What the Godfather of Spin Teaches Us About Trump
From climate denial to online hate, Edward Bernays foresaw how easy it was to manipulate public opinion
It may be difficult to believe that an imperious figure once celebrated as the “father of public relations” could save us from our wretched state of political and cultural affairs. Then again, if Edward Bernays helped create some of this chaos, perhaps he can get us out.
Bernays literally wrote the book on how to manufacture media narratives and leverage the power of cultural debates framed as “us vs. them.” He died nearly a quarter-century ago, yet his fingerprints remain etched in all facets of modern life.
The master strategist, a favorite of Kanye West (and an innate favorite of Donald Trump, who seems to instinctively use his playbook without having read him), considered himself part of an intellectual and economic elite entitled to govern public opinion and global policy. Yet Bernays also foresaw today’s cultural decay, from online hate to climate change denial, like few other intellectuals of the last century.
Bernays’ 1923 landmark Crystalizing Public Opinion, which I am introducing in a new edition, captures uncomfortable truths about the malleability of public opinion. Given the dark state of our…
