Propaganda has proven throughout history that it can be a powerful tool to pull the wool over people’s eyes and have them believe things that are fake, and in some cases, even deadly. Look no further than World War II to see just how devastating it can be.
Someone asked the internet, “What’s something you once believed only to later realize it was propaganda?” and netizens revealed the devious disinformation that had them fooled for years. Dive into this collection of some of the most jaw-dropping examples.
More info: Reddit
#1
That diamond engagement rings are some ancient, timeless tradition. i was floored when i learned the whole concept was invented by a De Beers marketing team in the 1930s.
Image source: Embarrassed_Year4720, Karina Thomson
#2
McDonald’s coffee lawsuit. That woman was seriously hurt, and I hate that I ever believed otherwise.
Image source: UselessGuy23, 𝒮 𝐴 ℛ 𝐴 ✿
#3
The food pyramid.
redsnowdog5c replied:
The original food pyramid was pretty much plant based. The meat and dairy lobby had their way with it
Image source: thaaag, Stefano Zocca
#4
I would say the propaganda about saturated fat and cholesterol.
I grew up thinking foods like margarin and sugary cereals were healthier than an egg.
Image source: Anonymous92916, Mustafa Bashari
#5
That Columbus was a neat guy who came over looking to see what was out there, and made friends with the natives. I remember learning this in kindergarten, we drew pictures of our favorite of his 3 ships. .
Image source: ODB247, Getty Images
#6
Republicans are better with the economy. They’re factually not better. Their goal is to the make the rich more rich, that’s pretty much it.
Even Trump is on record saying the democrats are better with the economy.
Image source: MrEHam, Katelyn Perry
#7
America was the best country on the planet good and true made and ran for the people.
Image source: Born-Employment-2183, Jorge Alcala
#8
Personal carbon footprints were created by the oil industry to offload the burden of decarbonization from themselves to consumers.
Jaywalking was invented by the auto industry to create a stigma around walking as a mode of transit.
Image source: Party-Ad4482, Patrick Hendry
#9
The MSG myths.
Roadside_Prophet replied:
I love how many people swear to this day, even the tiniest amount of MSG in chinese food makes them sick, yet they can put down an entire bag of doritos in 1 sitting without batting an eye.
Just because your food doesn’t advertise on the front of the package that it contains MSG doesn’t mean it isn’t a major ingredient.
They usually label it as monosodium glutamate (which is what MSG stands for), and people dont even realise they are eating it all the time. It’s the secret ingredient that makes a lot of things extra delicious.
Image source: SideshowBobFanatic, Jay Abrantes
#10
“Al Gore wants to [end] your baby sister in your mommy’s tummy” -my mom, circa 1996, pregnant with my strong, courageous and lovely little sister.
What a gross, misguided thing to say to a 4 year old. Just because the man was pro-choice.
It’s one of my first memories, alongside a gnarly storm in the same house.
Image source: StevesRune, Brooke Cagle
#11
That my Halloween candy would have [substances] and razorblades in them.
Image source: effinmetal, Branden Skeli
#12
That Hawaii became the 50th state of the U.S. voluntarily.
Anon replied:
That’s not exactly true, though you have the right idea… Like almost every other state of the union, it became a state voluntarily, but before that it became a territory of the US through brutal bloodshed of native peoples.
About 93% of Hawaiians voted to become a state in 1959, but native Hawaiians only represented ~15% of the population at the time.
Image source: AccessibleBeige, Peter Thomas
#13
“Hard work pays off”. No, the reward is burnout and more work.
Image source: 3cc3ntr1c1ty, jesse orrico
#14
That “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!” was how we’d save the planet. We need *real*, *hardcore* legislation that prioritizes the environment, not fluffy sayings and green-washing, smoke-blowing consumer/voter blaming.
Image source: Beesindogwood, Frames For Your Heart
#15
That different zones of the tongue correspond to different sensations (sweet, sour, spicy, etc).
