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The newly-elected Propaganda Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Richard Quashigah, caused a stir on Monday, when he announced on Peace FM, an Accra-based radio station, that agents of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) were behind the earthquake hoax that rocked the country the previous night. According to him, the NPP and their agents put out the text message to create panic, and also divert the attention of Ghanaians from the successful congress organised by his party in Tamale. Surely, Quashigah was discharging his duty as chief propagandist of his party. The word propaganda is defined by the Oxford Learner�s Dictionary as �ideas and statements that may be false or exaggerated, and that are used in order to gain support for political leader, or party.� If this definition is anything to go by, then one cannot fault Mr. Quashigah over such a wild allegation, which may be difficult to prove. One may say, he is simply propagating this falsehood to create disaffection for his political opponents, to the advantage of his party, especially looking at the anxiety this earthquake hoax created among Ghanaians. The Chronicle, however, thinks that if this theory about propaganda is not properly applied, its ramifications would be worse than the objective the propagandist seeks to achieve. For example, in the heat of the 2008 elections, what became known as the �Hit List�, which contained names of some prominent Ghanaians, and allegedly prepared by former President Rawlings for �elimination� if the NDC won political power, was widely circulated within media circles and beyond. The basis for this so called �hit list� was to create the impression that if Ghanaians dislike bloodshed, then they must vote against the NDC. Unfortunately, this idea backfired, since Ghanaians have now become more discerning, and concluded that there was no proof in the allegation against the former President. The former NDC Propaganda Secretary, Mr. Fifi Kwetey, also came out with a story about the depletion of Ghana�s gold reserves at the Bank of Ghana by the then New Patriotic Party government. This was to paint the government as a corrupt one in the eyes of voters, but the former Propaganda Secretary received some criticisms for the palpable false statement, until he apologised when he was being vetted by the Parliamentary Vetting Committee, for the position of Deputy Finance Minister. In international politics, the former American President, George W. Bush, and his western allies, made the whole world believe that the late Saddam Hussein was a �monster�, presiding over weapons of mass destruction, and therefore had to be eliminated at all costs. Though America used this propaganda ploy to oust Saddam from office, today, most Americans have seen through the lies and propaganda, and are now fed up with the Iraqi war, which largely contributed to the Republicans losing the 2008 elections. Nazi Germany believed in propaganda as a vital tool in achieving their goals, and Adolf Hitler was impressed by the power of Allied propaganda during World War I. As a result, he tasked Joseph Goebbels at the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, where all journalists, writers and artistes were required to register, and made to propagate official party lines. Hitler was able to effectively use this political tool to spread his ideas and beliefs. This negative propaganda resulted in the systematic murder of as many as 17 million civilians, most of whom were Jews. The Chronicle has decided to cite all these examples to drum home our position that if the theory about propaganda is not properly handled, it could result in something we might not be able to contain. Quashigah should understand that many Ghanaians are discerning, and can easily distinguish between a politically motivated comment, and a statement of fact. We were therefore glad, when one of the amendments tabled at the party�s recent congress in Tamale, included changing the name of the position of Propaganda Secretary to Education and Communications Secretary. Though the motion was not adopted at the congress, the fact that the party itself has recognised the need to change the name is a step in the right direction. The Chronicle would like to urge Richard Quashigah to rather bring some finesse and refinement to the concept of propaganda, instead of the raw literary meanings. Otherwise, if he continues the way he has started, then, The Chronicle can say without any reservation, that he would lead his party back into opposition.