The Power to Lie: Propaganda and Post-truth Politics

George W. Bush was an unusual president. Apart from his famous ‘Bushisms’ such as ‘I know how hard it is to put food on your family’, he launched an illegal attack on Iraq based upon one of the great lies of the twenty-first century—that Iraq possessed ‘weapons of mass destruction’. The perfecting of propaganda has been achieved in the arena of warfare, and the posters that knowingly glorify and mislead the public during conflict are discussed. Political indoctrination is a central feature of the chapter. Leaders rely upon nationalism, patriotism, racism, and fear to manipulate public opinion, harnessing the considerable powers of the social media—and in the case of the US, even Hollywood—in doing so. Flags are powerful ideological symbols, most often representing and supporting colonial and imperialist domination. Land grabbing is but the latest attempt by those in power to pillage for profit.