Abstract:
In this article, the author analyses the context the phenomenon of propaganda and
the term appears. While information plays an important role since the ancient times, for
the first time propaganda referred to the council that was responsible for spreading the
catholic doctrine in the New World. The article targets the understanding of the term
according to the two main traditions, the Anglo-Saxon one and the Latin countries tradition
The research is focused in answering the question how and why did the propaganda
increase in the XXth century. With the help of different theories like behaviorism, the
spiral of silence, the crowd theory the author explains how propaganda is conducted in
different countries. In conclusion the author states that propaganda is neither good nor
bad, it depends the goals it serves and suggests solutions for the state, for the journalist
and for the individual to combat black propaganda and to promote white one.