Propaganda and censorship in Italy during the First World War

During the First World War, Italy saw the rise of propaganda and censorship as the country tried to rally support for the war effort. At the start of the war, the Italian government did not lead in creating propaganda. Instead, newspapers that supported the war shared messages to encourage people, often leaving out hard truths about life in the trenches. The army focused mainly on keeping order rather than supporting soldiers’ spirits, leaving that to the Church.

Everything changed after a big defeat for Italy at the Caporetto battle. This loss made the government realize they needed a better plan. They began to organize efforts more carefully to inspire both ordinary people and soldiers to keep fighting for the nation. This shift showed how important it was for leaders to guide public opinion during difficult times.

Pro-war propaganda to May 1915

Unlike some other countries, Italy did not have organized government propaganda when the First World War began in 1914. Italy only joined the war in May 1915. During this time, businesses and newspapers led the push for war instead of the government.

From late 1914 to early 1915, many Italian newspapers encouraged the country to join the war. Big companies and banks, like Ansaldo and Fiat, supported this effort. They helped fund newspapers, including Benito Mussolini’s paper Avanti!, to argue for joining the side of the Entente. Most educated people supported joining the war, believing it would be short and bring Italy new land. However, most ordinary people were not in favor of going to war. The government, led by Antonio Salandra, did not involve Parliament much in the decision and did not feel the need for strong propaganda efforts.

Government and private initiatives after May 1915

Once the war began, leaders thought it was clear why Italy was fighting and didn’t think they needed to convince people to support the war. The leaders believed the war would end quickly, so they didn’t spend much time on sharing messages to support it. It wasn’t until 1916 that the government started to take a small role in sharing messages about the war.

Many private groups stepped in to help. These groups worked to support people at home and teach them about the war. By mid-1917, these groups joined together into one big organization led by Ubaldo Comandini. This group helped both people at home and soldiers away from the front. They created talks, plays, and other materials to keep support for the war strong.

Press censorship

The government did not lead in spreading messages to support the war, but it did control what newspapers could write. Writers who visited the battlefields sent back true stories, but readers only saw stories that hid or changed the facts. Many people did not want to know the real truth and only looked at simple news updates. Over time, this created a big gap between the soldiers fighting and those who stayed home. Soldiers often felt angry and unhappy with the writers and the people who did not fight, feeling that the stories did not show what they were really going through.

Restrictions on soldiers

During World War I, the army checked letters that soldiers sent to their families and rarely let them go home. In the winter of 1915, some soldiers were allowed to visit their families to boost spirits, but this did not work as planned. The soldiers saw that people back home did not understand the true conditions of the war, which newspapers and the military kept hidden. The government did not ask people to use less or live with fewer things, hoping the war would end quickly and not become unpopular. When the soldiers returned, they found their towns did not celebrate them as heroes. The leaders also stopped soldiers from sharing what they saw at the front and made sure they could not go to cafes or spend time with girls. One writer, Corrado De Vita, felt angry seeing young people enjoy themselves in theaters and cafes.

Propaganda at the front before Caporetto

Before 1917, efforts to support and encourage soldiers were limited and not well organized. Messages about the war were usually given by officers or special speakers who were not part of the army, and soldiers often found these messages hard to relate to. Many soldiers fought more out of duty than because they fully understood or believed in the reasons for the war. This was partly because many had little education and partly because leaders focused more on strict rules than on boosting spirit.

Up to 1917, care for soldiers was mostly provided by priests, who set up comfortable places where soldiers could rest, read, and write letters home. These places helped build trust and improve morale without forcing soldiers to listen to formal speeches. In one part of the army, a leader named Luigi Capello tried new ways to encourage his troops by using lower officers and even ordinary soldiers to talk to groups, making the discussions feel more like conversations. However, these efforts were stopped by a major event later that year.

