As teens, I’m sure we all have dealt with our fair share of tricks we have fallen for — whether it be misinterpretations gathered from the media or even from books in class.
Selective storytelling often shapes historical narratives through textbooks, political speeches, and media. To develop a more accurate and unbiased understanding of our nation’s history, it’s essential to recognize where manipulation might lie. Here are five tips I suggest, as a teen journalist, to help you avoid falling for propaganda while studying United States history.
1. Expand Your Sources
According to a TikTok by the “What Do You Know? with Nick and Devin” podcast, diversifying your sources, avoiding echo chambers where everyone just agrees with each other, and checking out different sources and perspectives can eliminate the possibility of falling for propaganda.
Relying on a single textbook or news outlet can lead to a narrow understanding of history. Exploring primary sources (a first-hand record of an event or topic), scholarly articles, and books from different viewpoints, including those from marginalized communities, allows you to get the complete account of an event. Comparing sources will enable you to identify biases and gain a well-rounded account of history.
2. Analyze Who Benefits from the Narrative
You can uncover underlying motives and intentions by questioning who benefits from a particular version of history. For example, during World War I, the “Your Country Needs You” slogan was everywhere. The United States government influenced others to support the war and morally convinced some to join.
In modern times, the influence of TikTok has painted the military in a glamorous light. “Get Ready with Me (GRWM)” videos are popular on the platform, and their young audience seems to be influenced by every trend. These videos feature users detailing their step-by-step, daily process of getting ready, and military members have joined in. In one TikTok video by user @gisselle_arroyo,she shares her daily process for getting ready for her Military Occupational Specialty (MOS).
She shows herself styling her hair with bubblegum pink “Combat Gel,” a brand of extreme-hold, alcohol-free hair gel, dancing in front of the camera, and blowing kisses in her full uniform.
Military troops, many with over 100,000 followers, have taken part in this trend. Additionally, hashtags such as #armygirl, #militok, #femalesinthemilitary, and #militarylife feed a reality to their viewers that might not be all that it seems.
3. Look for Overly Simplified Accounts and Emotional Appeals
History is often messy and full of contradictions, so any overly simplified or emotionally charged version of events should raise red flags.
In a 2020 study titled “How Propaganda Manipulates Emotion to Fuel Nationalism: Experimental Evidence from China,” Daniel C. Mattingly and Elaine Yao show that the manipulation of emotions can cause unwanted tensions and behaviors that can spark issues in their country. They describe how emotional manipulation can occur within a society.
“One way that political elites can manipulate nationalist anger,” the study reads, “is to highlight real or imagined threats to the nation and its integrity. For example, the CCP attempts to stimulate Chinese nationalism through propaganda that educates and reinforces China’s ‘Century of Humiliation,’ in which the nation suffered a series of defeats against foreign adversaries.”
Another example is the “Remember Belgium” poster made by New York artist Ellsworth Young in 1918. The poster itself portrays an image of a young girl, presumably a Belgian victim of German violence, being led away from a fire with the text “Remember Belgium, Buy Bonds” in an emotional appeal to get Americans to purchase bonds to continue to fund the war effort.
4. Examine the Use of Symbols and Slogans
The “I Want You for U.S. Army” slogan from Uncle Sam is an iconic example of propaganda.
The poster made it seem like joining the army was a duty and an honor, appealing to people’s sense of patriotism. Seeing Uncle Sam, a strong and serious figure pointing directly at them, made many feel personally called to serve their country.
Cail Newsome, in her article titled “The Use of Slogans in Political Rhetoric,” lists examples from wars and the impact slogans had on their outreach. For example, wars are frequently fought not merely for freedom or protection but also for political power, economic gain, or control over resources. Posters like this did not mention the dangers of war, the loss of life, or the struggles that soldiers faced when they returned home. By spreading this post and slogan around during the war, American citizens were influenced to join the war.
5. Question the Absence of Certain Voices
History is often told by the victors, causing many voices, especially those of Indigenous peoples, African Americans, immigrants, and women, to be left out or misrepresented. White colonizers painted Native Americans as “savages” to justify taking their land. Settlers and the U.S. government spread stories that Native people were violent and uncivilized, making it seem like removing them was necessary.
For example, the Trail of Tears was framed as a “relocation” rather than forced removal, hiding the suffering and deaths of thousands. Textbooks focused on pioneers and Manifest Destiny while ignoring the voices of Indigenous people. In African American history, before the Civil War, Southern plantation owners claimed enslaved people were happy and well-treated, calling slavery a “necessary good.”
Even after slavery ended, propaganda continued through films like “Birth of a Nation,” which glorified the Ku Klux Klan and portrayed Black people as threats to society.
Additionally, for many years, many claimed that women were too emotional, weak, or unintelligent to vote or have power. Anti-suffrage campaigns in the early 1900s spread cartoons and ads warning that women voting would destroy families. Even after winning the right to vote, women were often portrayed as unfit for leadership, keeping them out of politics and many other careers.
