30 Propaganda Vectors Your Grandparents Believe

In today’s fragmented information landscape, propaganda isn’t simply state-run posters or leaflets — it’s subtle, persistent, and transnational. Narratives promoted by Russia, Israel, and the United States often shape international debate and public perception far beyond their borders.

Below we present a comprehensive list of 30 propaganda vectors commonly used by these three nations, their typical themes, and brief notes on where or when they first appeared prominently.

10 Common Russian Propaganda Vectors

1️⃣ “The West is decadent and in decline”

📍 Soviet Cold War propaganda; revived prominently on RT and Sputnik from 2014 (post-Crimea).

2️⃣ “Russia is the defender of traditional values”

📍 Prominent since Putin’s third term (2012), especially post-2013 anti-LGBT legislation.

3️⃣ “EU and NATO are corrupt puppets of the US”

📍 Cold War origins; intensified during NATO’s expansion and Ukraine crises.

4️⃣ “Sanctions hurt the West more than Russia”

📍 Post-2014 sanctions narrative, amplified during the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

5️⃣ “Ukraine is a Nazi state”

📍 First used by Soviet propaganda post-WWII; weaponized heavily from 2014 onward.

6️⃣ “Western media lies; alternative sources tell the truth”

📍 RT’s global expansion (mid-2000s) institutionalized this framing.

7️⃣ “COVID-19 measures and vaccines are tools of control”

📍 Russian disinformation surge from early 2020 pandemic.

8️⃣ “Global elites (Soros, WEF) control everything”

📍 Post-2008 financial crisis conspiracy rhetoric; heavily promoted by pro-Russian outlets since 2015.

9️⃣ “The multipolar world is inevitable; the US is finished”

📍 Putin’s speeches and Russian think tanks from early 2010s.

🔟 “Peace will come if the West stops supporting Ukraine”

📍 Consistent message from Russian diplomats and state media since early 2023.

10 Common Israeli Propaganda Vectors

1️⃣ “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East”

📍 Became a core foreign policy theme during the 1950s to secure Western support.

2️⃣ “Israel just wants peace but has no partner”

📍 Popularized after the failure of the 2000 Camp David summit.

3️⃣ “Israel fights terrorism, not civilians”

📍 Standard line during major Gaza operations (e.g., Operation Cast Lead 2008).

4️⃣ “The IDF is the most moral army in the world”

📍 Emerging narrative from the 1970s onward, codified in IDF doctrine.

5️⃣ “Criticism of Israel = antisemitism”

📍 Heavily promoted post-Second Intifada (2000s), institutionalized in IHRA definition campaigns.

6️⃣ “Tiny Israel surrounded by hostile enemies”

📍 Propaganda motif since Israel’s founding in 1948, especially post-1967.

7️⃣ “Israel made the desert bloom”

📍 Zionist slogan from early 20th century; promoted globally in 1950s development diplomacy.

8️⃣ “Gaza is ruled by terrorists”

📍 Became dominant framing after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.

9️⃣ “There’s no such thing as a Palestinian identity”

📍 Narrative articulated by Golda Meir in 1969, repeated by right-wing politicians.

🔟 “Global media is biased against Israel”

📍 Prominent since the 1982 Lebanon War and CNN’s rise as global broadcaster.

10 Common US Propaganda Vectors

1️⃣ “America is the land of freedom and democracy”

📍 Foundational to U.S. Cold War propaganda (Voice of America, etc.).

2️⃣ “The U.S. military protects global peace”

📍 Institutionalized after WWII and NATO founding (1949).

3️⃣ “American exceptionalism”

📍 Longstanding; coined explicitly by Alexis de Tocqueville but politically weaponized in 20th century Cold War rhetoric.

4️⃣ “Free markets = prosperity”

📍 U.S. global economic policy since the Marshall Plan (1947).

5️⃣ “The American Dream is accessible to all”

📍 Post-WWII prosperity narrative; heavily promoted in 1950s domestic and foreign propaganda.

6️⃣ “America stands up for human rights”

📍 Post-WWII UN Charter participation, reinvigorated by Carter-era human rights rhetoric (1970s).

7️⃣ “We are fighting terrorism”

📍 Post-9/11 War on Terror narrative.

8️⃣ “We won WWII and saved the world”

📍 Postwar U.S. cultural exports and education narratives.

9️⃣ “The media is free and independent”

📍 Cold War messaging via USIA and Voice of America.

🔟 “Our adversaries spread propaganda, we tell the truth”

📍 Cold War framing, deeply embedded in U.S. official discourse and still used today.

Key takeaways

These vectors reveal that all major powers promote selective narratives to maintain legitimacy, influence allies, and delegitimize opponents. The similarity in methods is striking — even though the values they claim to defend differ radically.

By understanding these vectors, readers can recognize not just one-sided propaganda from Russia, Israel, or the U.S., but develop a critical, independent lens on global narratives.

Why Grandparents Are the Primary Audience for Propaganda Today

In today’s digital landscape, older generations have emerged as one of the most engaged — and most vulnerable — audiences for propaganda narratives. While younger people tend to encounter information in fragmented, hyper-personalized streams, many older adults approach online platforms, especially Facebook, with the same trust they once placed in newspapers or public broadcasters.

This inherited trust in “the news” — combined with unfamiliarity with the tactics of digital manipulation — makes grandparents particularly receptive to simplified stories that echo the narratives they grew up with.

Facebook, in particular, plays a key role in this dynamic. Older users are among the most active Facebook users globally, and the platform’s algorithm tends to reward emotionally charged, polarizing, and easily shareable content. Propaganda networks — including Russian state media, hyperpartisan outlets, and various astroturf campaigns — have exploited this by pushing narratives that speak directly to older users’ sense of nostalgia, patriotism, fear of decline, and anxiety about societal change.

Memes, selective news stories, and moralizing posts often repackage decades-old Cold War or nationalist propaganda in forms that feel familiar, comforting, or righteous to this demographic.

Moreover, these narratives often serve a psychological function: they help older generations make sense of a world they increasingly feel disconnected from. For many grandparents, believing these narratives isn’t just about ideology — it’s about identity, community, and regaining a sense of control in a rapidly changing society.

Whether it’s glorifying a nation’s past, distrusting new technologies, or embracing simple explanations for complex problems, propaganda thrives when it resonates with emotional needs as much as with political beliefs.

Is There a Correlation Between Senior Facebook Users and Propaganda Belief?

Multiple empirical studies have confirmed a strong correlation between age, Facebook use, and sharing of misinformation—especially among older adults. A notable analysis by Guess, Nagler, and Tucker (2019) found that during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, users over 65 shared nearly seven times as many articles from fake-news domains as those aged 18–29, independent of political ideology. Meanwhile, a Princeton–NYU study reported that while only 3 % of 18–29 year-olds shared fake news links, the figure was 11 % among users over 65.

Additional research highlights that older adults are particularly prone to health-related misinformation: a 2023 study showed participants aged 58–83 often shared false health claims—even when given warnings—because emotionally charged headlines triggered a “better safe than sorry” response, leading to 62.5 % of their shares containing falsehoods.

Why this correlation? It stems from a combination of digital-literacy gaps, cognitive factors, and algorithmic design. Facebook’s engagement-based algorithm amplifies emotionally laden content—favorites of the older demographic with nostalgic or fear-driven leanings. Add shrinking social networks and reliance on trusted circles for news, and older users become the primary amplifiers of propagandistic narratives. Many believe they are simply sharing “helpful” content.