- Black propaganda
Black propaganda is false material where the source is disguised. It is
propaganda that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side. It is typically used to vilify, embarrass or misrepresent the enemy. [ cite journal|title=Goebbels' Principles of Nazi Propaganda|journal=The Public Opinion Quarterly|date=1950-09-13|first=Leonard|last=Doob|coauthors=|volume=3|issue=Vol. 14, No. 3|pages=419–442|id= |url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0033-362X(195023)14%3A3%3C419%3AGPOP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23|format=|accessdate=2008-03-06 ]It contrasts with
grey propaganda , the source of which is not identified, andwhite propaganda , in which the real source is declared. The term is also sometimes used as a synonym for particularly malicious wartime propaganda or falsification of information that is captured by an enemy.Black propaganda may also be used on one's own side, generated by altering genuine enemy propaganda in such a way as to distort its message. This is a particularly powerful tool if the target audience has a poor understanding of the language of the enemy, and is often used to insult the intended recipients, leading to a rallying effect.
Black propaganda in World War II
British
In Britain, the
Political Warfare Executive operated a number of black propaganda radio stations.Gustav Siegfried Eins (GS1) was one of the first such stations — purporting to be a clandestine German station. The speaker, 'Der Chef' purported to be a Nazi extremist, accusing Hitler and his henchmen of going soft. The station focused on alleged corruption and sexual improprieties of Nazi Party members.Another example was the British radio station "
Soldatensender Calais ", which purported to be a radio station for the German military. Under the direction ofSefton Delmer , a British journalist who spoke perfect Berliner German, Soldatensender Calais and its associated shortwave station, "Kurzwellesender Atlantik ", broadcast music, up-to-date sports scores, speeches ofAdolf Hitler for "cover", and subtle propaganda.There were British black propaganda radio stations in most of the languages of occupied Europe as well as German and Italian.. [The Bletchley Park Reports: Report No. 17 Black Propaganda, John Pether, Bletchley Park Trust 1998] Most of these were based in the area around Woburn Abbey.
David Hare's play "Licking Hitler" provides a fictionalised account based on the British black propaganda efforts in World War II.
German
German black propaganda usually took advantage of European
racism andanti-Communism . For example, on the night ofApril 27 ,1944 German aircraft under cover of darkness (and possibly carrying fakeRoyal Air Force markings) dropped propaganda leaflets on occupiedDenmark . These leaflets used the title of "Frihedsposten", a genuine Danish underground newspaper, and claimed that the "hour of liberation" was approaching. They instructed Danes to accept "occupation by Russian or specially trained American Negro soldiers" until the first disorders resulting from military operations is over.The German
Büro Concordia organisation operated several black propaganda radio stations (many of which pretended to broadcast illegally from within the countries they targeted). [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2584/is_n2_v14/ai_15588719/pg_1]Japanese
The "
Tanaka Memorial ", a document describing a Japanese plan forworld conquest , beginning with the conquest of China, is now believed by most historians to be a forgery.The following message was distributed in black propaganda leaflets dropped by the Japanese over the
Philippines in World War II. It was designed to turn Filipinos against theUnited States ::Guard Against Venereal Diseases
:"Lately there has been a great increase in the number of venereal diseases among our officers and men owing to prolific contacts with Filipino women of dubious character."
:"Due to hard times and stricken conditions brought about by the Japanese occupation of the islands, Filipino women were willing to offer themselves for a small amount of foodstuffs. It is advisable in such cases to take full protective measures by use of condoms, protective medicines, etc.; better still to hold intercourse only with wives, virgins, or women of respective character".
:"Furthermore, in view of the increase in pro-American leanings, many Filipino women are more than willing to offer themselves to American soldiers, and because Filipinos have no knowledge of hygiene, disease carriers are rampant and due care must be taken."
:"US Army"
Black propaganda in domestic politics
Racist black propaganda
*The "
Protocols of the Elders of Zion " claimed to be the secret protocols of a vast Jewish conspiracy, and was often used as "evidence" byconspiracy theorists and anti-Semitic groups. It is now proven to be a forgery produced by the "Okhrana ", the Tsarist Russiansecret police . [ [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/hoax.html A Hoax of Hate] ]
*Another example of anti-Semitic black propaganda wasEustace Mullins 's book "A Racial Program for the Twentieth Century ", which purported to be proof of a Jewish/Communist plot against White Americans.
*The Black Panther Coloring Book was distributed in the United States in the late 1960's in an attempt to discredit the Black Panther Party, and the civil rights movement in general.
