Committee on Public Information The Committee on Public Information , also known as the CPI or the Creel Committee , was an independent agency of the government of the United States created to influence U . S . public opinion regarding American participation in World War I . Over just 28 months , from April 13 , 1917 , to August 21 , 1919 , it used every medium available to create enthusiasm for the war effort and enlist public support against foreign attempts to undercut America ' s war aims . It primarily used the propaganda techniques of progressive Edward Bernays , author of the book " Propaganda " , to accomplish these goals . Organizational history . Establishment . President Woodrow Wilson established the Committee on Public Information ( CPI ) through on April 13 , 1917 . The committee consisted of George Creel ( chairman ) and as " ex officio " members the Secretaries of : State ( Robert Lansing ) , War ( Newton D . Baker ) , and the Navy ( Josephus Daniels ) . Creel urged Wilson to create a government agency to coordinate " not propaganda as the Germans defined it , but propaganda in the true sense of the word , meaning the ' propagation of faith . ' " He was a journalist with years of experience on the " Denver Post " and the " Rocky Mountain News " before accepting Wilson ' s appointment to the CPI . He had a contentious relationship with Secretary Baker . Activities . The purpose of the CPI was to influence American public opinion toward supporting U . S . participation in World War I via a prolonged propaganda campaign . The CPI at first used material that was based on fact , but spun it to present an upbeat picture of the American war effort . In his memoirs , Creel claimed that the CPI routinely denied false or undocumented atrocity reports , fighting the crude propaganda efforts of " patriotic organizations " like the National Security League and the American Defense Society that preferred " general thundering " and wanted the CPI to " preach a gospel of hate . " The committee used newsprint , posters , radio , telegraph , cable and movies to broadcast its message . It recruited about 75 , 000 " Four Minute Men , " volunteers who spoke about the war at social events for an ideal length of four minutes , considering that the average human attention span was judged at the time to be four minutes . They covered the draft , rationing , war bond drives , victory gardens and why America was fighting . It was estimated that by the end of the war , they had made more than 7 . 5 million speeches to 314 million people in 5 , 200 communities . They were advised to keep their message positive , always use their own words and avoid " hymns of hate . " For ten days in May 1917 , the Four Minute Men were expected to promote " Universal Service by Selective Draft " in advance of national draft registration on June 5 , 1917 . The CPI staged events designed for specific ethnic groups . For instance , Irish - American tenor John McCormack sang at Mount Vernon before an audience representing Irish - American organizations . The Committee also targeted the American worker and , endorsed by Samuel Gompers , filled factories and offices with posters designed to promote the critical role of American labor in the success of the war effort . The CPI ' s activities were so thorough that historians later stated , using the example of a typical midwestern American farm family , that Organizational structure . During its lifetime , the organization had over twenty bureaus and divisions , with commissioner ' s offices in nine foreign countries . Both a News Division and a Films Division were established to help get out the war message . The CPI ' s daily newspaper , called the " Official Bulletin " , began at eight pages and grew to 32 . It was distributed to every newspaper , post office , government office , and military base . Stories were designed to report positive news . For example , the CPI promoted an image of well - equipped U . S . troops preparing to face the Germans that were belied by the conditions visiting Congressmen reported . The CPI released three feature - length films : " Pershing ' s Crusaders " ( May 1918 ) , " America ' s Answer ( to the Hun ) " ( August 1918 ) , " Under Four Flags " ( November 1918 ) . They were unsophisticated attempts to impress the viewer with snippets of footage from the front , far less sensational than the " crudely fantastical " output of Hollywood in the same period . To reach those Americans who might not read newspapers , attend meetings or watch movies , Creel created the Division of Pictorial Publicity . Charles Dana Gibson was America ' s most popular illustrator and an ardent supporter of the war . When Creel asked him to assemble a group of artists to help design posters for the government , Gibson was more than eager to help . Famous illustrators such as James Montgomery Flagg , Joseph Pennell , Louis D . Fancher , and