opinion

Although DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang has been quickly discerning enough to detect a 'patriotic' propaganda blitzkrieg aired in the government-controlled television stations and directed against the opposition, he may not be very right in over-estimating its strength and real effect.

Historical studies show that the intention of propagandists and the effect of propaganda on its target audience often mismatches, diverges and even backfires.

Generally, two reasons account for propaganda failure:

One, propagandists are not as smart, effective, efficient or efficacious as they themselves would naturally like to believe, or as their protesters conservatively assume to be on the safe side; and this, as we shall see, applies to even Dr Joseph Goebbels (Nazi propaganda minister) himself; and