Posted by Ken Waldron on May 29, 2023, 2:32 pm, in reply to "Re: Nope"
"That's 300 years in a state that is 1,000 years old."
Wake up Keith... There been printed propaganda since the advent of the printing press itself. Here's Walter Raleigh complaining about the extent of Spanish propaganda concerning the Revenge in the Azores in the 16th c, echoing the propaganda claims made a few short weeks ago about the Ivan Khurs: “no marvel that the Spaniard should seek by false and slanderous pamphlets, advisoes, and letters, to cover their own loss and to derogate from others their own honours, especially in this fight being performed far off.”recalling that at the time of the Spanish Armada, when the Spaniards “purposed the invasion” of England, they published “in sundry languages, in print, great victories in words, which they pleaded to have obtained against this realm; and spread the same in a most false sort over all parts of France, Italy, and elsewhere.”
Of course the background to this is the Reformation... in which absolute masses of propaganda was printed and distributed by both sides and widely disseminated.
Even before the press was firmly entrenched it took place in other ways as it always had. Henry the eighth for example had Holbein (who also painted his well known propaganda portrait: also copied and distributed en mass) and teams of others arrange endless public celebrations and displays of power which cost him many many millions in modern terms: (-he had gutted the church of its lands and wealth so could well afford it)...think of Charlies recent 100 million coronation which was essentially another propaganda event and then repeat-wash-repeat.