Power, Authority & Knowledge (DP IB Theory of Knowledge): Revision Note

Power, authority & knowledge

Who controls knowledge? 

• It is often said that “knowledge is power”. Power can also determine what is deemed knowledge

• Knowledge is often controlled by people or groups who have the authority to decide what counts as reliable or important, e.g.:

  • academic communities

  • government departments

  • examination boards and curriculum authorities

  • media organisations and platform moderators

• Control is rarely neutral because the information chosen or shared by these authorities shapes what others can know and value

• Politics is concerned with the acquisition and application of power

Political influence on institutions

• Institutions that produce or share knowledge can be influenced by political goals and pressures, e.g.:

  • government policies can shape what is tested or taught, which then shapes what students and the public treat as important

  • funding decisions can steer research toward topics that support a government’s priorities

  • appointments to leadership roles can affect what an institution approves or communicates

• Political influence can reduce trust if people think conclusions are driven by loyalty rather than evidence

  • E.g. a public health agency is pressured to adjust or delay data reporting to avoid criticism, which can distort what the public thinks is true and reduce trust in the agency

Knowledge suppression/censorship

• Knowledge is suppressed when its spread is prevented; this can happen through pressure, fear, incentives or control of institutions

  • E.g. scientists are prevented by an institution from publishing unpopular findings because the results could harm government funding

• Censorship is a specific method of suppression where an authority directly restricts access to information by removing, blocking, banning or editing it

  • E.g. a government bans a book or blocks a website, so people cannot access that information

• Suppression can make public knowledge less reliable by blocking critique, replication and correction

• Some suppression can be justified in order to preserve safety or privacy, but authorities may also suppress information so that failures stay hidden and the public cannot check official claims, e.g.:

  • a news outlet may choose not to share footage of a violent event in order to protect the public

  • officials may privately pressure media editors to drop or edit a story so the public hears a less accurate version of it

Propaganda mechanisms

• Propaganda is communication designed to influence beliefs or actions

• Propaganda contains features such as:

  • selective presentation: information is presented selectively to highlight supportive facts and hide conflicting ones

  • repetition: repetition increases familiarity, which can make a claim feel true even when evidence is weak

  • divisive language: loaded language and labels steer interpretation before evaluation

  • simplified slogans: slogans replace careful reasoning, reducing people’s ability to spot uncertainty or compare explanations

Politicising

• Politicising means making something be about politics. Depoliticising means making something not be political, e.g. a government might choose to depoliticise criminal courts

• If something is politicised, it means the knowledge involved is contestable, i.e. it can be debated from different perspectives.