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Figure 13. http://revista.ieee.es/index.php/ieee 282 Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies Núm. 9 / 2017 Another significant fact from this period and one which clearly demonstrates the idea of how to utilise the media to propagate a message is the emergence in 1918 of the newspaper The Stars and Stripes, which was distributed amongst US troops on French soil. At this time, American forces were dispersed along the Western front, often mixed together with other British, French or Italian forces. The objective of the newspaper –which relied exclusively upon the contributions of soldiers themselves in France- was to provide these scattered troops with a sense of unity and a sense of collaborating in the war effort. Amongst other sections, it frequently included cartoons that are clearly aimed at maintaining troop morale. What is most surprising in that the impetus for the publication of the newspaper came from the soldiers themselves rather than the government and this is why its vision of the war was one far closer to that of the combatants. Although its intended purpose may match that of those in charge, the means used differed considerably; it was not a matter of simply following CPI instructions, but also of creating a sense of rapport amongst the soldiers, which, by dint of being entertaining, would increase morale. In the editorial of the first issue, it declared its intentions: “It is your newspaper, and it has but one interest: the interest to ensure that Uncle Sam sharpens his knives to use them against the august necks of the Habsburgs and the Hohenzollern”40. When considering the artistic side of the publication, we should mention illustrators such as Abian A. Wallgren (Wally) who gave advice to soldiers in a humorous way (why you should not sneeze whilst wearing your gas mask, to use the ostrich method to avoid projectiles etc.) or Leroy Baldridge, with a more patriotic message, such as in 40  The Stars and Stripes, Paris, 8 February 1918, p.1.

REVISTA IEEE 9
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