While discussing memory in Daniel Dennett’s book Consciousness Explained, he used two types of propaganda that have stuck with me: Stalinesque and Orwellian. Both stem from the acts of men: Joseph Stalin’s show trials and George Orwell’s writing.
Stalinesque propaganda tries to create your first impression. Orwellian propaganda tries to replace it.
We see both around the world as various groups try to seize or keep power. Too often, they succeed in replacing reality with a false narrative.
Stalinesque propaganda was born out of Stalin’s infamous show trials. They used false testimony and evidence to prove predetermined conclusions. You see it today in American politics. When the Republican Party tried to overturn the 2020 election using alternate electors and certificates, that was Stalinesque. It was a fake show. They submitted their own people and papers. Another example occurred in August 2024 during the Republican impeachment of Joe Biden. Before the election, the FBI informant Alexander Smirnov literally made up evidence. After, he pleaded guilty to fabricating the whole thing.
As Orwell imagined in 1984, Orwellian propaganda rewrites existing history. The events happened, but are rewritten to match a narrative. And the Republican Party also engages in this. They literally rewrite history. January 6 provides a clear Orwellian example. We have videos, court records, and convictions. Yet party leaders continue to describe the convicted and pardoned as patriots and hostages. Another example is when the Trump administration ordered agencies to remove established DEI, climate change, and other information.
When the CDC rewrote their own autism-and-vaccine information, they were questioning long-established conclusions that vaccines do not cause autism. They did this even while another CDC page continued to state that studies show no association. That is about as literal as Orwellian rewriting gets!
Stalin created false stories; Orwell rewrote real ones.