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The Propaganda Movement was a period of time when native Filipinos were calling for reforms, lasting approximately from 1868 to 1898 with the most activity between 1880 and 1895.
The word "propaganda" in English and American usage has acquired a pejorative connotation which is absent from the original Latin. One can see its true meaning in the Roman institution called "Congregatio de propaganda fide" - the Secretariate for the Spread of the Faith (or, as the modern translation has it, For the Evangelization of Peoples). It was in this latter sense that the word was used by the Filipino group that sent Marcelo H. del Pilar to Spain to continue the "propaganda" on behalf of the Philippines. It was essentially a campaign of information, as well as a bid for sympathy. Dr. Domingo Abella, the learned Director of the National Archives, has made the suggestion that the so-called Propaganda Movement was misnamed. It should have been called the Counterpropaganda Movement, because their essential task was to counteract the campaign of misinformation that certain Spanish groups were disseminating in Spain, and later in Rome.
Prominent members included José Rizal, author of Noli Me Tangere (novel) and El Filibusterismo, Graciano López Jaena, publisher of La Solidaridad, the movement's principal organ, Mariano Ponce, the organization's secretary and Marcelo H. del Pilar.
Specifically, the Propagandists aims were: