The British Government Essay Example for Free

The British Government Essay Censorship played a vital role in hiding the negative effects of the war and controlling public opinion. Censorship is hiding or deleting parts of information. Photos, texts, statistics and information were all edited. The government had overtaken the media and carefully selected positive information and sometimes-irrelevant information to mislead civilians and control peoples opinions. Censorship was a strategic military action to mislead the enemy into thinking Britain was winning. The most important factor for censorship was to prevent the enemy from getting too much information. It was used to boost civilians morale because if they knew the truth, they might riot in the streets, forcing the government to surrender. One of the most significant and successful methods of censorship was the use of the radio. Many people had radios. It broadcasted happy and patriotic songs to keep up the morale. Demoralizing information was censored and statistics were exaggerated to their advantage. A good example of the need for censorship is the Bethnal Green Tube station incident where 173 people suffocated because a woman fell over. They censored information similar to this because they didnt want people to stop using shelters and people dying, if they died trying to reach safety, they might feel nowhere is safe and it would lower morale. If it wasnt censored, the Germans would exaggerate it to be a huge victory and the British would assume they were losing. The government blamed it on the bombing reassured people that it was safe. Censorship didnt quite boost morale but it definitely kept it from going down, propaganda was used mainly for boosting morale. Propaganda is information that is spread to promote a cause. The most important reason for propaganda was to boost morale in times of hardship. Also, it was used so people would contribute to the war effort. Even though sometimes the items werent used, but it made people feel as though they had done their bit. It was used to pressure parents to send their children away to the countryside. Most propaganda was positive and mostly funny also, to keep spirits high and to show the enemy they were surviving. It was also funny because it was uplifting and not to frighten people. Some propaganda used fear to make people do what the government wanted such as recycling. Propaganda was suitable for everyone and gave instructions incase of attacks. Another important use of propaganda was to make people obey the governments advice for example building a shelter or a wartime garden. Propaganda was also used to ensure civilians to use resources sparingly so that Britain could be self-sufficient because sailors getting the foreign goods were often at risk. Propaganda was shown in many ways such as films, the radio and posters, which were everywhere. The most significant and successful method of propaganda was posters because they were everywhere and it promoted safety precautions. They were designed to have catchy phrases and made people laugh, this would make them remember the message within the poster. Propaganda also promoted unity so that people wouldnt turn on each other. Normal life was also promoted so people didnt panic and cause riots. The duty of women was emphasized because they were important in keeping the family together. Stories were invented and victories of the R. A. F were exaggerated to again, boost morale. Statistics were also exaggerated, perhaps in an attempt to trick the enemy into believing they were losing.