Creating Propaganda to Recognize AI Bias
Objectives
As part of the third-year lecture Christmas: A History (for the Last Generation) (Fall 2025), this assignment, “Christmas Wars Correspondent,” teaches students to recognize propaganda by creating it. Rather than analyzing culture wars from a position of false neutrality, students must choose a side in contemporary Christmas conflicts (“Merry Christmas” vs. “Happy Holidays,” public nativity scenes, Black Friday consumption, inclusive Santa representations) and create propaganda fighting for their chosen position.
The pedagogical rationale is that in an AI-saturated world where every algorithm has an agenda and bias masquerades as objectivity, students need “vaccination”: a controlled dose of propaganda creation to build immunity against manipulation.
The assignment requires students to use AI as an intelligence service while simultaneously documenting where AI attempts to enforce false “both sides” neutrality, provide arguments for why neutrality can be cowardice, and identify evidence of AI’s hidden biases. This develops sophisticated critical AI literacy—students learn to see how large language models encode particular political and ideological positions while claiming objectivity. By requiring students to write war correspondence, create propaganda materials, draft deceptive “peace treaties,” and conduct opposition research, the assignment makes visible how meaning gets weaponized in contemporary discourse.
Students develop essential media literacy skills for navigating algorithmic content curation, learning to identify emotional triggers, recognize funding sources and motivations behind cultural campaigns, and understand how language control determines who wins cultural battles. The assignment prepares students to see through propaganda in professional and civic contexts by giving them insider knowledge of how persuasion operates when stripped of scholarly even-handedness.
Process
The assignment was designed as a two-week scaffolded project combining research, creative propaganda production, and critical AI analysis. The steps included:
Step 1: Choose Your Battle and Conduct Initial Research (Week 11, Hour 2)
- Students select one active Christmas culture war battlefront: “Merry Christmas” vs. “Happy Holidays” linguistic debates, public nativity scene church-state conflicts, Black Friday vs. Buy Nothing Day consumption wars, traditional vs. inclusive Santa representation, Christmas music in public spaces, real vs. artificial tree environmental debates, Die Hard genre classification, or student-discovered conflict
- Student chooses a side definitively; students may not take a “both sides have valid points” approach
- Begin research using AI and traditional sources on both sides of chosen conflict
- Identify where battle “rages hottest”, such as current flashpoints, active campaigns, recent incidents
Step 2: Write War Correspondence Series (3 dispatches, 400 words each)
Dispatch 1: “From the Front Lines” (400 words)
- Describe where battle currently rages most intensely
- Identify who’s fighting (organizations, demographics, ideological camps) and why
- Document weapons deployed: lawsuits, boycotts, social media campaigns, legislative efforts
- Account for “casualties”—jobs lost, relationships damaged, public shaming incidents
Dispatch 2: “Behind Enemy Lines” (400 words)
- Research and humanize opposition—understand their genuine motivations and fears
- Reveal their battle plans and strategic approaches
- Expose weaknesses in their arguments, funding sources, or coalition structure
- Demonstrate deep understanding of enemy position before demolishing it
Dispatch 3: “The Final Offensive” (400 words)
- Outline your side’s master strategy for total victory
- Describe the decisive battle that will end the conflict
- Explain why victory is inevitable given cultural, demographic, or economic trends
- Articulate what Christmas’s future looks like after your side wins
Step 3: Create Propaganda Portfolio (Week 11-12)
Design four pieces of effective propaganda:
- Recruitment poster for your side using persuasive visual rhetoric
- Battle map showing territorial control—which regions/demographics your side dominates
- Victory merchandise design—what supporters would wear/display to signal allegiance
- Viral social media post with maximum emotional impact and shareability
Step 4: Conduct Opposition Research Using AI
- Use AI to compile best arguments from enemy position
- Systematically refute those arguments with evidence and emotional appeals
- Identify emotional triggers that work on opposition supporters
- Research funding sources and motivations behind enemy organizations
- Document this intelligence in opposition research file
Step 5: Draft Deceptive Peace Treaty
- Create “compromise” proposal that appears reasonable on surface
- Ensure terms guarantee your total victory while seeming balanced
- Include hidden poison pills that make enemy look unreasonable for refusing
- Make rejection of treaty work as propaganda victory – “we tried to compromise, they refused”
Step 6: Document AI War Room Transcripts
- Compile screenshots showing complete AI research process
- Annotate specifically where AI attempted to “both sides” the issue or enforce false neutrality
- Provide written arguments explaining why neutrality equals cowardice in cultural conflicts
- Identify evidence of AI’s hidden biases: what positions it defaults to, what language it refuses, what arguments it won’t make
- Analyze how AI’s training on “balanced” content creates its own ideological position
Step 7: In-Class Development and Peer Feedback (Week 12, Hour 2)
- Complete all propaganda materials and finalize war correspondence series
- Test propaganda effectiveness on classmates—what triggers emotional responses?
- Refine peace treaty language based on peer reading of hidden advantages
- Prepare defense of strategic choices for potential viva questions
Step 8: Compile and Submit Final War Package
- Assemble and submit single PDF containing: complete war correspondence series (3 dispatches), propaganda portfolio (4 pieces), opposition research file, deceptive peace treaty, AI war room transcripts with critical analysis
- Be prepared to defend in viva: why this battle matters more than others, most ruthless tactic employed, consequences if your side loses, why compromise equals cultural death
Future-Focused Skill Development
This activity supports future-ready learning by aligning with principles from the University of Calgary’s STRIVE model. For instance, it emphasizes Transparency by requiring students to document where AI enforces false “both sides” neutrality, exposing algorithmic bias. In addition, it promotes Responsibility by guiding students to take intellectual ownership of their chosen position, defend it with evidence and strategic argumentation, and acknowledge they are creating propaganda rather than pretending to produce neutral analysis.
Student Feedback
Students valued the creative freedom these assignments provided, noting that open-ended research requirements allowed them to apply concepts to topics that genuinely interested them rather than completing standardized assessments. Students shared that the opportunity to demonstrate understanding through diverse tools and resources – from historical research and theoretical writing to propaganda creation and AI analysis – allowed them to explore material in ways that matched their interests and creative approaches.