The term 'Spin Doctor' has been with us now for many decades and since the 1980's it has gradually become more and more a part of everyday language. Although the term is relatively new the actual role of a Spin Doctor can be traced back centuries in one form or another. Many Spin Doctors do not appreciate the analogy between spin and propaganda but it is undoubtedly there. Where they differ is in the way they represent the truth. Propaganda has often been used to disseminate lies and false information for a political gain whereas spin is concerned with making the most from and highlighting the best aspects of the truth that are most flattering to a political message or idea. Propaganda comes in many guises but at its heart is the principle that information is spread across as far an area as possible with the aim of influencing the behaviour and attitudes of large groups of people. One fo the most well known and effective forms of propaganda in the last century has been leaflet distribution and in particular airborne leaflet distribution. Airborne leaflet distribution is used by governments in times of conflict. It has been used in several wars including World War II and more recently in the Iraq conflict. A government's military uses its air force to deliver leaflets over enemy territory. The operation involves producing an appropriate leaflet for the leaflet distribution campaign and then dropping thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of leaflets from the sky. The leaflet is aimed at making the person finding it and reading it aware of things they might not know or clarifying things they may have heard of as rumours. The wording and imagery are very important and their may be several factors to consider when creating the leaflet. In some countries symbolism may be more important than words so this might be emphasised. This would be particularly important when dealing with countries where illiteracy is high. There is no point in send a written message to people who cannot read. In other cases the use of colour might be important. In most case though the words will be important so it is vital to get them right, especially where a foreign language or unfamiliar dialect is involved. This type of propaganda linked leaflet distribution is focused on one of two things; making the enemy retreat and ultimately surrender or influencing a population and preparing them for the arrival of troops. There are several well known instances of this. In World War II the Axis powers embarked on a campaign of leaflet distribution over occupied Europe where they knew there were large numbers of German Troops. A leaflet was designed to put doubt into the minds of the German troops. It included news of air raids, bombing schedules and allied forces plans to take key European cities. It also scandalised the Nazi regime and accused key officials of benefitting from the war. All the information it contained had elements of truth but it greatly exaggerated the truth. That is why it was so successful. During the Korean War leaflet distribution and its ties to propaganda became stronger and smarter. So much so that during the Vietnam War it was used to reach large areas of the country that could no be accessed by normal means. I recent years, because it is so successful, it has been used by terrorist groups as a way of getting their message across. The ultimate aim of this approach to propaganda is to reach as many people as possible while at the same time bypassing any government or military forces who would try to stop such messages reaching a mass audience.
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