Propaganda in Gold appears as a weapon as powerful as physical assault, since those in power use it to mold public belief, justify rule, and change historical narratives. Kennedy shows how the Carrick monarchy twists information to hold control, how Turley loyalists answer with their own stories, and how Queen Kaila uses strife in Highbell to usurp power from Malina. The contest over which version of events survives becomes a central conflict.

The Carricks lead the most pervasive campaign when they try to wipe out Auren’s family history and paint Oreans as a threat. Thursil tells Auren, “The monarchy has made sure to help erase your family from our histories, painting your line with unimportance” (79). This rewriting undermines any Turley claim to the throne and supplies a convenient enemy for Annwyn’s troubles. Estelia shows another layer of the lie when she explains that the kingdom blames the land’s fading magic on “diluted bloodlines” from Oreans, even though it is actually a result of the destruction of the bridge to Orea, something the Carricks caused. This falsehood feeds fear and props up the Carricks’ authority. Their control over public truth leaves Annwyn split, since dissent appears treasonous.

In Geisel, Turley loyalists answer these lies with their own stories, which they pass down in song and myth. They remember Auren as the “Lyäri Ulvêre—the golden one gone” (60) and sing about the “[g]ilded girl Turley, gone with the blue” (65). Their oral tradition keeps a different truth alive. Auren does not have to create a new legacy when she reaches them; she simply stands in the place of the mythical figures. Wick takes advantage of this to inspire loyalists to rebel, using Auren despite her misgivings to advance a just cause. This presents the development of narratives more ambiguously, presenting them as necessary to combat power structures yet potentially harmful to the individual identity erased by them.

Queen Kaila and Queen Malina give the conflict another angle. Malina begins as someone shaped by the illusions of the fae twins, who play on her desire for power and belonging. Once their magic collapses and she is freed from those illusions, she sees how much she must take control of her own truth to help her kingdom. Her warning to Highbell about the fae invasion, however, falls apart when Queen Kaila reframes her plea as the raving of a “madwoman” or a ploy to reclaim influence. Kaila twisted the reality of Highbell—wherein the citizens rightfully revolted against Malina’s cruelty and selfishness, and Kaila restored order—to mislead them and maintain her rule. Kaila’s quick dismissal shows how hard it is to break through a narrative crafted by someone who holds power. Even when Malina tries to disrupt this falsehood through repeated, earnest action, she isn’t believed. Only the fae’s presence changes Kaila and the citizens’ perspective, presenting the truth as the ultimate antidote to manipulative attempts to control personal or public narratives.