A GUIDE TO PROPAGANDA

Propaganda is not some distant spectacle – it takes place right here amongst us. More subtly than posters and slogans, it shapes language, the media and public debates – from Europe to China, from Russian narratives to populist strategies in Western politics. At the heart of this book is the current shift to the right in Europe: how do language and perception change as populist rhetoric seeps ever deeper into everyday consciousness? How do actors use manipulative narratives to secure political power – and who benefits from this?

With a keen eye and a skilful hand, Irina Rastorgueva follows on from her success Pop-up propaganda through the mechanisms of modern manipulation: it shows how disinformation works – and what ways there are to counter it. The A Handbook of Propaganda turns education into a craft – both literally and figuratively. Every page of this hand-drawn book takes a stand against automated troll factories and the linguistic erosion of democratic values.

Irina Rastorgueva, born in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in 1983, studied philology at Sakhalin State University and worked as a cultural journalist for several Russian magazines and radio stations. From 2006 to 2015, she was a lecturer in journalism at Sakhalin State University. She is the author of numerous academic articles on the theory and history of 20th-century literature and journalism. In 2011, she founded the cultural magazine ProSakhalin. From 2011 to 2017, she was a dramaturg at the Chekhov Theatre in Sakhalin and artistic production manager of the Far Eastern Theatre Forum / Theatre go round Festival in Sapporo (2015). Since 2017, she has been working as a writer and graphic designer in Berlin. She writes for, amongst others, the FAZ, the NZZ and the magazine Eastern Europe. Together with Thomas Martin, she translates and publishes the works of Georgi Demidov through Galiani Publishers.

Cathrin Kahlweit, SZ correspondent, publicist and presenter for many years