A Look At Imperial Propaganda
One of the most impressive and terrible things about the Empire is how swiftly and completely they were able to take over from the Republic. This mighty institution of democracy had stood for thousands of generations, and while it certainly wasn't perfect, it at least represented the potential of freedom in the galaxy. Under the Empire, representation was stripped away, alien races were oppressed, and Imperial troops committed rampart atrocities, including genocide across the galaxy.
Yet when the Republic was dissolved into the First Galactic Empire at the end of the Clone War, the death of liberty was greeted with cheers and applause. With the creation of the Imperial Propaganda Bureau, systems were fed spin stories, Imperial puff pieces, and downright lies on the HoloNet. These served to reassure the citizens of the Empire of their government's moral course and military might in the pursuit of peace. Here we will examine exactly how the newly crowned Emperor Palpatine was able to sway the galaxy into falling in line with his tyrannical regime.
As with any politician, the members of the Galactic Senate commanded a certain respect and trust from their constituents. However, as with any politician, they were also susceptible to corruption and bribery. Through a combination of political favors, blackmail, and the more sinister machinations of the Sith, Palpatine was able to amass a huge group of Senate backers. These Senators believed that he was doing what was best for the Republic, or were otherwise too fearful of the repercussions to speak up against him.
The list included Mas Amedda of Champala, who was given the title of Gran Vizier in the Empire for his loyal service to the Sith. Other political supporters of the Chancellor turned Emperor including Ask Aak, a Gran representing his homeworld of Malastare, and Orn Free Taa, the weak-willed and bribery-fueled Twi'lek of Ryloth. Most of these Senators were allowed to retain their positions and often even got promoted after the rise of the Empire. The Imperial Senate was a very different realm than the Galactic Senate, and most senators found themselves powerless puppets, "elected" to keep their people in line for the Empire, and threatened with assassination should they fail.
A perfect example of this trend is Minister Maketh Tua of Lothal. A promising student at the Imperial academy, she was selected as minister of Lothal for her loyalty to the Empire and was content to follow orders. After the highly effective Specter cell began operating on Lothal and disrupting Imperial operations in the sector, Tua's incompetence as a wartime leader became brutally apparent. Fearing for her life with the arrival of Lord Vader on the planet, Tua contacted the Specters and expressed a desire to defect to the Rebellion in exchange for passage off the planet. As per usual, Vader was one step ahead of the Rebels and arranged for their escape shuttle to be lethally sabotaged, aiming to eliminate the traitors in one fell swoop. While only Tua was killed in the blast, her death served as an important propaganda point for the Empire, claiming that she was assassinated by the Spectres and using this as an excuse to step up military involvement on Lothal. This caused the position of minister to be converted into a military governor, with the cold and calculating Imperial loyalist Arihnda Pryce stepping into the role.
After the turmoil and strife of the years-long Clone War, people across the galaxy longed for peace, security, and prosperity. This would be provided only to the select few humans in the Core Worlds who complied with the Empire's increasingly tyrannical demands and turned a blind eye to their rampart domestic martial force, war crimes, and atrocities. Alien species, even those who had been loyal to the Republic such as Twi'leks, Wookiees, and Gungans were oppressed, enslaved, and whipped out. The Outer Rim was seen as a hive of insurrection, and Imperial stormtroopers were given authority to conduct random searches and shoot any dissenters on sight.
As seen in The Bad Batch, Imperial officers, such as Moff Tarkin told their troopers that the innocents they were murdering were "Separatist loyalists." With the memory of the Separatist Crisis and the ensuing Clone War so fresh in the minds of many, the Imperial Propaganda Bureau had little to no trouble spinning these massacres into a campaign to ensure security across the new Empire. Rebellion fighters were portrayed as madmen, pirates, murderers, and thieves by the Bureau, and many in the public cheered the defeats suffered early in the war by these "insurgents." However, after the Declaration of Rebellion was put forth by Mon Mothma and the other leading members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, public opinion began to turn away from the Empire, even as the grip of the Imperial military tightened around formerly free star systems.
Source(s): Wookieepedia