---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Science gradually yielded to propaganda…"
description: "\"“Science gradually yielded to propaganda, and as a result propaganda tended more and more to represent itself as science.”4”\" — Masha Gessen"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/420/masha-gessen-2322_propaganda_science-gradually-yielded-to-propaganda_3226282.png"
---

#  Science gradually yielded to propaganda, and as a result…

![“Science gradually yielded to propaganda, and as a result propaganda tended more and more to represent itself as science.”4” quote by Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/420/masha-gessen-2322_propaganda_science-gradually-yielded-to-propaganda_3226282.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/420/masha-gessen-2322_propaganda_science-gradually-yielded-to-propaganda_3226282.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/420/masha-gessen-2322_propaganda_science-gradually-yielded-to-propaganda_3226282.png)

> ““Science gradually yielded to propaganda, and as a result propaganda tended more and more to represent itself as science.”4””

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Propaganda increasingly masquerades as science, blurring the line between factual evidence and persuasive messaging.

**In simple terms:** Propaganda pretends to be science.

Key Takeaway

Critically evaluate claims that appear scientific.

Themes

media literacy critical thinking truth propaganda

Mood

skeptical analytical

Type

educational cautionary

When to use this quote

- news consumption
- academic research
- policy analysis
- public speaking

Key Concepts

information theory political communication

Questions to Reflect On

- What criteria help you verify scientific credibility?
- How does propaganda exploit scientific language?

A Different Perspective

Distinguishing genuine science from propaganda can be difficult without expertise.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Propaganda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/propaganda/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/)

## Related quotes

> [That propaganda is good which leads to success, and that is bad which fails to achieve the desired result. It is not propaganda’s task…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-goebbels/that-propaganda-is-good-which-leads-to-success-and-that-is-bad-which/)

[Joseph Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-goebbels/)

> [You can't expect people who didn't exist as a community at all until about twenty years ago to have formed a political movement. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/you-can-t-expect-people-who-didn-t-exist-as-a-community-at-all-until/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [I am particularly horrified by the use of propaganda and the manipulation of the truth and the revision of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-particularly-horrified-by-the-use-of-propaganda-and-the/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [If writing with a goal - whether it be evangelistic, apologetic, or didactic - implies propaganda, then all recorded history is propaganda. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/if-writing-with-a-goal-whether-it-be-evangelistic-apologetic-or/)

[Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/)

> [“We must each of us do our home work. 'My people are destroyed,' said Hosea, 'for lack of knowledge.' We must be wise as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/we-must-each-of-us-do-our-home-work-my-people-are-destroyed-said/)

[Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/)

> [The plain fact is that education is itself a form of propaganda - a deliberate scheme to outfit the pupil, not with the capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-plain-fact-is-that-education-is-itself-a-form-of-propaganda-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The most effective method of propaganda directed at the enemy forces is to release captured soldiers and give the wounded medical treatment... Whenever soldiers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/the-most-effective-method-of-propaganda-directed-at-the-enemy-forces/)

[Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/)

> [When a few people control the bulk of money, they can not only influence elections by money power - which enables various forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prashant-bhushan/when-a-few-people-control-the-bulk-of-money-they-can-not-only/)

[Prashant Bhushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prashant-bhushan/)

> [“Slander does to a soul what cancer does to a cell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/slander-does-to-a-soul-what-cancer-does-to-a-cell/)

[Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/)

> [Propaganda begins when dialogue ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/propaganda-begins-when-dialogue-ends/)

[Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/)

> [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-goebbels/if-you-tell-a-lie-big-enough-and-keep-repeating-it-people-will/)

[Joseph Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-goebbels/)

> [Today it is the skeptics who are the social conformists, though because of powerful intellectual propaganda they continue to enjoy thinking of themselves as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/today-it-is-the-skeptics-who-are-the-social-conformists-though/)

[Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/)

> [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/)

[John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/)

