Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq - Softcover

Rampton, Sheldon; Stauber, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1585422762 ISBN 13: 9781585422760

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2003

Synopsis

Weapons of Mass Deception reveals:

• How the Iraq war was sold to the American public through professional P.R. strategies.

• "The First Casualty": Lies that were told related to the Iraq war.

• Euphemisms and jargon related to the Iraq war, e.g. "shock and awe," "Operation Iraqi Freedom," "axis of evil," "coalition of the willing," etc.

• "War as Opportunity": How the war on terrorism and the war on Iraq have been used as marketing hooks to sell products and policies that have nothing to do with fighting terrorism.

• "Brand America": The efforts of Charlotte Beers and other U.S. propaganda campaigns designed to win hearts overseas.

• "The Mass Media as Propaganda Vehicle": How news coverage followed Washington's lead and language.

The book includes a glossary — "Propaganda: A User's Guide" — and resources to help Americans sort through the deceptions to see the strings behind Washington's campaign to sell the Iraq war to the public.

About this title

About the Author:

Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber are the bestselling authors of Weapons of Mass Deception, Toxic Sludge Is Good for You!, Banana Republicans, and Trust Us, We're Experts! Stauber is the founder and director of the Center for Media & Democracy. He and Rampton write and edit the quarterly PR Watch.
Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber are the bestselling authors of Weapons of Mass Deception, Toxic Sludge Is Good for You!, Banana Republicans, and Trust Us, We're Experts! Stauber is the founder and director of the Center for Media & Democracy. He and Rampton write and edit the quarterly PR Watch.

From Publishers Weekly:

As government officials and observers battle over whether or not the Bush administration exaggerated intelligence reports of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction to justify war, there should be a ready audience for this new book by the authors of Believe Us, We're Experts! Professional debunkers of media manipulation, Rampton and Stauber unmask the impact of "information warriors and perception managers" (as one PR consultant described himself) on Bush's attempt to turn public opinion in favor of war on Iraq. The authors deconstruct the PR campaign to promote the U.S. in the wake of September 11: the State Department's hiring of ad exec Charlotte Beers ("the queen of Madison Avenue") to direct the campaign; how PR execs and lobbyists helped construct the government's anti-Iraq message; the administration's alleged misinformation and distortion of facts and reliance on rumor to influence public opinion. Anyone skeptical of the reasons for the war against Iraq will find their suspicions enhanced here.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1585422762
• ISBN 13: 9781585422760
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256