I understand that during WW2 fascist countries such as Germany and Italy would use propaganda to sway the general public to their will. To what extent did the U.S. do the same in order to entice citizens to join the army, contribute to the war effort, etc., and are there any significant examples of American propaganda that would by no means be considered acceptable by the American public today?
So, there is a lot of US propaganda.
First there was the stuff for soldier's. The most famous are the "why we fight series" (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx_y9zk-N90) which are all on youtube. These are information films to show to troops to gain an understanding of the war. Who they are fighting and why. They are good examples American propaganda. The Nazis and Japanese are evil and our allies are brave fighting against long odds. These films are full of twisting the truth and exaggerate because they are designed to make the American soldiers sympatheticto their allies. The Soviet and China episodes are almost laughable in the ways the Stalin regime and the Chiang Kai Shiek regime are portrayed as democracies. Another example is the "know your enemy/ally series (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2SOvr9fLHUM) similar vein. The one linked is on Britain it deliberately knocks away anti-war arguements by making things like the empire seem 'American'.
The government also made stuff encouraging racial unity. "The negro sailor" (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ji1aG5s9qI4) is an example, it makes a big push on showing how black Americans are an integral part of the war effort to encourage black servicemen.
Then there was the stuff for civilans. Funding campaigns were common. war bond rallys and advertisments presented the war in a heroic way. Successful soldiers were sent home to lead these campaigns as giant advertisment for the war. The Memphis Belle's crew are an example. They were toured around the USA after completing 25 combat missions. The buy war bonds spread everywhere. There is a rather famous "action comic" where superman is next to a banner which reads "superman says slap a jap, with war bonds and stamps".
Films were made in Hollywood, portraying the war. Ronald Reagan, spent his time in the military working making army propaganda films for both public and army consumption.
There was a big push on productively and encouraging women to take manufacturing jobs. Rosey the Riveter was an example of propaganda for this, the idea wasn't the government, she originally appears in a song but her image such as in the "we can do it" posters was soon adopted by the organisations such as the war production comitee.
There is also a save fuel campaign. they produced a series of posters saying things like "when you ride alone you share with Hitler" to encourage car sharing.