U.S.-Propaganda in World War I Whereas the British propaganda institution, called the Wellington House (situated in the USA) was working secretly, the U.S.- version, the CPI (Taylor, Munitions of the Mind, p. 183) was not hiding at all. Its most important issue was to explain its own people why the USA was fighting that war in Europe. The idea spread was that it was a just war, a war that had to be fought to rescue all people, even the Germans, from their political system. For this issue the Germans were divided into two groups, the emperor and the soldiers on the one side, being portrayed as beasts, and the German people, presented as the victims of the first ones. Propaganda tends to be as effective as bombs in wartime. With words alone there is no way of winning a war but loosing by words or loosing because of a lack of propaganda-words is easy. See the German example in World War I. Defamation is an important tool of disinformation, which is especially chosen for destroying the good reputation of a competitor or enemy. In this respect information can turn into a more destructive tool than ordinary weapons. War needs propaganda for moral reasons (justification), too, for the soldiers in the battlefields (they need to feel that their nation is appreciating their sacrifice) and for nationalism.

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Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero († 1980) was elected archbishop because he was very conservative. But when he saw how more and more priests and definitely innocent people were murdered, he changed his attitudes and became one of the sharpest critics of the government. He gave shelter to those in danger, never stopped talking against violence and his Sunday sermons on the radio where moments to tell the truth to the Salvadorians, also mentioning the names of the disappeared or killed persons. As Romero got extremely popular and dangerous for the population he was killed by death squads, while reading a sermon.

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