The majority of the posters were printed in the United States. It produced many more posters than any other single nation. Posters from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Russia were also made.

Each of the nations which participated in World War One from 1914-18 used propaganda posters not only as a mean of justifying involvement to their own town, but also as a mean of procuring men, money and resources to sustain the military campaign.
Many different types of propaganda were used in World War I successfully since people only received the information that the government wanted them to know. It twisted the truth and allowed for governmental control of people’s thoughts and viewpoints towards the war. Usually, people supported the war because propaganda allowed them to believe that war was worth fighting for. Some examples include: convincing people to go to war, unification of the nation, conserving food, buying bonds, and more.

Schools promoted patriotic values. This fact became even more marked from the start of the conflict, as schools and teachers came under pressure to devote their entire teaching to support the war effort. Typical lessons asked children to write and draw about the war. 

Propaganda tended to depict women as guardians of the home, their gentle nature and vulnerability making them both objects of men’s affections and victims of the enemy’s barbarous acts, and yet also as strong, active participants in the war effort. 

Women served as reminders of the necessity of the fight and of the companionship that awaited soldiers upon their return. Those who refused to go to war, propagandists argued with face accusation and recrimination. An example is the poster in which you could read, what did you do in the Great War, DADDY?

Suffragettes took the mobilization of women to argue that active female participants in the war effort were more worthy of citizenship than were male pacifist or conscientious objectors. The extension of the suffrage and the growing voice of women’s rights campaigners underscored a perception that “women prospered (were successful) as men suffered”, this is an example of how war produced gender dichotomies. 

The destruction of the nation by the invader was also showed through atrocity propaganda, that drew attention to individual barbarous acts against women, wether young women or old ones. 

One of the first actions carried out by Britain was to cut Germany’s undersea communication cables, ensuring that Britain had a monopoly on the fastest means of transmitting news from Europe to USA. Influencing the reporting of the war around the world, with the aim of gaining support and sympathy, was an important objective for all states. In addition to press reporting, states attempted to influence opinion using a wide range of pamphlets, cartoons and longer, with books.                         Most damaging propaganda for Germany was the ‘Zimmerman telegram’, a German diplomatic communication which was uncovered in 1917 by British intelligence. The telegram contained details of german plans in the event of the US joining the war on the allied side. Although the American president had already decided to commit the war before the contents of the telegram were known, there subsequent publication entered public support. 

Propaganda was used directly against enemies. From the start of the war, aeroplanes and balloons were used by all sides to drop leaflets and posters over fighting forces and civilians. 

Once the war fever had subsided, it was necessary to remind people of what were they fighting for. One tactic was the use of symbols in order to strengthen a particular point about national identity in order to promote patriotism. Some material symbols of nationhood were coins, banknotes, postage stamps, statues, monuments and buildings. Two of the most powerful symbols were the nation’s flag and its anthem. 

 One of the main examples were Britain,the US and Germany. Britain was known for being the nation that gave its best use to propaganda, they were able to convince their locals that britain was winning the war, to humiliate  its rivals (mainly germany, which was later accused of false advertising). In addition to this ,british propaganda encouraged its inhabitants to enlist in the army, and this technique was later used by the USA, who popularized it.

Now that we have cleared the roles propaganda has