"There was plenty of it by western countries during WWII and the Cold War."

There were also plenty of atrocities commited by western countries during WW2 and after. Napalm, atomic bombs on civilians, ...

And George Orwell based his 1984 of his experience working for the BBC in WW2, btw.

In other words, no, I don't see a valid need for propaganda in democratic societies.

And the role of the military should be to simply defend the societey, not influence them in a sneaky way.