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For complete a century, nan United States subject has been dropping propaganda leaflets successful deliberate psychological operations, aliases psyops, to execute occurrence successful war. But nan cardinal mobility down nan effort remains unanswered: does it moreover work?
In 1918, nan US released much than 3m leaflets down force lines by level and hydrogen balloon. To their delight, they recovered nan leaflets helped erode morale and portion cohesion among nan Germans successful nan first world war. Or truthful nan communicative goes.
Between 1942 and 1945, overmuch of this effort was coordinated done nan Office of War Information. The dropping of propaganda leaflets continued not conscionable successful nan 2nd world warfare but successful each awesome warfare nan US has been progressive successful since.
Thanks to Khajistan, a New York-based integer archive group, galore of these leaflets are now connected show successful an interactive grounds titled Office of War Information (OWI) astatine Pioneer Works successful Brooklyn.
Since 2022, Khajistan, which preserves “art, words, and media from forgotten aliases silenced communities, from nan Indus to nan Maghreb”, has collected hundreds of propaganda leaflets from US wars successful Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, on pinch a postulation of leaflets dropped connected Japan during nan 2nd world war.
While nan charismatic communicative is that psyop leafleting is hugely successful, soul documents uncover a analyzable picture. One illustration is simply a now declassified 1971 report from nan US aerial unit that challenged psyops’ putative successes successful Vietnam.
In that war, nan magnitude of insubstantial falling from nan south-east Asian skies was immense. From 1968 to 1971, nan US and nan south Vietnamese authorities dropped astir 5bn leaflets a twelvemonth complete Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, nan study says, dispensing them “by nan fistful successful 0-2Bs [a type of aircraft] aliases dumped wholesale successful loads of 12 cardinal from C-130s decently characterized arsenic ‘B.S. [bullshit] Bombers’”.
Why bullshit? The air unit document recovered that leaflets “often transgressed simple rules of persuasion and truthful lacked credibility”. They “violated a basal rule” of persuasion, namely that “allegations astir oneself aliases nan force should not diverge wide from nan facts arsenic nan target organization sees them”. Upon person introspection of interviews pinch force prisoners of war, nan aerial unit recovered that nan leaflets were not precisely utilized arsenic intended.
“One PoW [prisoner of war] explained why he had 2 leaflets successful his possession astatine nan clip of his capture,” the study says, “they were ‘carried arsenic insubstantial pinch which [the] root could rotation his cigarettes.’ Another root explained that everyone successful his portion ‘including nan cadre, utilized leaflets arsenic toilet tissue.’ Soldiers successful immoderate units collected nan leaflets arsenic souvenirs.”
These revelations notwithstanding, nan subject continued leafleting. In nan Gulf warfare of nan early 1990s, nan US produced 29m leaflets, and according to one report, nan sum of psyops messaging during nan warfare “persuaded astir 44% of nan Iraqi service to desert, much than 17,000 to defect, and much than 87,000 to surrender”.
Those numbers look difficult to fathom, but nan American nationalist has had small entree to these leaflets to make immoderate benignant of judgement of their own. That’s 1 of nan contradictions of nan genre. The leaflets speak successful nan sanction of nan American group but are almost ne'er seen by them. On nan different hand, nan aforesaid leaflets became commonplace items for Afghans, Iraqis and truthful galore others who routinely brushwood nan United States arsenic a wide of insubstantial and bombs, falling endlessly from nan skies.
When I inquire Saad Khan, nan laminitis of Khajistan, why he began collecting warfare propaganda, his reply was simple: “I travel from war.” Khan, who was calved and raised successful Pakistan, described really he had conscionable been successful Islamabad pinch his mother and sisters erstwhile an Islamic State bombing occurred nearby. “We heard it,” he says. “It’s portion of fucking life.”
According to Khan, nan sanction Khajistan comes from a metropolis that erstwhile stood adjacent Herat, Afghanistan, though nan archive is intentionally contemporary, focusing connected “people who don’t get abstraction successful existent life”.
It started arsenic an Instagram relationship successful 2016 and has grown into an awesome repository of “the unwanted, nan unnecessary, nan unusual, nan unsavory” , including a documentary connected nan hidden lives of “showgirls” successful Pakistan, a homoerotic photo book connected Iranian antheral subculture, “smut” ephemera from southbound Asia and overmuch more.
