Edward Hunter (U.S. journalist)
Encyclopedia
Edward Hunter was an American journalist, author and intelligence agent. He is credited with popularizing the use of the term "brainwashing" in English, and collected a large number of examples of Chinese Communist
propaganda
targeted at the (largely illiterate) population in the immediate post-revolution period.
' House Committee on Un-American Activities http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/globalism/Congress.htm, Hunter described his career as a journalist, which he began at the Newark Ledger in New Jersey
before moving on to the Chicago Tribune
's Paris edition. Hunter worked in Japan
and in China
from the mid-1920s to mid-1930s, the time of the Japanese detachment of Manchukuo
from China. He covered the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
between Italy
and Ethiopia
, and took note of the psychological warfare
methods used in all these instances, as well as during the preparations by Germany
for World War II
http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/globalism/Congress.htm. According to Hunter's 1958 testimonyhttp://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/globalism/Congress.htm, he served for two years during World War II as a "propaganda specialist" for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the institutional predecessor to the CIA.
, the journalists' trade union, which he felt was dominated by communist sympathizers http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/globalism/Congress.htm.
Hunter described the U.S. and NATO as losing the Cold War due to the Communists' advantage in propaganda
and psychological manipulation
. He felt that the West lost the Korean War
due to an unwillingness to use its advantage in atomic weapons http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/globalism/Congress.htm. He saw no difference between the various communist countries, and warned that Yugoslavia
, and China, were as bent on communist world domination as was the Soviet Union
http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/globalism/Congress.htm.
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
targeted at the (largely illiterate) population in the immediate post-revolution period.
Background
In March, 1958, testifying before the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
' House Committee on Un-American Activities http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/globalism/Congress.htm, Hunter described his career as a journalist, which he began at the Newark Ledger in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
before moving on to the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
's Paris edition. Hunter worked in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
from the mid-1920s to mid-1930s, the time of the Japanese detachment of Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
from China. He covered the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
between Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, and took note of the psychological warfare
Psychological warfare
Psychological warfare , or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations , have been known by many other names or terms, including Psy Ops, Political Warfare, “Hearts and Minds,” and Propaganda...
methods used in all these instances, as well as during the preparations by Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
for World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/globalism/Congress.htm. According to Hunter's 1958 testimonyhttp://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/globalism/Congress.htm, he served for two years during World War II as a "propaganda specialist" for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the institutional predecessor to the CIA.
Anti-Communism
Hunter was active in the Newspaper GuildNewspaper Guild
The Newspaper Guild-CWA is a labor union founded by newspaper journalists in 1933 who noticed that unionized printers and truck drivers were making more money than they did...
, the journalists' trade union, which he felt was dominated by communist sympathizers http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/globalism/Congress.htm.
Hunter described the U.S. and NATO as losing the Cold War due to the Communists' advantage in propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
and psychological manipulation
Psychological manipulation
Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
. He felt that the West lost the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
due to an unwillingness to use its advantage in atomic weapons http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/globalism/Congress.htm. He saw no difference between the various communist countries, and warned that Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, and China, were as bent on communist world domination as was the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/globalism/Congress.htm.
External links
- The Center for Research Libraries has digitized Hunter's collection of Chinese propaganda (leaflets and comic books): "Political Communications and Mass Education in China in the Early Years of the People’s Republic"
- Association of Research Libraries on the Hunter Collection