Unseen Hands: Who Really Shapes What You Believe?
A new book by veteran climate reporter Amy Westervelt, "Brought to You By," reveals the surprising history of how corporate public relations has profoundly shaped our understanding of reality. Her years-long investigation uncovers how big business systematically influenced public opinion and policy, from early 20th-century railroads to modern-day climate debates. This powerful story highlights how these tactics created an environment where environmental action faces constant pushback and the urgency of global warming is frequently distorted for corporate interests.
Amy Westervelt's extensive investigation, detailed in her new book "Brought to You By: How Corporations Warped the Truth, Conned the Public, and Broke Democracy," traces the origins of corporate public relations, comparing it to a "Public Relations Industrial Complex." She explores figures like Ivy Lee, who invented the press release and subtly influenced public perception for companies like Pennsylvania Railroad and the Rockefellers. Lee and Edward Bernays, often considered the father of modern PR, wove psychological insights into campaigns, aiming to control narratives even before the public knew there was a story.
The book reveals deep connections between corporate PR and state-level propaganda from World War I, including the Creel Commission. Many early PR professionals, trained in military intelligence and psychological warfare, later applied these skills to influence American citizens on behalf of corporations. Westervelt highlights two types of PR figures: those who sought the limelight, like Mobil Oil's Herb Schmertz, who created the "advertorial" and championed the idea of false equivalence in media debates, and those who operated quietly behind the scenes, like Earl Newsom of Standard Oil (now Exxon), who used early market research to subtly shape public sentiment.
A central thread is the consistent goal of defending free markets and discrediting government regulation. Newsom, for example, developed a post-World War II strategy for businesses to counter the public's positive view of government wartime controls. This corporate effort intensified during the social movements of the '60s and '70s, which challenged free-market capitalism, leading to the rise of conservative think tanks and corporate-funded university research.
Two pivotal Supreme Court cases, First National Bank v. Bellotti (often discussed alongside Citizens United) and Citizens United, further empowered this PR machine. Bellotti, driven by Justice Powell—a former tobacco lobbyist—established that the First Amendment protects corporate speech, treating corporations much like individuals. This paved the way for unlimited corporate spending in politics, as later affirmed by Citizens United's declaration that "dollars are speech." Westervelt notes current concerns, such as the recycling logo case, which could further diminish accountability by challenging the importance of factual accuracy in corporate claims.
This system impacts critical issues like climate change. Westervelt points out that oil-funded university research centers often steer away from projects threatening fossil fuel dominance, influencing even international climate negotiations. Her book ultimately calls for solutions like mandatory media literacy and reversing legal precedents that grant corporations immense political power. She argues that we must discuss bold, necessary changes, even if they seem politically challenging, especially when addressing urgent environmental crises like global warming. The push for sustainable solutions, including electrification, requires a public sphere where facts are clearly understood and not warped by corporate agendas seeking to delay progress.