Letter to the Editor: Propaganda

Dear The Riot:

My name is Anjou Whitmore, and I am a student here at SPHS. I am writing this letter in order to help my community discern what is morally right or wrong to avoid believing and following the countless forms of propaganda, advertisements, misinformation and censorship that exist in our society and media. There are too many times to count when a topic in the media is mollified or exaggerated, but as of recent, a prevalent example of this that can be seen is the mass deportations and incarcerations of people living in America by ICE in 2025, a government agency that focuses on incarcerating and deporting illegal people and foreign criminals. This letter explains the propaganda techniques that ICE uses, the information surrounding deportation and incarceration that the agency is purposefully leaving out, and a result from an infamous and horrific event in history which serves as a warning to America and its future.

ICE’s presence has gotten stronger since the beginning of President Trump’s second term that started January 2025. There have been multiple instances of their interference in the United States, specifically in large cities like Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville and New Orleans. It is justifiable to want one’s country free of criminals, but according to The Marshall Project, the Cato Institute and the Brennan Center for Justice, more than 60% of detainees in ICE custody have no criminal record. ICE seems to deny this on their website, as on the main page, one of the first things one sees is a list of foreign criminals that are incarcerated/deported and the crimes they committed. 

Another example of ICE’s lack of accuracy and honesty can be found in the multiple propaganda techniques they use in order to attract viewers and people looking to join their cause. 

This is an image found on their “join” page in December 2025:

One propaganda technique being used here is “bad logic”, which is when one takes an event and manipulates it to make it seem more severe than it actually is. “Bad logic” can be seen in the sentence “America has been invaded by criminals and predators”, because implying that criminal activity is a foreign concept is a heavily generalizing statement.

The other propaganda technique being used in this photo is “plain folks”, which is when someone manipulates a person, idea or product to make it seem trustworthy and relatable, making it seem like any typical person can do what they’re asking. Uncle Sam is “pointing” at you specifically, telling you that you are capable of detaining and deporting people, regardless if you have actual experience or not. This is concerning because if ICE will let nearly anyone of any education and experience level join their cause, their officers might be more likely to be inaccurate with information and potentially cruel to their detainees. 

A rather unfortunate similarity can be found in a propaganda poster from the Nazi Regime in Germany during 1933-1945. This poster pictured below depicts a Jewish man cowering in reaction to a hand aggressively pointing at him from above.

The words “Der ist schuld am Kriege” translates to “he is to blame for the war”, which refers to a lie the Nazi party created which blamed Jewish soldiers for losing WW1 in 1918. “Bad logic” is also used in this poster, as it makes Jewish people more problematic and troublesome than they actually are. This connects to the ICE “join” page, because they are both identifying a group that is causing problems and destruction, and generalizing them to all be terrible people. Both posters define an “us” who are the “good guys” and “them” who are the “bad guys”, which further separates and isolates the two groups of people.

During WW2, America’s antifascist interference in Germany helped end the genocide-causing, fascist Nazi Regime. If America could erase oppression and fascism in one country, we can erase the beginnings of both in our own.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Anjou Whitmore