Brooklyn exhibit examines US military propaganda campaigns across multiple conflicts

NEW YORK, United States (MNTV) – A new exhibition in Brooklyn is presenting hundreds of historical propaganda leaflets used by the United States military in psychological warfare operations spanning more than a century, raising questions about their actual effectiveness in influencing outcomes of armed conflicts.

The archive, presented by digital group Khajistan at Pioneer Works, collects materials from U.S. military campaigns including Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and the Pacific theater of World War II, framing them as instruments of psychological warfare rather than purely historical artifacts.

The practice of aerial propaganda distribution dates to World War I, when U.S. forces reportedly dropped more than 3 million leaflets over German positions in 1918. Official accounts at the time asserted the campaign helped erode enemy cohesion, though those conclusions remain contested and largely unverifiable by independent sources.

The practice expanded significantly during World War II under the Office of War Information and continued through subsequent major U.S. military conflicts from Vietnam to Iraq and beyond.

However, declassified internal military assessments present a more complicated picture than official narratives suggest. A 1971 U.S. Air Force report examining Vietnam War operations questioned whether leaflet campaigns produced meaningful strategic impact, arguing that many messages failed basic credibility standards.

During the Vietnam War, U.S. and allied forces reportedly distributed approximately 5 billion leaflets annually across Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Internal military documents at the time referred to aircraft used in the operation as “bombers of bullshit,” reflecting skepticism within military ranks about effectiveness.

Field evidence cited in declassified assessments indicated that captured soldiers often repurposed leaflets for cigarette paper or kept them as souvenirs, raising questions about whether the materials influenced behavior in any strategic manner.

Despite questions about effectiveness, leaflet warfare continued into later conflicts. During the Gulf War, U.S. forces distributed an estimated 29 million leaflets, with some military reports claiming they contributed to mass desertions and surrenders within Iraqi forces. Those figures remain widely debated and difficult to independently verify.

The exhibition at Pioneer Works reconstructs a stylized military office space filled with propaganda posters, archived leaflets, and interactive stations where visitors can examine translated materials from different eras. Items range from World War II messaging aimed at Japan to Cold War era educational programs in Afghanistan that blended literacy instruction with ideological content.

Saad Khan, founder of the Khajistan archive, described the collection as presenting overlooked and uncomfortable materials including propaganda and media from regions affected by war and political violence.

Many materials in the exhibition fall under what military doctrine classifies as “white propaganda,” where the source is declared and messaging is presented as truthful. Critics argue that even openly attributed messaging carries embedded cultural assumptions and dehumanization of target populations.

The exhibition raises fundamental questions about whether propaganda leaflets function primarily as battlefield influence or as tools for institutional justification after conflicts conclude.