*InDreux ,France in 1982 the National Front distributed anonymous fake letters, supposedly from anAlgeria n living in France to a brother living in Algeria. These fake letters, which described immigration as a method of conquering France without war, were instrumental in the National Front victory in the 1983 local council elections in Dreux.
*In the run-up to the 2007 federal election in Australia, flyers were circulated around Sydney under the name of a fake organisation called the Islamic Australia Federation. The flyers thanked theAustralian Labor Party for supporting terrorism, Islamic fundamentalists, and the Bali bombing suspects. A group of Sydney-based Liberal Party members were implicated in the incident. [ [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/event/story.cfm?c_id=1501680&objectid=10477730 Howard forced to fight off dirty tricks allegations - 22 Nov 2007 - Australian Election 2007: Kevin Rudd takes on John Howard - New Zealand Herald ] at www.nzherald.co.nz] [ [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/event/story.cfm?c_id=1501680&objectid=10477835 Blog: Howard's speech overshadowed by race issues - 22 Nov 2007 - Australian Election 2007: Kevin Rudd takes on John Howard - New Zealand Herald ] at www.nzherald.co.nz] [ [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/event/story.cfm?c_id=1501680&objectid=10477867 Fake flyers derail Howard - 23 Nov 2007 - Australian Election 2007: Kevin Rudd takes on John Howard - New Zealand Herald ] at www.nzherald.co.nz]British media
*In November 1995, a "
Sunday Telegraph " newspaper article alleged Libya's Saif Qaddafi (Colonel Gaddafi’s son) was connected to a currency counterfeiting plan. The article was written byCon Coughlin , the paper's chief foreign correspondent and it was falsely attributed to a "British banking official". In fact, it had been given to him by officers ofMI6 , who, it transpired, had been supplying Coughlin with material for years.cite news | first=David | last=Leigh | coauthors= | title=Tinker, tailor, soldier, journalist | date= | publisher= | url =http://www.guardian.co.uk/shayler/article/0,2763,339990,00.html | work =The Guardian | pages = | accessdate = 2007-06-16 | language = ]*The
Zinoviev letter was a fake letter published in the far right British newspaper, the "Daily Mail ". It claimed to be a letter from theComintern presidentGrigori Zinoviev to theCommunist Party of Great Britain . It called on Communists to mobilise "sympathetic forces" in the Labour Party and talked of creating dissent in the armed forces. The Zinoviev letter was instrumental in the Conservative victory in the 1924 general election.United States media
*During the 1972 U.S. presidential election,
Donald H. Segretti , a political operative for PresidentRichard Nixon 's reelection campaign, released a faked letter, on SenatorEdmund Muskie 's letterhead, falsely alleging that Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, against whom Muskie was running for the Democratic Party's nomination, had had an illegitimate child with a seventeen-year-old. Muskie, who had been considered the frontrunner, lost the nomination toGeorge McGovern , and Nixon was reelected. The letter was part of a campaign of so-called "dirty tricks ", directed by Segretti, and uncovered as part of theWatergate Scandal . Segretti went to prison in 1974 after pleading guilty to threemisdemeanor counts of distributing illegal campaign literature.Other black propaganda examples
*"The
Dossiers Secrets " is a collection of forged documents purporting dating back to the time of Christ, which were created and compiled byPierre Plantard andPhilippe de Cherisey . Originally intended to authenticate Plantard's claims of hisMerovingian heredity, they were subsequently used in the bookHoly Blood Holy Grail as authentic sources of history, and as therefore demonstrating a plot by theRoman Catholic Church to hide the alleged fact thatJesus fathered children withMary Magdalene .ee also
*
False flag
*White propaganda
*Grey propaganda
*Information warfare
*Push polling
*Astroturfing
*Joe job External links
* [http://www.seftondelmer.co.uk Sefton Delmer -Black Boomerang] : Sefton Delmer was head of British Black Propaganda during WWII. His book Black Boomerang tells the story of his work.
* [http://www.psywar.org PsyWar.Org - Black Propaganda and propaganda leaflets database] : A website with various articles on black propaganda and psychological warfare. The site has an extensive library of propaganda leaflets from WWI to the present day.
* [http://members.home.nl/ww2propaganda/slid31a.htm WW2 propaganda leaflets] : A website about airdropped, shelled or rocket fired propaganda leaflets. Has slideshow with many black propaganda leaflets of WW2.
* [http://nymas.org/radioproppaper.htm Gray and Black Radio Propaganda against Nazi Germany] Extensively illustrated paper describing the Allied effort in WW II to undermine Germany through unidentified or misidentified radio broadcasts.References
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