This was taught in middle school, and I tested it out myself with a candy Warhead during lunch. I felt like an idiot for believing it, even just for a few hours.
I have no idea who convinced every elementary school to teach this like it was a real thing (or why they did so). It flew in the face of common sense and could be easily disproved by anyone!
Image source: joefred111, Getty Images
#16
*Go Ask Alice.* A book allegedly made of a diary of an anonymous girl who was [dependent on substances], published by her parents post-mortem. Except… that wasn’t true. It is alleged it as a push to get teens to accept an anti-[substance] message from a more “peer” source instead of an adult. I mean, it worked on me as a kid LOL. I remember how it resonated with me. Now it is listed under fiction.
Image source: GrimyGrippers, Anonymous
#17
As a native Texan I was taught that the Texas Revolution happened because of land rights. In reality it was largely because slavery was illegal in Mexico and Texas settlers wanted slaves. They don’t really talk about that part in school.
Image source: rossaraptor, Courtney Rose
#18
Carrots improve night vision
Gaius_Catulus replied:
This is one of my absolute favorite myths because of its origin. So many interesting pieces of counterintelligence work during that era.
Edit: well I went to read more details including the link of the parent comment, and it seems I have myself fallen for the myth that the carrot story was intended primarily for counterintelligence! Apparently it was intended more to get the public to eat more carrots, so it really was more propaganda. Of course they also couldn’t really come right and and say they had aircraft interception radar, so they had to come up a plausible-sounding story anyway, but it’s very unlikely to fooled many Germans, if at all.
Image source: NorthStarZero, Nick Fewings
#19
As a child of the 80s, what the hell wasn’t I told that wasn’t propaganda? I mean certainly in school. The number of times you find out teachers oversimplified things or flat out lied because it was inconvenient was astounding.
Everything from America’s founding forward was pretty much lies or dramatic coverage of the darker truths.
Image source: ncc74656m, Conner Baker
#20
HR is there to support the employees.
oxsprinklesxo replied:
HR exists to protect the company from legal action from its employees. Under the false assumption they are protecting the employees from the company.
Image source: HistoricalSuspect580, Andrej Lišakov
#21
News reporters. I once gave an interview to a journalist about a topic I was representing. The published article shared almost nothing in common with what I actually said. They wrote the article they wanted and picked a couple quotes from what I said to make it sound like I was saying what they wanted said. That’s when I realized nothing I read in the news was true.
Image source: heyinternetman, JSB Co.
#22
That watering your lawn is going to make a difference in water use. We are all made guilty to take short showers and use water sparingly when corporations use millions and millions of gallons of water without restriction.
Image source: mfpdx, Lumière Rezaie
#23
The “got milk” and how it helps make stronger bones. Turned it out they just had a surplus of dairy milk and were looking for the best way to sell it off on customers.
Image source: gavinwinks, Getty Images
#24
That “rights” exist. They are very easy to take away. We have privileges, at best. .
Image source: Think-I-Should-Move, Getty Images
#25
All rich people must be smart!
😐.
Image source: noodles1119, Getty Images
#26
The War on [Substances]
In New York you would 15 to life on a non-violent first offense. No plea deals possible.
I grew up rural, assumed [substances] turned you into a [criminal]. City problems.
New York opened dozens of prisons in my area. Prison Guard is the most common job in my family.
If 85% go back to prison, it means it doesn’t work.
#27
“breakfast is most important meal of the day” which turns out to be one of many successes of marketing propaganda.
Image source: Minute-Prune-2919, Iason Raissis
#28
That paid closed source software is more secure than free open source software.
Image source: TxTechnician, Behnam Norouzi
#29
Police are always there to help.
TopSecretSpy replied:
Q: What do you call a cop that hasn’t repeatedly perjured themselves, violated rights, and used excessive force without facing punishment?
A: Rookie.
Image source: kteachergirl, Ahmet Kurt
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