The print press paved the way for the mass production of information, and with quicker modes of distribution came the power to persuade the masses.

"Propaganda" as a term came into use in the 1620s, and we can see examples of various types popping up in the 1800s around the world, but it wasn’t until the start of World War I that we see the use of print presses as tools to spread it, and propaganda and the press have had an association ever since. 

But do we really understand propaganda and the power it has over us? Can you recognize propaganda? Would you want to make your own propaganda to influence the masses?  

Thanks to our guests: Dr. Andrew Lotz, Clare Withers, and David Grinnell. Find out more about Pitt’s Archives and Special Collections.  

Processing... is a production of the Center for Creativity at the University of Pittsburgh. Many thanks also to our partners at the University Library System as well as Archives & Special Collections. More information about the Text & conText Lab: creative.pitt.edu/text-context-lab

In this episode: 

• 1:56 Joe Magarac: folklore or fakelore? 
• 5:18 Pa Pitt, a figure used for redevelopment propaganda 
• 6:50 Framing why and when propaganda happens 
• 10:15 Expanding our understanding of what propaganda is 
• 12:39 Sometimes propaganda is more subtle than you realize  
• 14:10 Can you create propaganda without power? 
• 19:37 Historic propaganda in Archives and Special Collections and importance of modes of production  

External links: 

• Want to learn more about Joe Magarac and Pa Pitt? Follow this link to Ask an Archivist.  
• Check out Pitt's Left Ephemera Collection and Archives of Industrial Society 
• Check the small presses in the Underground Press LibGuide 
• If you want to see some examples of immersive activities that could seed conspiracy and propaganda, check out info about: Puzzlehunts, read more about immersive theater projects that have happened in Pittsburgh here, or check out Geocaching, a favorite immersive game that may be conspiracy worthy. 

Music in this episode 

• Blue Dot Sessions: sessions.blue