Legal Definitions - defamatory propaganda

Defamatory propaganda refers to the systematic dissemination of information, often biased or misleading, intended to influence public opinion or promote a particular cause, which also contains false statements that harm the reputation of an individual, group, organization, or nation. It combines the persuasive, often manipulative, nature of propaganda with the damaging falsehoods characteristic of defamation.

• Example 1 (Political Campaign Smear)

  During a heated election, a political action committee (PAC) widely distributes flyers and online advertisements that falsely claim an opposing candidate used their previous public office to enrich family members through illegal contracts. These materials are designed to erode public trust in the candidate just before the election, even though the candidate has a clean record.

  This illustrates defamatory propaganda because the PAC is systematically disseminating biased and misleading information (the flyers and ads) to influence voters (propaganda). The claims about illegal contracts and self-enrichment are false and severely damage the candidate's professional and personal reputation (defamatory).

• Example 2 (Corporate Disinformation Campaign)

  A large pharmaceutical company, facing competition from a smaller startup with an innovative new drug, funds a covert social media campaign. This campaign spreads fabricated stories alleging that the startup's drug causes severe, unlisted side effects and that its CEO has a history of scientific misconduct, all without any factual basis or scientific evidence.

  Here, the covert social media campaign is propaganda because it systematically spreads misleading information to influence public perception and harm the competitor's market standing. It is defamatory because it makes false claims about the drug's safety and the CEO's ethics, damaging both the company's product reputation and the CEO's professional standing.

• Example 3 (International State-Sponsored Misinformation)

  In a period of geopolitical tension, a state-controlled news agency repeatedly broadcasts news segments and publishes articles falsely accusing a neighboring country's leader of secretly funding international terrorist organizations and orchestrating cyberattacks against its own citizens. The goal is to garner international support for sanctions or military intervention against that country.

  This scenario represents defamatory propaganda because the state-controlled media is systematically disseminating biased and false information to shape public opinion both domestically and internationally (propaganda). The accusations of funding terrorism and orchestrating cyberattacks are false and severely damage the neighboring country's leader's international standing and reputation (defamatory).