N . C . Wyeth were brought together to produce some of World War I ' s most lasting images . Media incidents . One early incident demonstrated the dangers of embroidering the truth . The CPI fed newspapers the story that ships escorting the First Division to Europe sank several German submarines , a story discredited when newsmen interviewed the ships ' officers in England . Republican Senator Boise Penrose of Pennsylvania called for an investigation and " The New York Times " called the CPI " the Committee on Public Misinformation . " The incident turned the once compliant news publishing industry into skeptics . Early in 1918 , the CPI made a premature announcement that " the first American built battle planes are today en route to the front in France , " but newspapers learned that the accompanying pictures were fake , there was only one plane , and it was still being tested . At other times , though the CPI could control in large measure what newspapers printed , its exaggerations were challenged and mocked in Congressional hearings . The Committee ' s overall tone also changed with time , shifting from its original belief in the power of facts to mobilization based on hate , like the slogan " Stop the Hun ! " on posters showing a U . S . soldier taking hold of a German soldier in the act of terrorizing a mother and child , all in support of war bond sales . International efforts . The CPI extended its efforts overseas as well and found it had to tailor its work to its audience . In Latin America , its efforts were led where possible by American journalists with experience in the region , because , said one organizer , " it is essentially a newspaperman ' s job " with the principal aim of keeping the public " informed about war aims and activities . " The Committee found the public bored with the battle pictures and stories of heroism supplied for years by the competing European powers . In Peru it found there was an audience for photos of shipyards and steel mills . In Chile it fielded requests for information about America ' s approach to public health , forest protection , and urban policing . In some countries it provided reading rooms and language education . Twenty Mexican journalists were taken on a tour of the United States . Political conflict . Creel used his overseas operations as a way to gain favor with Congressmen who controlled the CPI ' s funding , sending friends of Congressman on brief assignments to Europe , Some of his business arrangements drew Congressional criticism as well , particularly his sale by competitive bidding of the sole right to distribute battlefield pictures . Creel also used the CPI ' s ties to the newspaper publishing industry to trace the source of negative stories about Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels , a former newsman and a political ally . He tracked them to Louis Howe , assistant to Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D . Roosevelt and threatened to expose him to the President . As a Wilson partisan , Creel showed little respect for his Congressional critics , and Wilson enjoyed how Creel expressed sentiments the President could not express himself . Termination and disestablishment . Committee work was curtailed after July 1 , 1918 . Domestic activities stopped after the Armistice was signed on November 11 , 1918 . Foreign operations ended June 30 , 1919 . Wilson abolished the CPI by executive order 3154 on August 21 , 1919 . The Committee on Public Information was formally disestablished by an act of Congress on June 30 , 1919 , although the organization ' s work had been formally completed months before . On August 21 , 1919 , the disbanded organization ' s records were turned over to the Council of National Defense . Memoirs and criticism . Creel later published his memoirs of his service with the CPI , " How We Advertised America " . He wrote : Walter Lippmann , a Wilson adviser , journalist , and co - founder of " The New Republic " , was a sharp critic of Creel . He had once written an editorial criticizing Creel for violating civil liberties when he was Police Commissioner of Denver . Without naming Creel , he wrote in a memo to Wilson that censorship should " never be entrusted to anyone who is not himself tolerant , nor to anyone who is unacquainted with the long record of folly which is the history of suppression . " After the war , Lippmann criticized the CPI ' s work in Europe : " The general tone of it was one of unmitigated brag accompanied by unmitigated gullibility " giving shell - shocked Europe to understand that a rich bumpkin had come to town with his pockets bulging and no desire except to please . " The Office of Censorship in World War II did not follow the CPI precedent . It used a system of voluntary cooperation with a code of conduct , and did not disseminate government propaganda . Staff . Among those who participated in the CPI ' s work were :