Analyzing Propaganda Similarities in Modern American Government “fake news”

Political campaigns are a strong driving force in the American government. In the article “Propaganda Under a Dictatorship” by Aldous Huxley, it shows how in modern-day politics voters chose to give power to leaders the same way Hitler gained his power. Huxley illustrates this through the ideas of Hitler never being wrong and aggressively attacking his opponents.

Often times our government today is similar to the rise of dictatorship described in the article. Huxley writes about how in order to gain the people’s following Hitler could never be wrong. I compare this idea to the glorified picture of “fake news” and Twitter slanders in current-day politics. It seems that in order to gain the vote political candidates can never admit to their errors even if they are clearly wrong. Huxley illustrates this idea by stating, “He must never admit that he might be wrong or that people with a different point of view might be even partially right.”(5) Through this illustration, we can see how our political worlds are more similar than we may have thought.

Often times American government campaigns have turned into more harsh attacks on their opponents other than the political standings they have as a candidate. Instead of what can I do, election arguments are structured based on what the other person can’t do. Huxley writes, “Opponents should not be argued with; they should be attacked, shouted down, or, if they become too much of a nuisance, liquidated.”(5) Hitler used that exact strategy when gaining his power. Through this, we can see how our voters are driven the same.

In conclusion, we see our political worlds are not too different than they may seem. In the article “Propaganda Under a Dictatorship” by Aldous Huxley, a comparison of modern-day politics is shown through how voters chose to give power to leaders the same way Hitler gained his power. Huxley uses the examples of Hitler’s dictatorship through him never being wrong and attacking his opponents.

Huxley, Aldous. “Propaganda under a Dictatorship” [“Propaganda under a Dictatorship”]. New York:

Harper and Row, 1965, pp. 1–5. collection of readings. Accessed 22 Jan. 2020