Creel framed propaganda as open propagation of faith, not censorship

Evidence

To be fair, Creel’s nationalism and his conception of a “war-will” was a far cry from the more malevolent strain that would arise later. “In no degree was the Committee an agency of censorship, a machinery of concealment or repression,” he insisted. “Its emphasis throughout was on the open and the positive.” But if he was a second-rate fascist, as a propagandist he was of the first rank. For, as he averred, what he practiced was “Propaganda in the true sense of the word, meaning the ‘propagation of faith.’ ” Following the British example, Creel sought a massive and totalizing seizure of the nation’s attention. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 155

Categorization

• DEFINE: Captures the original positive sense of ‘propaganda’ as propagation of faith — useful grounding for later shifts to the term’s pejorative meaning.
• XREF: connects to: Creel insisted his propaganda was merely educational information distribution. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1202; Creel’s propaganda success relied on suppressing dissent, not just messaging. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 162; The word propaganda originated in 1622 as a Catholic term for spreading the faith.

Broader Connections

• Creel’s propaganda success relied on suppressing dissent, not just messaging. #contradicts (0.85) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 162
• The word propaganda originated in 1622 as a Catholic term for spreading the faith. #corroborates (0.80)