At Pioneer Works, nan Office of War Information (OWI) recreates a wood-paneled agency of an earlier era. Two genuine American propaganda posters supporting nan mujahideen successful Afghanistan successful their conflict against nan Soviets are hung connected 1 wall. An ancient TV sits successful nan room playing clips of Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond connected loop. A furniture that looked for illustration it erstwhile showcased precocious schoolhouse trophies displays uncommon propaganda finds, including an version of The Alphabet of Jihad. (The Alphabet of Jihad was a USAID task from nan early 1980s that taught children really to publication successful Pashto and Dari, Afghanistan’s 2 main languages, done anti-Soviet passages and illustrations of missiles, tanks and landmines. Now considered an embarrassment, nan programme costs $51m and ran from 1984 to 1994.)
Meanwhile, thousands of replicas of genuine leaflets are strewn crossed nan level successful nan exhibit, and caller ones are printed each 10 minutes. Visitors tin drawback a leaflet and input nan number placed connected nan area of nan insubstantial connected nan aged computers successful nan room, discovering a translator of nan point and its details. Propaganda leaflets from nan 2nd world warfare that nan US dropped connected Japan bent connected nan corridor wall. All nan walls are painted successful an agleam Tom and Jerry yellow. “Playfulness is very important,” says Khan, who curated nan grounds alongside Joey Chriqui and Amad Ansari. “Even successful war, life goes on.”
Patterns quickly look erstwhile examining nan leaflets. The ones dropped connected Japan sound eerily for illustration Donald Trump’s threats to nan activity of Iran today. One leaflet, successful a melodramatic reddish and achromatic drawing, shows group fleeing successful mortal fearfulness from buildings collapsing successful flames. The matter connected nan backmost of nan leaflet reads: “Do you retrieve nan awesome harm done to your state by nan earthquake successful 1923? America is tin of producing earthquakes that will origin harm a 1000 times greater … Your homes will beryllium destroyed, factories will vanish, and your family killed. Note cautiously nan American style of earthquake; you will cognize nan clip erstwhile it will occur. You will beryllium experiencing it!”
Leaflets dropped successful Iraq usually contained much matter than those dropped successful Afghanistan, which focused much connected images. (This presumably reflects Iraq’s higher levels of literacy.) Both Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein are often caricatured. Other leaflets counsel practice pinch American authorities aliases stress bonds of brotherhood betwixt taste groups, though it’s difficult not to spot a important information of nan imagery arsenic demeaning, if not downright bigoted. As they get person to our era, nan leaflets are besides populated pinch much anime-style imagery.
All these materials are considered “white” propaganda. Among psyops professionals, propaganda is divided into white, grey and achromatic varieties. White propaganda has an overt connection that nan propagandist believes is true. The root is besides intelligibly identified. Gray propaganda does not effort to place aliases conceal its source. The propagandist whitethorn aliases whitethorn not judge successful nan message’s truth. Black propaganda deliberately conceals its source, pretends it’s from others, and is not beholden to immoderate modular of truthfulness.
But conscionable because these leaflets are “white” propaganda doesn’t mean they are innocent. They are burdened pinch their ain assumptions. “Dehumanization is astatine nan halfway of this shit,” Khan says. “Thinking that you tin driblet crap connected group for illustration this and deliberation that they will alteration their mind. It’s nan aforesaid thought [with nan Americans in] Iran. You will assassinate each these group and past [believe that] group will travel retired for state and liberty? There’s racism successful this. That is absorbing to me.”
Khajistan’s grounds doesn’t straight reply nan mobility of whether specified leaflets tin thief execute battleground success, but it comes close. “These leaflets are conscionable trash, for illustration connected nan floor,” Khan says. “Are they moreover effective?” he asks, earlier answering his ain question. “They’re dropped truthful that, aft nan war, successful Congress, erstwhile they summon nan guy, he’[ll say]: ‘we dropped nan leaflets earlier [we bombed them].’” Khan pauses. “This is self-serving for Americans, for illustration really America bombs and past sends non-profits. It’s portion of that system.”
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Office of War Information (OWI) is astatine Pioneer Works successful Brooklyn, New York, from 9 May to 9 August 2026
