Sanctioned rhetoric : nefarious professional communications produced by the state

The state and its institutions have traditionally produced professional documents in the form of flyers, magazines and brochures. Typically free, or low cost, these documents cover informational, legal and political functions of the state. In the West, citizen health, safety, education, taxes, tourism, nutrition, the law, employment and technology are some of the needs fulfilled by these seemingly innocuous documents. Such public communication can however be subverted for ulterior motives, especially during periods of domestic conflict and war. Using case studies, this paper shows how professional communication can fulfil questionable purposes. This paper analyses the use of professional documents for mainly disreputable purposes, including a major WWII publication, an Australian magazine, and more recently, a jihadist online periodical. It concludes by inviting scholars and the media to analyse such propaganda as a method of understanding the intent of nefarious agencies and ultimately counteract their myths and public relations spin.