propaganda on animal farm

Propaganda techniques are methods that are used to spread ideas that support a specific cause. In George Orwell's "Animal Farm," propaganda was an important tool used by some of the animals to obtain and maintain power. This was accomplished by simple slogans, mixing lies with the truth, and spreading fear to feel superior. The pigs used propaganda to further the control they already had on the farm, and Old Major used some of its techniques in his speech addressed to the animals. A specific type of propaganda also used in the novel is called “Bandwagon Propaganda”. It is shown in the story in the form of Boxer and the sheep always agreeing to recognize Napoleon as being the leader.
“All Animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (p. 114). The pigs were the smartest animals on the farm. They had the ability to persuade the other animals to agree with the principles of Animalism. They were the brains of the revolution. When other animals talked about loyalty to Mr. Jones, the pigs explained to them that those ideas were contrary to the spirit of Animalism. The pigs used propaganda such as telling the animals "Surely you don't want Jones to come back?" in order to scare them and indirectly force them to cooperate. They also considered themselves superior to others since they had given themselves the right to take all the milk and apples. Squealer was the brilliant talker and a master manipulator. He was able to convince all the animals that pigs do the most important work on the farm and therefore they needed to maintain their health. The propaganda he used to justify the pigs taking the milk was to show the pigs as unselfish. He made the animals believe and understand that although pigs didn’t even like milk, they were willing to sacrifice and drink it for the good of everyone on the farm (p. 16, 22-23).
“Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own” (p. 10). Old Major was the leader of the farm, before his death.