Edward Bernays taught the first class on Public Relations at New York University in 1923
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in a democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Our invisible governors are, in many cases, unaware of the identity of their fellow members in the inner cabinet.” — Edward Bernays
Propaganda by Edward Bernays • (pdf1 pdf2) • spoken word recording
“Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.” **
“…the rank and file are usually much more primitive than we imagine. Propaganda must therefore always be essentially simple and repetitious.” **
“Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident they are acting on their own free will.” **
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“The best defense against propaganda: more propaganda.” — Edward Bernays
“Who controls the past controls the future…Who controls the present controls the past.” – George Orwell, “1984”
Divide and conquer — Philip II of Macedon
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” **
“There is no need for propaganda to be rich in intellectual content.” **
“Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident they are acting on their own free will.” **
“We have made the Reich by propaganda.” ** —
** Joseph Goebbels