Propaganda at the front after Caporetto

After losing the battle at Caporetto, the army changed its approach. They created a new Propaganda Office (Servizio P) to help soldiers understand why fighting was important. The office made talking points and created new newspapers for soldiers. These newspapers shared stories about life at the front in a light-hearted and hopeful way, even while acknowledging the difficulties. They used new ways to share messages, including pictures and creative writing. This was one of the first big efforts to shape public opinion to support the nation, led by experts like Giuseppe Lombardo Radice. The goal was to teach soldiers and keep their spirits high while they learned about the country and its ideas.

Shaping public opinion after Caporetto

The loss at the battle of Caporetto in October 1917 changed how Italy handled messages about the war. New leaders, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando and Armando Diaz, focused more on keeping troops and citizens feeling strong. With enemy soldiers now in Italian land, many saw the fight as protecting their homes and families.

After the defeat, some people worried Italy might need to retreat further or even make peace with Austria-Hungary. Writers and leaders worked hard to encourage the country to stay in the war. Groups formed to support the war effort and oppose those who wanted to give up. Even famous thinkers joined together to rethink Italy’s history in light of the defeat. However, it was hard to know exactly what ordinary people thought because the government did not allow open discussion of the defeat. While many remained united, there were signs of unhappiness, especially among those struggling with long work hours, less food, and rising prices. The government promised better times after the war to keep support strong.

Italian propaganda in Allied countries

See also: Adriatic Question

Before a certain government came to power, Italy's efforts to share its message in other countries were very limited. Most of the work was done by local groups of Italians living abroad. In Britain, groups like the "Pro Italia" committee in London organized charity events to raise money and support. There were also other groups such as the British Italian League and the Society of the Friends of Italy. Official groups included the Italian Chamber of Commerce and the Dante Alighieri Society, which had offices in several cities.

Later, a special office for sharing Italy's message was created, focusing on winning support for Italy's goals after the war. This was very important because other countries had revealed secret treaties that affected Italy's plans. Meetings were held to discuss agreements, leading to steps toward a bigger meeting in Rome in 1918.

Efforts to share Italy's story included sending letters, posters, photos, and postcards to schools, universities, and public places. There were also films, plays, and meetings where people explained Italy's goals in the war. These events drew hundreds of people.

Italy also organized visits by Italian scholars to universities and art exhibitions. However, as the war continued, Italy's unclear positions and changing messages made it hard to gain trust and support from other countries, even after important victories.

Italian propaganda in Austria-Hungary

Before 1918, Italy tried to share messages with people in Austria-Hungary, but these efforts did not work well. In 1918, Italy worked with other countries to create better ways to share these messages. This led to the Padua Commission, a group that included both military and civilian leaders, mostly from Italy. One of the leaders was Ugo Ojetti, who worked with the Yugoslav Committee to create a plan. The plan aimed to encourage minority groups in Austria-Hungary to support independence.

Between May and November 1918, Italy spread about 60 million copies of different messages and almost 2 million copies of news sheets over Austria-Hungary. These messages were shared three times more than what the British spread over Germany during the whole war. Soldiers took these messages home, which caused concern in Austria-Hungary. The messages mainly targeted Croats, Slovenes, and Serbs, urging them to rise against the Habsburg monarchy and support their own independent nation. As a result, many Austro-Hungarian soldiers began to surrender to Italian forces, often carrying the messages with them. In addition, Italy shared news from the Western Front to weaken the morale of Austria-Hungarian troops. In the summer of 1918, the famous writer Gabriele D'Annunzio flew over Vienna to drop more messages aimed at the people there.

Italian propaganda in Japan

A Japanese poet named Harukichi Shimoi worked hard to build strong ties between Japan and Italy during the war. He joined special war units called the Arditi and helped connect important figures like Gabrielle D'Annunzio and newspaper editor Benito Mussolini. He even wrote a book in both Italian and Japanese to share Italy’s story with the world. His efforts led to a famous flight known as the Rome-Tokyo Raid by Arturo Ferrarin.