You Are Not Immune to Propaganda

Let’s get this out of the way early. You are not immune to propaganda. Nobody is. Not you, not me, not the smartest person you know who “does their own research.” Propaganda is not something that only works on people who are uneducated, overly emotional, or glued to cable news. It works precisely because it adapts. It blends in. It feels normal. Familiar. Sometimes even comforting or validating.

In the digital age especially, propaganda is not just posters and slogans anymore. It lives in your feed, your favorite shows, your playlists, your shopping habits, your fashion trends, and your idea of what a “good” life should look like. It does not always announce itself. In fact, the most effective propaganda rarely does.

What Propaganda Actually Is

At its core, propaganda is information designed to influence opinions, emotions, or behaviors in service of a specific agenda. That agenda can be political, economic, cultural, or social. Propaganda can be truthful, partially truthful, misleading, or outright false. What matters is intent.

Propaganda is not inherently evil. That part tends to get lost. Public health campaigns, anti smoking efforts, and even “wash your hands” posters are forms of propaganda. They are designed to change behavior for a perceived collective good. The problem is not propaganda existing. The problem is when propaganda disguises itself as neutral truth while serving power, profit, or control.

… and yes, that includes things you enjoy.

A Very Brief History of Getting Played

Propaganda is old. Ancient civilizations used it through monuments, coins, and myths to reinforce rulers as divinely chosen. Fast forward to the 20th century, and propaganda became a well oiled machine.

One of the most infamous examples is Red Scare era anti communism propaganda in the United States. During the Cold War, Americans were inundated with messaging that painted communism not just as an opposing economic system, but as a moral disease. Films, cartoons, school lessons, and news segments framed communists as evil and inherently dangerous. This messaging justified surveillance, blacklists, censorship, and the destruction of countless careers and lives. It also shaped public fear so deeply that even mild critiques of capitalism were treated as suspicious for decades.

On the flip side, other countries were doing the same thing. Soviet propaganda depicted the United States as morally bankrupt, obsessed with money, and hostile to collective well being. Both sides simplified reality into good versus evil because nuance does not mobilize people very well.

Patriotism or Marketing

Uncle Sam wants you. We all know the image. What is less discussed is how deeply nationalistic propaganda has been embedded in American culture under the label of patriotism.

Pro military propaganda in the United States has often been framed as honor, duty, and heroism, while quietly downplaying the physical and psychological cost to soldiers, the civilian casualties abroad, and the political motivations behind war. During World War II and later conflicts, Hollywood and the government worked closely together to ensure that films portrayed the military in a favorable light. This collaboration did not stop after the war ended.

After 9/11, pro military propaganda intensified significantly. The United States Army’s marketing budget ballooned. (If you’re around my age, I KNOW you know the song from the commercial and it’s playing in your head as you read this.) Recruitment ads became cinematic and emotionally charged. Video games like Call of Duty did not just simulate combat. They normalized it, aestheticized it, and detached it from real world consequences ... it made war … fun? For many young people, especially teenage boys, military imagery became cool long before it became complicated.

This does not mean enjoying a war movie makes you pro war. It means repeated exposure to stylized narratives shapes perception whether we intend it to or not.

Entertainment Is Not Neutral

Movies, television, and music are powerful tools for shaping belief. Who is portrayed as a hero. Who is portrayed as disposable. Whose pain is centered and whose is background noise.

Think about how often villains have foreign accents. How frequently entire regions of the world are reduced to stereotypes. How rarely working class struggle is portrayed without romanticizing suffering. These patterns are not accidental. They reflect the values and priorities of those funding and distributing the content.

Even genres that feel escapist are not immune. Superhero movies often reinforce ideas about individual saviors rather than collective action. Reality television subtly promotes wealth, competition, and consumption as markers of success. Romantic comedies frequently frame emotional fulfillment through consumer experiences and aesthetic lifestyles.

Another often overlooked example of modern propaganda lives in long running television franchises, especially police procedurals. Shows like Law and Order: SVU are frequently cited as examples of “copaganda,” media that consistently portrays American police forces as heroic, moral, and fundamentally just, even when storylines involve misconduct. These shows rarely interrogate systemic issues and instead frame harm as the result of a few bad individuals, reinforcing trust in policing as an institution. What makes this especially relevant is that Law and Order productions have historically worked closely with the NYPD, receiving cooperation that includes access to police buildings, equipment, squad cars, uniforms, and technical advising. That relationship benefits both sides. The show gains realism and resources, while the police department benefits from overwhelmingly positive representation that reaches millions of viewers. When entertainment repeatedly presents law enforcement as the primary and most ethical solution to social problems, it shapes public perception in subtle but powerful ways, especially for audiences who may not have direct experiences that challenge those narratives.

