The Fact
In a 1928 article in the American Journal of Sociology, Edward L. Bernays wrote that public opinion can be manipulated and described techniques for creating and changing public attitudes.
What This Means
The deliberate shaping of public opinion was openly described as a professional technique by one of the founders of modern public relations. This was not a hidden theory discovered later; Bernays published the argument himself.
Sources
- Edward L. Bernays, “Manipulating Public Opinion: The Why and The How,” American Journal of Sociology 33, no. 6 (May 1928): 958–971.