[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-600218-105":59,"doc-detail-600218-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","education-democracy-and-propaganda-an-epistemological-crisis","Education, Democracy, and Propaganda: An Epistemological Crisis","","Explores the causes of an epistemological crisis that enabled conspiracy theories to spread and led large parts of the U.S. population to reject results of a democratic election. Defines epistemological crisis as the blurring of facts and falsehoods so that obvious propaganda drives “truth decay” and intensifies hostile social divisions. Analyzes propaganda themes identified by the Computational Propaganda Project (Apr–Jul 2020) in American social media and argues that education can reduce propaganda’s harmful effects on society and democratic governance.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/education-democracy-and-propaganda-an-epistemological-crisis/600218/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/education-democracy-and-propaganda-an-epistemological-crisis/600218.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"RuangKosong","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-03","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is an epistemological crisis in the article’s definition?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It is characterized by a blurring of facts and falsehoods to such a degree that clear propaganda dominates large segments of the population, producing “truth decay.”","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the article connect propaganda to democratic outcomes?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It argues propaganda enables conspiracy theories to become influential enough that many people refuse to accept the results of democratic elections, contributing to corrosive societal division.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What role does education play according to the authors?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The paper’s purpose is to clarify how education can counteract the widespread and systematic effects of propaganda on society and democracy by limiting its deleterious impact.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},600218,1792171263,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},962090883219,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","| \u003Cbr>| Education, Democracy, and Propaganda: An Epistemological Crisis |\n| --- | --- |\n\nSonja Varbelow, Angelo State University  \nWilliam Yaworsky, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley  \nAbstract  \nThis article explores the causes of the epistemological crisis that gave rise to conspiracy theories which culminated in large swathes of the U.S. population refusing to accept the outcome of a democratic election. An epistemological crisis is defined by a blurring offacts and falsehoods to the degree that blatant and obvious propaganda holds sway over large segments of the population, resulting in truth decay. We provide an analysis of the propaganda themes collected and identified by the Computational Propaganda Project from April through July of 2020 that demonstrate their prevalence in American social media platforms. We then show how education may limit propaganda’s deleterious effects. We approach our research in an interdisciplinary way from the fields of education and cultural anthropology and so contribute an angle to the current conversations about education ina democratic society that has not been the primary focus of educational thought.  \nKeywords: epistemology, propaganda, education, democracy  \nThis article explores the causes of the epistemological crisis that gave rise to conspiracy theories which culminated in large swathes of the U.S. population refusing to accept the outcome of a democratic election. An epistemological crisis is defined by a blurring of facts and falsehoods to the degree that blatant and obvious propaganda holds sway over large segments of the population, resulting in truth decay. It is reflected in a corrosively divided society in which groups view other groups with alarming levels of hostility. This phenomenon gives rise to two basic questions for educators: 1. How did we get to a point where propaganda is more influential than science and objective facts? 2. What is our role in making sure that this country has the educated citizenry that is arguably a fundamental prerequisite for a multicultural democracy? The purpose of this paper is to illuminate the role education can play in counteracting the effects of widespread and systematic propaganda on society and democracy.  \nWe define propaganda as deliberately false or misleading information designed to further the interests of its sponsors. This propaganda is so successful that it is able to create intense and destructive social divisions, controversy, and cultural warfare in arenas such as health care and democratic governance itself. We provide an analysis of the propaganda themes collected and identified by the Computational Propaganda Project (CPP) (Programme on Democracy and Policy, 2020) from April through July of 2020 as an example for how the pandemic is used as a divisive political tool. The CPP compares and contrasts the influence of junk news websites and better  \nvetted sources of information. It defines junk news websites as those containing at least three of the following five properties: (1) lack of professional standards,(2) use of emotionally-driven language,(3) reliance on false information and conspiracy theories,(4) high bias/hyper-partisanship, and (5) counterfeiting techniques. The themes are dissected using the same procedures used by U.S. Army psychological operations (PSYOP) troops when they evaluate foreign propaganda. We augment this by “retro-engineering” the target audience analysis likely undertaken by state-sponsored propagandists, again basing our methodology on known U.S. Army PSYOP practices.  \nWe position our thinking about education in our own lived experiences in that both authors taught our first classes in the 1990s and currently serve as faculty members in teacher education and anthropology at public U.S. universities. Our understanding of propaganda is likewise based on our life experiences. The lead author grew up in socialist East Germany, a society notably stripped of press and academic freedoms,","cbCaitOqH2sPsaVi","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaitOqH2sPsaVi","pdf",235043,13,"English","# Education, Democracy, and Propaganda: An Epistemological Crisis\n## Abstract and Research Focus\n## Epistemological Crisis and Educators’ Questions\n## Defining Propaganda and Evaluating Propaganda Themes\n## Education’s Counter-Role and Methodological Approach\n## Constructionism and Characteristics of an Epistemological Crisis\n## Constructionist Epistemology","[{\"question\":\"What is an epistemological crisis in the article’s definition?\",\"answer\":\"It is characterized by a blurring of facts and falsehoods to such a degree that clear propaganda dominates large segments of the population, producing “truth decay.”\"},{\"question\":\"How does the article connect propaganda to democratic outcomes?\",\"answer\":\"It argues propaganda enables conspiracy theories to become influential enough that many people refuse to accept the results of democratic elections, contributing to corrosive societal division.\"},{\"question\":\"What role does education play according to the authors?\",\"answer\":\"The paper’s purpose is to clarify how education can counteract the widespread and systematic effects of propaganda on society and democracy by limiting its deleterious impact.\"}]","Education, Democracy, and Propaganda: An Epistemological Crisis | PDF",1792090261,33]