propaganda, World War I

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The promotion of biased or misleading information was used on all sides in World War I to encourage recruitment and uphold morale among the civilian and military population. Information coming from the front had to be censored, and a constant flow of good news kept up through the newspapers and cinema. In the UK the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) of August 1914 ensured government control over information, the penalty for spreading uncensored information being imprisonment. The War Office Press Bureau was established in 1914 to control news about the war, along with the War Propaganda Bureau to produce positive posters and pamphlets. Letters home were heavily censored; eventually soldiers were provided with pre-printed postcards containing positive statements to tick and sign, allowing no indication of the terrible casualties and conditions on the Western Front.

The black fimbriation (narrow border) expresses endurance. White stands for Guyana's rivers. Effective date: 26 May 1966. >>