donnell
"Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist."1

The most widely cited definition in propaganda studies.

US military doctrine · DoD Dictionary (JP 1-02)
"Any form of communication in support of national objectives designed to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes, or behavior of any group in order to benefit the sponsor, either directly or indirectly."2

Later US doctrine narrowed the word to mean communication by an adversary.2

02 // Key Terms

Know the vocabulary.

These words are often used as if they mean the same thing. They don't, and the difference is intent.

Intent: persuade

Propaganda

Communication designed to push an audience toward a belief or action. It can be true, false or selectively edited.

Intent: deceive

Disinformation

False information spread on purpose to manipulate people's opinions and actions.3 The word itself comes from the Russian dezinformatsiya.4

No intent

Misinformation

False information shared by someone who believes it is true. Most people who spread disinformation are unknowingly passing on misinformation.

Intent: win

Information warfare

Using information as a weapon alongside military force: to confuse an opponent, break their will and shape their decisions. NATO treats disinformation as one of the tools of hybrid warfare.3

03 // A Short History

Four centuries of shaping minds.

1622

The word is born

Pope Gregory XV creates the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide, a committee "for propagating the faith". For roughly three centuries the word was neutral.5

1914–1918

Mass propaganda

During the First World War, governments on every side build propaganda departments to recruit soldiers and keep their populations behind the war. The word turns negative.

1923

A "disinformation office"

The deputy head of the Soviet GPU, forerunner of the KGB, calls for a special office to run disinformation operations.4

1959

KGB Department D

The KGB sets up a department dedicated to disinformation. Its covert influence work becomes known as "active measures".4

1985

Operation INFEKTION

The KGB spreads the false claim that the United States created AIDS as a biological weapon. The story travels around the world for years.6

2014

Crimea

Russia occupies Crimea while denying its own troops are there. Analysts document the pattern of denial and distraction that becomes known as the "4D" model.7

2022

Full-scale invasion

Russia's full-scale invasion comes with a massive information campaign. Ukraine's Centre for Countering Disinformation, set up in 2021, works on the front line of the information war.8

04 // Why It Exists

Cheaper than tanks. Sometimes more effective.

Military thinkers have long understood that if you can change how an opponent thinks, you may not need to defeat them on the battlefield.

Soviet and Russian military theory calls one version of this reflexive control: feeding an opponent carefully selected information so that they voluntarily make decisions that harm themselves.9 Propaganda aimed at the public is built to achieve these goals:

Demoralise

Convince people that resistance is pointless and defeat is certain.

Divide

Turn groups within a society, and allies abroad, against each other.

Confuse

Create so much doubt that people stop believing anything, including the truth.

Deny

Cover up crimes and failures by offering "alternative versions" of events.

Justify

Convince the home audience that a war or policy is necessary and right.

Paralyse

Slow down other governments' decisions by making the situation look unclear or too risky.

05 // How It Works

Two models researchers use.

Analysts describe modern Russian state propaganda with two widely used models. Together they explain why the lies never stop and why they don't need to make sense.

The "Firehose of Falsehood"

RAND Corporation · Paul & Matthews, 201610
  1. High volumeMany channels at once: TV, fake news sites, social media and paid trolls.
  2. Rapid and continuousFirst to publish, around the clock. Speed matters more than accuracy.
  3. No commitment to truthA mix of partial truths, distortions and complete fiction.
  4. No commitment to consistencyContradictory versions are fine. The goal is confusion, not one believable story.

The "4D" model

Ben Nimmo · after Crimea, 2014
  1. DismissAttack the critic instead of answering the criticism.
  2. DistortTwist the facts until they fit the story.
  3. DistractAccused of something? Accuse someone else of the same thing.
  4. DismayThreaten consequences to scare the audience into doing nothing.

RAND's conclusion: don't expect to counter the firehose of falsehood with the squirt gun of truth. Warning people in advance works better than correcting lies after they spread.10

06 // Why It Works On Us

It targets normal brains.

Propaganda doesn't rely on people being stupid. It exploits the ordinary mental shortcuts every human uses.

Repetition feels like truth

In a 1977 study, people rated statements as more true each time they saw them again, whether the statements were true or false. This is called the illusory truth effect.11

First impressions stick

People tend to accept the first version they hear and favour it over later corrections. That is why propagandists race to be first.10

Emotion beats analysis

Fear and anger push people to react and share before they stop to think.

