Posted: April 21, 2025
In the real world, propaganda is a dangerous thing, and that fact is no different in fiction. Often, authors will showcase propaganda in their works in opposition to the main character as a way of highlighting the negative bias and how it is unfair to said character. It is typically a warning against such biased media and the dangers of skewed information sharing. “Fake news” as it were, as propaganda is most times straight-up false, or it’s taken out of context in an attempt to appear true.
Most of what I will be talking about in this article is negative propaganda. Information used against the good guys. Positive propaganda is possible, but not widely used, as it can be said that any information being shared for the purpose of pushing a specific opinion should be considered negative. The true “good” is neutral information, the facts, given so that the public can form their own opinion.
With that said, let’s dive a little deeper.
By definition, propaganda is information, though information in a biased sense, usually (especially) when publicizing a specific political opinion. Propaganda takes the form of newspapers, television, radio, signage, public speakers, and more. Any method of disseminating information among a community of people can be used for propaganda.
The main benefit of adding propaganda into fiction, beyond making certain aspects of the story more realistic, is to serve as a warning. “Don’t believe blindly.” “Think for yourself.” “Information often comes with a pushed opinion.” It’s especially relevant in our modern world where information is so easily skewed as it is shared—and while misinformation is different from propaganda, it’s nearly as dangerous.
Using propaganda in your book in an obvious way is to encourage readers to take a step back and look at how people are people. They are flawed, and they are usually trying to push their own agenda. Propaganda is just the most popular tool for such a goal. So while yes, it would be nice to be able to trust everyone at their word, that’s just not reality. People lie, sometimes blatantly, in order to get their way, and when that person is a government or governing body, it’s frightening. It’s something we must combat.
The three main examples that come to mind are all somewhat dystopian [see related article: Dystopia in Fiction] books (though Harry Potter is still on the cusp, it’s getting darker as evil is taking over and pushing the world into dystopia; under Umbridge’s rule, it’s definitely starting to feel that way). These three books explore different levels of propaganda, all used to control the populace and keep people either ignorant, calm/unafraid, or entertained.
One of the darker books when it comes to propaganda, this book shows a world in which all aspects of life are dictated by the totalitarian government, and thus all aspects of life are dictated by propaganda. It is used to great effect through constant monitoring and the threat of the police. No one can trust anyone else, and the children are brought up with views of going against their parents, so people aren’t even safe in their own homes.
Though the anti-Harry propaganda starts in The Goblet of Fire with Rita Skeeter, it takes a turn for the worse in The Order of the Phoenix when the Ministry of Magic uses the Daily Prophet newspaper to spread the opinion that Harry is “The Boy Who Lies” because of his claim that Voldemort has returned. This is dangerous, as it allows Voldemort to act in the shadows with the wider wizarding world believing that he has not returned. He can amass followers and sow dissent, all without the “good” side acting against him. It further breaks the public’s faith in Harry, who is the one destined to defeat Voldemort. With Harry isolated and discriminated against, it weakens him as an opponent of Voldemort.
Used by the Capitol to great effect, propaganda paints the Games as something entertaining while doubling down on the “fact” that the people of the districts are beneath the people of the Capitol. It shows the Capitol as strong and perfect, even when it makes foolhardy mistakes, as shown in this book. The tool that the Capitol uses in this book specifically is shown at the end, when Hamish views what the people saw of his Games, in contrast to the rest of the book, which showed how it actually was. It’s all to keep the public ignorant of the truth.
When adding propaganda to your own writing, you need to consider a few different aspects. Who is spreading the propaganda, and what power to they have to spread it? What information are they sharing? What emotion is that information meant to trigger?
Another big thing to keep in mind is the character or characters that the propaganda is meant to keep down. Whether that be the main character or a whole group of characters—there must be a power imbalance. The power imbalance is very important, or both sides of the story could be shared, thus making it a debate in which the majority of the public could choose a side. While yes, it is still considered propaganda to share the information, it’s less effective in fiction as an argument, thus not a proper warning to readers of its dangers.
There are many reasons why you would want or need to use propaganda in your novel, and many different methods you could use to incorporate it. However, it all comes down to what you want and need as the writer. What do you want to say? What message are you trying to spread?
Angels & Demons in Fiction
Deities in Fiction
Dragons in Fiction
Dwarves in Fiction
Dystopia in Fiction
Elves in Fiction
Fast Burn in Fiction
Heroes in Fiction
Love Triangles in Fiction
Magic in Fiction
Mythical Creatures in Fiction
Orcs in Fiction
Powers in Fiction
Pregnancy in Fiction
Propaganda in Fiction
Prophecies in Fiction
Romance in Fiction
Shapeshifters in Fiction
Slow Burn in Fiction
Vampires in Fiction
Vampires in Fiction II
Villains in Fiction
Werewolves in Fiction
Witches & Warlocks in Fiction
The Hunger Games Book 1: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Divergent Book 1: Divergent by Veronica Roth
The Maze Runner Book 1: The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Animal Farm by George Orwell
1984 (Nineteen Eighty-four) by George Orwell
Tigerpetal Press is a small book press dedicated to publishing local authors and poets.