On Propaganda
Michael Parenti says, “The first premise of propaganda in the United States today is that it doesn’t exist, that there is no propaganda from the established media and from the government and that we have only ‘information.’ Propaganda is something that other people do.“ If you say that there is propaganda in the U.S. you are immediately marginalized and categorized as a “kook” with “a personal axe to grind.” He says, “The most effective propaganda is that which relies on framing rather than falsehood.” Parenti illustrates his analysis with examples from mainstream media reporting on Nicaragua, Cuba, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama and Afghanistan.
Interview by David Barsamian.
Recorded at KGNU.
Speaker
Michael Parenti
Michael Parenti was a leading independent political analyst, scholar, and author. Cornel West called him “a towering prophetic voice.” He taught at major colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad. He is the author of numerous books, including Democracy for the Few, Power and the Powerless, and Against Empire. He passed away on January 24, 2026, at the age of 92.
Questioning the Unquestionable
“It is not demanded of readers that they embrace my views, but that they reflect upon their own. How seldom we bother to explore in some critical fashion the fundamental preconceptions that shape our understanding of social and political life. How frequently, as if by reflex rather than reflection, we respond to certain cues and incantations, resisting any incongruous notion. Our opinions shelter and support us; it is an excruciating effort to submit them to reappraisal. Yet if we are to maintain some pretense at being rational creatures, we must risk the discomfiture that comes with questioning the unquestionable, and try to transcend our tendencies toward mental confinement.” – Michael Parenti
David in Danville, CA –
Listening again to your 1988 interview with Michael Parenti on Propaganda. What a great job you did and what a brilliant political commentator he is.