Crowds feel convincing

When many accounts repeat the same claim, it looks widely accepted, even if the "crowd" is a handful of bot farms.

07 // White, Grey, Black

Who is really talking?

Military psychological operations classify propaganda by one question: who does it claim to come from?12

White

Source: openly stated

Comes openly from the real sender, such as a government broadcast. You know who is talking, even if it is one-sided.

Grey

Source: hidden

The real sender is concealed. Think anonymous channels and "independent" sites with no clear owner.

Black

Source: faked

Made to look like it comes from someone else, often the enemy, to discredit them. Think forged documents and fake accounts impersonating real people.

08 // Case Study

Bucha, 2022: the playbook in action.

After Russian forces withdrew from Bucha, near Kyiv, at the end of March 2022, the world saw evidence of mass killings of civilians. Russia's response followed the firehose and 4D patterns almost exactly.

// The claim

  • 3 April 2022: Russia's Ministry of Defence calls the images a "staged production" and a "provocation" by Kyiv for Western media.13
  • It says the bodies were not there when Russian troops left, and were placed later by Ukraine.
  • A viral video supposedly shows a "dead" body moving its hand, "proving" the scene was staged.14

// The evidence

  • Satellite images analysed by The New York Times show bodies lying in the street from around 11 March, while Russia controlled the town.14
  • Maxar satellite imagery shows the first signs of a mass grave near a church in Bucha on 10 March.14
  • The "moving hand" was an optical illusion caused by a drop of water on the car's windscreen.14

The pattern: dismiss ("staged"), distort (the "moving hand"), and push several competing versions at once to plant doubt. No convincing evidence was offered for any of them.14

09 // How To Defend Yourself

Learn the tricks before they reach you.

The research is encouraging. Learning how manipulation works before you meet it gives real protection. Scientists call this prebunking, or psychological inoculation.

In a study of around 15,000 players of Bad News, a game where you play the role of a fake-news producer, players rated misleading headlines as significantly less reliable after playing.15 The protection fades over time, so regular reminders help, which is exactly what this site is for.

Before you share, ask:

Five questions · under two minutes
  1. Who is the original source?Can you find it, and does it have a name and a track record?
  2. When was it first published?Old footage with a new caption is one of the most common fakes.
  3. Who else is reporting it?Look for independent outlets, not copies of the same post.
  4. How does it make me feel?Strong anger or fear is a signal to slow down.
  5. Who benefits if I believe it?If the answer is the enemy, be extra careful.

In Ukraine, the Centre for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defence Council tracks and exposes hostile information campaigns. It was set up in March 2021.8

Pass it on. The people most exposed to propaganda are often the ones who would never search for a page like this. Send it to them.

Sources

Check it yourself.

Everything on this page comes from the sources below. Don't take our word for it.

  1. Jowett, G. & O'Donnell, V., Propaganda & Persuasion (SAGE). Summary: What is Propaganda?
  2. US DoD, Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (JP 1-02); Federation of American Scientists, DoD "Clarifies" Doctrine on Psychological Operations
  3. NATO, NATO's approach to counter information threats
  4. Soviet disinformation (overview with primary references)
  5. Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (founded 1622 as Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide)
  6. Boghardt, T., Operation INFEKTION: Soviet Bloc Intelligence and Its AIDS Disinformation Campaign, Studies in Intelligence
  7. University of Michigan, The 4D Model (Ben Nimmo)
  8. Centre for Countering Disinformation, About the Centre
  9. Thomas, T. L., Russia's Reflexive Control Theory and the Military, Journal of Slavic Military Studies 17 (2004)
  10. Paul, C. & Matthews, M., The Russian "Firehose of Falsehood" Propaganda Model, RAND Corporation (2016)
  11. Hasher, Goldstein & Toppino (1977); overview: Illusory truth effect
  12. Salisbury University, The Colors of Propaganda
  13. Bellingcat, Russia's Bucha "Facts" Versus the Evidence (2022)
  14. European Digital Media Observatory, Fact-checking Russian disinformation about Bucha's massacre (2022)
  15. Roozenbeek, J. & van der Linden, S., Fake news game confers psychological resistance against online misinformation, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2019)
End of Briefing

Now you know the playbook.

Share this page with someone you care about. Knowing how propaganda works is the best protection against it.

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