Leading up to the recent U.S. elections, Americans would have had to live in caves to avoid the thousands of campaign ads permeating the mass media. Many say the mud-slinging this year was perhaps the worst ever! Candidates the world over typically make great claims about their accomplishments and qualifications while accusing their opponents of incompetence and corruption.

Did you ever wonder if there was any truth to such ads? If so, how can you possibly tell what is true or not? You need to know that campaign ads all use various propaganda techniques. They don't intend to convey information or reveal the truth; they work to lead audiences to a predetermined conclusion, such as: candidate A is very good, or, candidate B is very bad.

Propaganda methods in advertising are nothing new. Although campaign ads are obvious propaganda, product commercials use the same techniques to convince you to buy things like Coca Cola and Levis. More importantly, the same methods work to foist false moral values on society.

One powerful, basic propaganda technique is the terminology chosen to describe an issue—often diverting attention to something that isn't the issue at all. My native state of Ohio recently balloted about legalizing gambling in some areas. The commercials supporting the measure avoided the word gambling by merely calling it "gaming."

Do you think that is so obvious that no one could fall for such a trick? How often do people use the term "love," when they really mean "sex?" The two have very different definitions, but blurring them in common usage diminishes restrictions on sexual conduct. In place of promiscuity, some have used the term, "free love." Who wants to oppose "freedom" or "love"? If Christians fall for this propaganda device of renaming issues, they can easily be led into deception.

Another effective propaganda technique reduces an issue to its simplest terms and repeats them endlessly. Advertisers and campaign ads bombard the airwaves this way. Whether Nike tells you to "just do it" or the American Republican Party tells you "Democrats raise taxes," if you hear a simple message often enough, you begin to accept it.

The same holds for messages about moral standards. Movies, television shows, popular music, music videos and even video games repeatedly blast the message of "free love." The sheer number of examples and statements push audiences away from the biblical teaching that sex is only within marriage. In its place blares the simplified standard of "mutual consent," which is chanted again and again and again.

Propaganda sources in commercials are obvious, but what is the propaganda source guiding moral attitudes today? The Bible identifies Satan as "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2). The devil has influenced society with masterful, evil propaganda from the time he convinced Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.

You cannot completely avoid the constant flood of Satan's propaganda, but you can fight to learn the truth. What is the media really telling you? Don't accept ideas just because you hear them over and over, and don't lose sight of the true issues behind clever phrases. Remember, you can rely on God's Word. If you haven't already proven its authority in your life, then request or download the free booklet Is the Bible True? That great Book will help you find the truth out there. VT