Nazi propaganda perfected American advertising and journalism techniques

Evidence

The democratic state…evolved a technique of advertising and of high pressure salesmanship, a flamboyant journalism, a radio and a cinema that stamped the same stereotypes on millions of brains…the most damning blow the dictatorships have struck at democracy has been the compliment they have paid us in taking over and perfecting our most prized techniques of persuasion and our underlying contempt for the credulity of the masses.” In short, the Third Reich had grasped the lessons of 1910s propaganda and 1920s advertising and put them to its own use. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 416

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to earlier chapters establishing 1910s propaganda and 1920s advertising techniques; also parallels Goebbels’ documented admiration of Hollywood. — connects to: Nazi Germany institutionalized state attention capture through a propaganda ministry — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 411; Nazi propaganda distinguished public and internal speech with deliberate intent; Three divergent postwar media systems grew from the Nazi propaganda example — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 426 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• American WWI propaganda anticipated the language of fascist collective will #corroborates (0.82) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 154
• Three divergent postwar media systems grew from the Nazi propaganda example #corroborates (0.80) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 426
• Nazi propaganda distinguished public and internal speech with deliberate intent #expands (0.78)
• Early twentieth-century American journalism repackaged European racial superiority for US consumption. #qualifies (0.72)