Propaganda as “psychological theater”.
Sefton Delmer did not try to convince the Nazis with facts. Working from secret studios in England, he created fictitious radio stations that supposedly spoke from the Third Reich itself. His broadcasts sounded in impeccable German with authentic voices. This created the effect of “his” content for supporters of Nazism.
Delmer did not call for an uprising against the Fuhrer and did not look for “good Germans” to appeal to their conscience. He tried to penetrate the emotional world of supporters of the regime and destroy it from the inside.
The most famous character in one of the programs was “Der Chef” — a fictional Prussian officer who criticized the Nazi leadership from the position of “the familiar one”.
The system can be destroyed through irony and satire.
Delmer did what today would be called fake news. For example, he spread rumors and erotic gossip about the leaders of the Reich and instructions for passive resistance.
This normalized dissent and gradually undermined faith in the totalitarian system. Data from British archives show that almost 40% of German soldiers tuned in to Delmerʼs station.
Hitler with Nazi Party leaders, including Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler and Rudolf Hess, 1930s.
Getty Images / The Print Collector / «Бабель»
Authoritarian propaganda works most effectively with those who trust no one.
It does not force people to believe in lies, but tries to exhaust people, sow despair and a sense of powerlessness. To combat disinformation, it is not enough to refute fake news — citizens must feel part of a larger community.
We need to abandon illusions about the Russians.
Delmerʼs methods can also become a guideline for the Ukrainian information struggle. We should stop waiting for the Russians to suddenly want democracy. Instead, we need to find out what they really care about and where their "pain points" are.
Instead of simply manipulating traumas, as the Kremlin does, we should create a space where people feel the opportunity to act independently of the regime. Western governments rely on weapons and diplomacy, but psychological pressure is no less important.
The Kremlin will negotiate only when it feels a real fear of losing control over its own society. Therefore, it is more productive to hit the systemʼs vulnerable spots than to hope for the awakening of conscience.
Peter Pomerantsev.
Скриншот / Euromaidan Press
Counter-propaganda should not be a mirror of manipulation.
While dictatorships offer people simple and aggressive myths, the democratic world should create more complex and humane stories. It is necessary to give new meanings and visions of the future, based on freedom and critical thinking, not on blind obedience. Liberal societies often lose because they try to fight emotions with the help of dry logic and facts.
Therefore, the main challenge today is to offer a brighter and deeper alternative that will capture the imagination.
Media as therapy, not manipulation.
Propaganda “hunts” for human fears and traumas to turn them into weapons and subjugate people. In contrast, quality journalism helps to realize and talk about these same traumas.
Instead of keeping pain inside or pouring it out in aggression, people are given a language to understand their experience. The only difference is in the goal: propaganda wants to enslave, and the media wants to liberate.
Dictatorship can be defeated by restoring the ability to think for oneself.
Sefton Delmer wanted Germans to finally question ideology and ask themselves: “Do I really have to die for this ideology? Do I really believe what is being imposed on me? Who am I really?”
This is the essence of democracy — the ability to analyze and make decisions without being told from above.
Members of the British press, including Sefton Delmer (center), at the Friedland camp during the return of the last prisoners of war from the Soviet Union, February 1958.
Wikimedia / Egon Steiner
The article was created as part of the project "Strengthening Truthfulness, Transparency, and Democracy to Counter Disinformation", implemented by the NGO "Internews-Ukraine" with the support of the Government of Canada.