The antidote to willfulness: Manufacturing dissent, KONY 2012, and propaganda as a technology of governance

This dissertation presents a new definition of propaganda using the massively viral internet video KONY 2012 as an example. KONY 2012 was produced by the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Invisible Children, which was founded by three young Americans in order to inform the American public about the crimes of the Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony. Within a few days of its release on the internet, KONY 2012 had become the most viral video of all time up to that point, garnering almost 100 million views on the popular video sharing website YouTube. Contrary to the concept of propaganda as simplistic lies, this dissertation argues that KONY 2012 demonstrates that propaganda is a sophisticated technique for governing and managing the behavior of individuals towards political ends in a literate, information-saturated, liberal democratic society.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Policy Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2018

Author dc:creator

• Jones, John Wesley, Jr.

Contributors dc:contributor

• McCarthy, Cameron R.
• Cope, William
• Chan, Anita S.
• Dhillon, Pradeep A.

• Media, Social Media, Education,

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2018 John W. Jones

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/101795

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/101795