Again, this does not mean you are bad for enjoying these things. It means you should be aware that they are not ideologically empty.

Fashion, Food, and Lifestyle Trends

Propaganda does not stop at politics. It extends into how we eat, dress, and live.

Food trends are a great example. Think about how certain diets are framed as moral choices rather than nutritional ones. Clean eating. Superfoods. Detoxes. These trends are often backed by industries with something to sell, whether that is supplements, meal plans, or wellness branding. The messaging encourages guilt, aspiration, and identity rather than informed choice.

Fashion works similarly. Trends signal belonging. Luxury branding promotes the idea that wealth equals worth. Fast fashion normalizes overconsumption while quietly outsourcing environmental and labor costs. Even sustainability can be co opted into a marketing aesthetic rather than a structural shift.

You are not immune because these messages are not screaming at you. They are whispering. Repeatedly.

Soft Power and Cultural Influence

One of the more interesting modern discussions around propaganda involves Japan’s global cultural influence through anime, manga, and kawaii culture. Some argue that icons like Hello Kitty and Doraemon function as soft power, helping Japan present itself as cute, harmless, and culturally charming while distracting from its imperial past in places like China and Korea.

This does not mean enjoying anime makes someone complicit in historical revisionism (and it certainly doesn’t make Japan as a whole, or its people, bad and unworthy of base line respect.) It does mean culture can be used strategically to reshape global perception. Soft power works precisely because it feels organic and enjoyable. It does not ask for agreement. It invites affection.

Many countries engage in this. The United States does it through Hollywood. South Korea does it through K pop. These exports shape how nations are perceived far more effectively than policy papers ever could.

The Digital Age Made It Worse … Faster

Social media did not invent propaganda. It turbocharged it.

Algorithms reward engagement, not accuracy. Content that makes people angry, afraid, or self righteous spreads faster than content that is careful and nuanced. This creates fertile ground for misinformation, oversimplification, and emotionally manipulative narratives. Seriously, have you ever gone on Reddit and organized the comment section by “Controversial”?

Political propaganda now comes disguised as memes. (The symbol of the literal GROYPERS is Pepe the fucking frog … so.) Corporate propaganda shows up as relatable brand tweets. Ideological talking points get packaged as aesthetic slideshows. The line between opinion, fact, and advertising is intentionally blurred.

… and ultimately, because everyone believes they are too smart to fall for it, propaganda thrives.

Nobody Is Above This

Education does not make you immune. Being well read does not make you immune. Being cynical does not make you immune. In fact, believing you are immune is one of the biggest risk factors.

Propaganda works by appealing to identity. It tells you that you are smart, moral, informed, or on the right side. It flatters you into agreement. That is why it works across political, cultural, and generational lines.

The goal is not to eliminate influence. That is impossible. The goal is to recognize it.

So What Do We Do About It

The most effective way to counter propaganda is not to replace it with different propaganda. It is to build skills.

Read broadly. That means across political perspectives, countries, and lived experiences. If all your information comes from one ideological lane, you are being curated whether you like it or not. Reading up on certain political perspectives doesn’t mean you agree with them, you’re just educating yourself, and that’s not only okay, that’s GOOD. Do not ignore a perspective because you think you don’t align with it, once you learn about it, you may find out you do appreciate aspects of it, and if you don’t, at least you learned something new and can better understand why you don’t like it.

Work on media literacy. Ask who benefits from a message? Who paid for it? Who is missing? What emotions is it trying to trigger?

Fact check everything. Especially the things that align perfectly with your existing beliefs. Those are often the most dangerous.

Resist the urge to react immediately. Propaganda thrives on urgency. Take time before sharing, commenting, or forming a conclusion.

Form your own opinions. Even when they are unpopular. Even when they change. Standing firm does not mean being rigid. It means being honest about what you believe while remaining open to new information.

Seeing the forest through the trees is not about detachment. It is about perspective.

The Uncomfortable Truth

The uncomfortable truth is that propaganda will never go away. Power will always try to justify itself. Culture will always reflect whoever has the loudest microphone. The digital age has simply made this more visible and more relentless.

Awareness is not nothing. Critical thinking is not nothing. Curiosity is not nothing.

You do not have to opt out of the world to avoid being influenced. You just have to stop assuming that influence only happens to other people.

Because it does not.

You are not immune to propaganda … but you can be conscious of it … and that alone makes a difference.