Verified source report
‘Your homes will be destroyed, your family killed’: the US has dropped millions of war propaganda leaflets – but do they work?
An exhibit of psyops leaflets released in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya finally shows American people the messages that were made in their name By Moustafa Bayoumi For over a century, the United States military has been dropping propaganda leaflets in deliberate psychological operations, or psyops, to achieve success in war. But the key question behind the effort remains unanswered: does it even work? In 1918, the US released more than 3m leaflets behind enemy lines by plane and hydrogen balloon. To their delight, they found the leaflets helped erode morale and unit cohesion among the Germans in the first world war. Or so the story goes. Continue reading...
What happened
According to The Guardian’s source item, ‘Your homes will be destroyed, your family killed’: the US has dropped millions of war propaganda leaflets – but do they work?, An exhibit of psyops leaflets released in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya finally shows American people the messages that were made in their name By Moustafa Bayoumi For over a century, the United States military has been dropping propaganda leaflets in deliberate psychological operations, or psyops, to achieve success in war. But the key question behind the effort remains unanswered: does it even work? In 1918, the US released more than 3m leaflets behind enemy lines by plane and hydrogen balloon. To their delight, they found the leaflets helped erode morale and unit cohesion among the Germans in the first world war. Or so the story goes. Continue reading…
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Culture file for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-05-09T14:00:58+00:00.
What to watch
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Source
Primary source: ‘Your homes will be destroyed, your family killed’: the US has dropped millions of war propaganda leaflets – but do they work? via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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Source links
- ‘Your homes will be destroyed, your family killed’: the US has dropped millions of war propaganda leaflets – but do they work?The Guardian - 2026-05-09T14:00:58+00:00
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