{"id":2482,"date":"2018-03-02T11:49:18","date_gmt":"2018-03-02T11:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/?page_id=2482"},"modified":"2026-06-23T15:59:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T15:59:52","slug":"propaganda","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/world-history\/first-world-war\/propaganda\/","title":{"rendered":"Propaganda"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Propaganda of the First World War<\/h2>\n<p>Propaganda is a means of using the media to get across a political message. In war time this message has several key aims and objectives:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>to engender support for the cause<\/li>\n<li>to reassure people that the war is going well<\/li>\n<li>to encourage people to join the armed forces<\/li>\n<li>to promote initiatives that will help win the war<\/li>\n<li>to make the enemy look bad<\/li>\n<li>to justify the need to be fighting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Propaganda takes many forms during the <a href=\"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/world-history\/first-world-war\/\">First World War<\/a>. Below is a list of some of the things that the Government used as Propaganda during World War One:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Posters were a cheap and effective way of visualising a message<\/li>\n<li>Leaflets and pamphlets promoted key initiatives<\/li>\n<li>Poetry was commissioned to glorify the cause<\/li>\n<li>Writers were paid to write stories, plays and essays that were positive about the war<\/li>\n<li>Official war artists were employed to paint pictures that were heroic and positive<\/li>\n<li>War reporters were used who wrote in a &#8216;certain way&#8217;<\/li>\n<li>Two army war photographers were employed: nobody else was allowed to take a photograph of british troops on the Western Front, a crime punishable by the Death penalty<\/li>\n<li>Speeches were written by esteemed authors to make sure they conveyed messages effectively<\/li>\n<li>In London, large replicas of <a href=\"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/world-history\/first-world-war\/trench-warfare\/\">Trench systems<\/a> were constructed to show the public how well looked after the soldiers were<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.firstworldwar.com\/posters\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FirstWorldWar.com<\/a>\u00a0&#8211; Propaganda Posters of World War One.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk\/FWWwpb.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spartacus<\/a>\u00a0&#8211; Detailed narrative outlining the role of the War Propaganda Bureau.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/British_propaganda_during_World_War_I\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wikipedia<\/a>\u00a0&#8211; article about British Propaganda during the First World War.<\/p>\n<p>[table id=6 \/]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Propaganda of the First World War Propaganda is a means of using the media to get across a political message. In war time this message has several key aims and objectives: to engender support for the cause to reassure people that the war is going well to encourage people to join the armed forces to&hellip;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":144,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":100,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2482","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 4.9.9 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore how WWI propaganda shaped public opinion: posters, leaflets, poetry, official art, and more used to win support and justify the war.\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/world-history\/first-world-war\/propaganda\/\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 4.9.9\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Schoolshistory.org.uk\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Propaganda in World War I: How Governments Shaped Public Support\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Explore how WWI propaganda shaped public opinion: posters, leaflets, poetry, official art, and more used to win support and justify the war.\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/world-history\/first-world-war\/propaganda\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-02T11:49:18+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-23T15:59:52+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/schoolshistory\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"@danmoorhousehistory\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@danmoorhouse\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Propaganda in World War I: How Governments Shaped Public Support\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Explore how WWI propaganda shaped public opinion: posters, leaflets, poetry, official art, and more used to win support and justify the war.\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@danmoorhouse\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Moorhouse\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"aioseo-schema\">\n\t\t\t{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schoolshistory.org.uk\\\/topics\\\/world-history\\\/first-world-war\\\/propaganda\\\/#breadcrumblist\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schoolshistory.org.uk\\\/topics#listItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schoolshistory.org.uk\\\/topics\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schoolshistory.org.uk\\\/topics\\\/world-history\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"World History\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schoolshistory.org.uk\\\/topics\\\/world-history\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"World History\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schoolshistory.org.uk\\\/topics\\\/world-history\\\/\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schoolshistory.org.uk\\\/topics\\\/world-history\\\/first-world-war\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"First World War &#8211; 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perception through posters, poetry, and official stories."],"socialPosts":{"email":[],"linkedin":[],"twitter":[],"facebook":[],"instagram":[]}},"created":"2025-01-24 02:33:29","updated":"2026-06-23 18:11:49","seo_analyzer_scan_date":null},"aioseo_breadcrumb":"<div class=\"aioseo-breadcrumbs\"><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\" title=\"Home\">Home<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">&raquo;<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/world-history\/\" title=\"World History\">World History<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">&raquo;<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/world-history\/first-world-war\/\" title=\"First World War \u2013 the war to end all wars. 1914 \u2013 1918.\">First World War \u2013 the war to end all wars. 1914 \u2013 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