ABSTRACT
Propaganda has always been central to the commission of crimes within the jurisdiction of international criminal tribunals. Successive judgments have carried sustained analyses and references to the significance of propaganda. The role of hate speech, censorship and incitement in preparing peoples for war, and in establishing atmospheres of hatred and fear in which emotion, confusion and uncertainty can be exploited in order to further the commission of the most serious and appalling international crimes has been repeatedly stressed. The manner by which individuals responsible for such propaganda have been charged before international criminal tribunals appears relatively consistent, that is to say, in the majority of instances, the tribunals’ condemnation of propaganda, and identification of the crucial role it plays, rarely translates into sustained and focused analysis of an individual criminal responsibility for their speech or their role in propaganda frameworks.