> [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

## More by Masha Gessen

> [There's this American pretense, which is the pretense of the journalist with the view from nowhere - which has somehow morphed into the journalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/there-s-this-american-pretense-which-is-the-pretense-of-the/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [Where incompetence is prized, it is ever-present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/where-incompetence-is-prized-it-is-ever-present/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [Pussy Riot have certainly changed some people's assumptions about the role of political art and the relationship between the intelligentsia and the church. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/pussy-riot-have-certainly-changed-some-people-s-assumptions-about-the/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [Trump, like Putin, has a demonstrably thin skin and short temper when it comes to being criticized by journalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/trump-like-putin-has-a-demonstrably-thin-skin-and-short-temper-when/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [You risk everything if you so much as join a legal protest demonstration in Russia. It raises the stakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/you-risk-everything-if-you-so-much-as-join-a-legal-protest/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [Donald Trump creates word salads. And that is awful to language, because we try to parse out what he's saying and try to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/donald-trump-creates-word-salads-and-that-is-awful-to-language/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [It is the first time since 1993 that Russians have come out into the streets without an explicit permission from the government to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/it-is-the-first-time-since-1993-that-russians-have-come-out-into-the/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [I think Donald Trump was brought to power by Americans. They voted for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-donald-trump-was-brought-to-power-by-americans-they-voted-for/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [In the 1990s, there was a lot of reform, and there was a lot of forward movement on a lot of fronts in Russia.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/in-the-1990s-there-was-a-lot-of-reform-and-there-was-a-lot-of-forward/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [Poverty and scarcity are actually very good for totalitarian societies. They maintain that sense of mobilization that's essential for totalitarian societies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/poverty-and-scarcity-are-actually-very-good-for-totalitarian/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [I think that Putin's strategy has been throwing a lot of money, fairly haphazardly, at a lot of projects aimed at disrupting Western relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-that-putin-s-strategy-has-been-throwing-a-lot-of-money-fairly/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [Both Trump and Putin use language primarily to communicate not facts or opinions but power: it's not what the words mean that matters but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/both-trump-and-putin-use-language-primarily-to-communicate-not-facts/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [I worked both as a Russian journalist and an American journalist and ran a bunch of magazines in Moscow over the course of about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-worked-both-as-a-russian-journalist-and-an-american-journalist-and/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [I have no doubt that there are Russian efforts to disturb the fabric of American democracy, but they're disruption efforts. They're troublemaking efforts. They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-have-no-doubt-that-there-are-russian-efforts-to-disturb-the-fabric/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

> [For years I was the only publicly out gay person who was not a full-time gay activist: my position as a quasi-foreigner gave me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/for-years-i-was-the-only-publicly-out-gay-person-who-was-not-a-full/)

[Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

[Explore all 171 Masha Gessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/)

## More Propaganda quotes

> [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/)

[John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/)

> [Today it is the skeptics who are the social conformists, though because of powerful intellectual propaganda they continue to enjoy thinking of themselves as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/today-it-is-the-skeptics-who-are-the-social-conformists-though/)

[Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/)

> [If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-goebbels/if-you-tell-a-lie-big-enough-and-keep-repeating-it-people-will/)

[Joseph Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-goebbels/)

> [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [Propaganda begins when dialogue ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/propaganda-begins-when-dialogue-ends/)

[Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/)

> [“Slander does to a soul what cancer does to a cell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/slander-does-to-a-soul-what-cancer-does-to-a-cell/)

[Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/)

> [When a few people control the bulk of money, they can not only influence elections by money power - which enables various forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prashant-bhushan/when-a-few-people-control-the-bulk-of-money-they-can-not-only/)

[Prashant Bhushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prashant-bhushan/)

> [The most effective method of propaganda directed at the enemy forces is to release captured soldiers and give the wounded medical treatment... Whenever soldiers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/the-most-effective-method-of-propaganda-directed-at-the-enemy-forces/)

[Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/)

> [The plain fact is that education is itself a form of propaganda - a deliberate scheme to outfit the pupil, not with the capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-plain-fact-is-that-education-is-itself-a-form-of-propaganda-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“We must each of us do our home work. 'My people are destroyed,' said Hosea, 'for lack of knowledge.' We must be wise as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/we-must-each-of-us-do-our-home-work-my-people-are-destroyed-said/)

[Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/)

> [If writing with a goal - whether it be evangelistic, apologetic, or didactic - implies propaganda, then all recorded history is propaganda. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/if-writing-with-a-goal-whether-it-be-evangelistic-apologetic-or/)

[Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/)

> [I am particularly horrified by the use of propaganda and the manipulation of the truth and the revision of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-particularly-horrified-by-the-use-of-propaganda-and-the/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [I don't think art is propaganda; it should be something that liberates the soul, provokes the imagination and encourages people to go further. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-haring/i-don-t-think-art-is-propaganda-it-should-be-something-that-liberates/)

[Keith Haring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-haring/)

> [Content without style is propaganda or adolescence. Style without content is decadence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/content-without-style-is-propaganda-or-adolescence-style-without/)

[Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/)

[Browse all 1,272 Propaganda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/propaganda/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Science gradually yielded to propaganda, and as a result propaganda tended more and more to represent itself as science.”4”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Masha Gessen"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/science-gradually-yielded-to-propaganda-and-as-a-result-propaganda/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Propaganda"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/science-gradually-yielded-to-propaganda-and-as-a-result-propaganda/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/420/masha-gessen-2322_propaganda_science-gradually-yielded-to-propaganda_3226282.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/420/masha-gessen-2322_propaganda_science-gradually-yielded-to-propaganda_3226282.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/420/masha-gessen-2322_propaganda_science-gradually-yielded-to-propaganda_3226282.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Science gradually yielded to propaganda, and as a result propaganda tended more and more to represent itself…” — Masha Gessen",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Masha Gessen",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Science gradually yielded to propaganda, and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/science-gradually-yielded-to-propaganda-and-as-a-result-propaganda/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/science-gradually-yielded-to-propaganda-and-as-a-result-propaganda/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
