The word Brainwashing probably originated from the Chinese phrase, xi nao, which means “wash brain.“ In its current form it was first used in 1950 by Edward Hunter. He was a journalist and US intelligence agent who reported on Chinese brainwashing at the time of the Korean war. He described the method of breaking down psychological resistance in order to create good members of society.
A differentiation was made between the sensory and physical deprivation as observed in GIs who had been captured by the North Koreans and were making anti-American statements. The current meaning focuses on the consistent long-term use of mass propaganda to ensure support for a totalitarian state, although it is also used to describe an act of exerting pressure on a person to accept a belief he or she considers undesirable.
