George Creel's Propaganda Campaigns During World War I

Words: 340
Pages: 2

George Creel was the most important propaganda journalist during World War I. Appointed by Woodrow Wilson as the head of the Committee of Public Information, Creel was responsible for directing the people on the Committee of Public Information to create propaganda that would help gain support for the war effort from the US public. Creel used his propaganda machine (the people working for him in the CPI) to sway the public opinion by using some different tactics. One of the major tactics that was used was the use of propaganda posters that allowed the general public to understand the severity of the war. Some of the most famous of the propaganda posters are the “Destroy This Mad Brute!” poster and the “I want YOU for the US Army!” poster. These posters caused the public to gain a patriotic spirit and in some cases, the immigrants that had roots from one of the Central Powers countries would be attacked because of the posters. …show more content…
Creel had recruited around 75,000 men to speak to the general public about the war effort. All the people Creel recruited favored the war effort, and with these Four Minute Men convincing the public to support the war effort, Creel was able to turn the general public in favor of the war. Creel also used his propaganda machine to sway the public through other forms of media, such as movies, music, paintings, and cartoons. One of the most well known of the propaganda songs was “Over There”. Creel knew that the public would be swayed by massive amounts of propaganda, so propaganda was placed everywhere where the typical person would go. George Creel was the head of the propaganda machine that helped drive the United States public to war. Without his talent of advertisement, the general public may not have supported the war effort, and the United States may have never joined the first World