White propaganda comes from a source that is identified correctly, and the information in the message tends to be accurate. Although what listeners hear is reasonably close to the truth, it is presented in a manner that attempts to convince the audience that the sender is the “good guy” with the best ideas and political ideology. White propaganda attempts to build credibility with the audience, for this could have usefulness at some point in the future.

Black propaganda is when the source is concealed or credited to a false authority and spreads lies, fabrications, and deceptions. Black propaganda is the “big lie,” including all types of creative deceit. Black propaganda includes all types of creative deceit, and this type of propaganda gets the most attention when it is revealed. The success or failure of black propaganda depends on the receiver’s will- ingness to accept the credibility of the source and the content of the message. Care has to be taken to place the sources and messages within a social, cultural, and political framework of the target audience. If the sender mis- understands the audience and therefore designs a message that does not fit, black propaganda may appear suspicious and tends to fail.

Gray propaganda is somewhere between white and black propaganda. The source may or may not be correctly identified, and the accuracy of the information is uncertain.  Gray propaganda is also used to embarrass an enemy or competitor.

Propaganda uses informative communication in a similar fashion. The dif- ference is that the purpose exceeds the notion of mutual understanding. The purpose of propaganda is to promote a partisan or competitive cause in the best interest of the propagandist but not necessarily in the best interest of the recipient. The recipient, however, may believe that the communication is merely informative. As we pointed out in the example of VOA, white propa- ganda is very similar to informative communication. Information is imparted from an identifiable source, and the information is accurate. The distinction between white propaganda and informative communication is that white pro- paganda informs solely to promote a specific ideology. Techniques of informa- tive communication are also used in gray and black propaganda, but the information is not likely to be accurate or even based in reality.

Wij gebruiken witte propaganda, via informatieve communiatie. Onze huisstijl lijkt op die van reputabele nieuwssites en enigzins op de stijl van EU sites. Hieruit proberen we autoriteit te lenen. Wij laten het doen voorkomen alsof propaganda dat betrekking heeft tot de EU enkel anti-EU is en door rechts populistische politieke paritjen en rechtse (alternatieve) media platformen geproduceerd.