Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Jacques Elluls' Disproof of Jacques Elluls

It's common for art or fiction to transcend the artist, and sometimes this even happens in nonfiction, such as the time Elluls correctly revealed that propaganda doesn't work if the audience doesn't demand propaganda. 

He continued to promote this howler, though:
>"For a long time propagandists have recognized that lying must be avoided. “In propaganda, truth pays off”"

u wot m8?

Let's check in with Jacques Elluls, who wisely refutes this point:

>"[Goebbels] wore the title of Big Liar (bestowed by Anglo-Saxon propaganda) and yet he never stopped battling for propaganda to be as accurate as possible."

Goebbels was indeed promulgated basically true facts, meaning,

>"pinning the title of Big Liar on Goebbels must be considered quite a propaganda success."

Likewise, the idea that effective propaganda does not invert the facts is remarkably common, which must also be considered quite a propaganda success.

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