Propaganda - An Introduction

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An introduction to the book "Propaganda" written by Edward Bernays and published in 1928.

This video covers some of Bernay's contemporaries and offers some insight on how the last 100 years of propaganda has paved the way to the modern consumer-driven world of today.

Carefully crafted campaigns coerce you into thinking, saying, and doing things you believe are undertaken through your own free-will and not the result of manipulation.

Excruciating detail is paid to crafting almost everything we see and hear. By controlling the messages we receive, propagandists can subsequently inject a narrative, reinforced by the audience themselves in the form of social stigmas. To control the message one must influence those key structures or individuals that are opinion forming within a community. No matter the message, it will be accepted if delivered by a trustworthy source. This manipulation can be used to sell you a new trend in fashion in much the same way it can take nations to war.

These days, lots of people say they are impervious to advertising. Good luck with that… After over 100 years of the Princeton Radio Project, to the Stanford prison experiment, to cybernetics and the internet, to meta-data and social media, the propagandists are more effective than ever before at controlling their audience.

Propaganda is much more than getting a population to react to ideas like going to war or buying more consumer goods. With a long-term approach and the cooperation of key influential individuals within any number of community types, a dedicated propagandist can effectively mold the minds of entire nations. Influential positions could be editors, pastors, etc. These trusted figures will spread an unquestioned message to their audiences. This kind of influence seems to be modeled using network or graph theory.

How much are you influenced by the media you consume and how much do you consume as a percentage of your day/week/life?

Wake up to the alarm in a suggestive state. Listen to radio all day. Talk to people that listen to same stuff all day. Social media makes it worse. Designed to filter content you don’t like. “Negative” thoughts not entertained in favor of small talk. A brave new world indeed.