How the Truth Rarely Comes Out in the Mainstream Media - It's Called Propoganda!

Edward Bernays, the American nephew of Sigmund Freud, is said to have invented modern propaganda.  During the First World War, he was one of a group of influential liberals who mounted a secret government campaign to persuade reluctant Americans to send an army to the bloodbath in Europe.  


In his book Propaganda, published in 1928, Bernays wrote that the “intelligent manipulation of the organised habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society”, and that the manipulators “constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power in our country”.  Instead of propaganda, he coined the euphemism “public relations”.


The American tobacco industry hired Bernays to convince women that they should smoke in public.  By associating smoking with women’s liberation, he made cigarettes “torches of freedom.”  In 1954, he conjured a communist menace in Guatemala as an excuse for overthrowing the democratically elected government, whose social reforms were threatening the United Fruit Company’s monopoly of the banana trade.  He called it a “liberation”.


Eddie Bernays himself desperately craved fame and a place in history. During his lifetime he worked and schemed to be remembered as the founder of his profession and sometimes drew ridicule from his industry colleagues for his incessant self-promotions. 

Bernays was no rabid right-winger.  He was an elitist liberal who believed that “engineering public consent” was for the greater good.  This could be achieved by the creation of “false realities” which then became “news events”.  Here are examples of how it is done these days.


False reality The last US combat troops have left Iraq “as promised, on schedule”, according to President Barack Obama.  The TV news has been filled with cinematic images of the “last US soldiers”, silhouetted against the dawn light, crossing the border into Kuwait.


Fact They have not left.  At least 50,000 troops will continue to operate from 94 bases.  American air assaults are unchanged, as are special forces’ assassinations.  The number of “military contractors” is 100,000 and rising.  Most Iraqi oil is now under direct foreign control.


False reality It is not known how many Iraqis have died.  They are “countless”, or maybe “in the tens of thousands”.


Fact As a direct consequence of the Anglo-American-led invasion, a million Iraqis have died.  


To see more of how the news is manipulated go to the site of expatriate Australian journalist, John Pilger: 

http://mycatbirdseat.com/2010/09/john-pilger-flying-the-flag-faking-the-news/