What role did the Committee on Public Information play during World War I? What tactics did they employ to propagandize the American people into unquestionable support of the war effort?
President Wilson created the Committee on Public Information (CPI) on April 13, 1917 to promote the war domestically while publicizing American war aims abroad. With George Creel, a notable muckraker, heading the CPI, the agency used censorship to limit damaging information. The CPI forced journalists to comply with certain guidelines as to not leak crucial info. If they did not agree, they would risk their connection to information on the war. Some radical newspapers were almost eliminated by wartime limitations on dissent.
The CPI examined the different ways information got to the public and then encouraged them with pro-war material. The domestic division of the CPI was made up of 19 subdivisions that each focused on a certain type of propaganda. The use of newspapers, academics, artists, and filmmakers were incorporated to advocate pro-war sentiment and sway the public opinion. The very skilled writers and producers allowed the U.S. to shield Americans from the actual horrors of the war.