3 ms·

Strangely enough, Bernays was also the PR man behind water fluoridation[1]. He was hired by the Aluminum Company of America to help dispose of sodium fluoride,

Strangely enough, Bernays was also the PR man behind water fluoridation[1]. He was hired by the Aluminum Company of America to help dispose of sodium fluoride, a by-product of the production of aluminum[2]. > The drive to encourage public acceptance of fluoride was handed over to Edward Bernays, known as the father of PR, or the original spin doctor, and the man who helped persuade women to take up smoking. "You can get practically any idea accepted," Bernays explained, "if doctors are in favour. The public is willing to accept it because a doctor is an authority to most people, regardless of how much he knows or doesn't know." [1] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2004/jun/08/lifeandhealth.health https://www.theguardian.com/society/2004/jun/08/lifeandhealt... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_relations_campaigns_of_Edward_Bernays#Water_fluoridation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_relations_campaigns_of_...

User23 5y ago
To this day the medical establishment leans heavily on rhetoric like this over dialectic. Bernays’s Propaganda[1] isn’t just a good book on the subject, it was literally an advertisement for his services. [1] http://whale.to/b/bernays.pdf http://whale.to/b/bernays.pdf
2OEH8eoCRo0 5y ago
> "You can get practically any idea accepted," Bernays explained, "if doctors are in favour. The public is willing to accept it because a doctor is an authority to most people, regardless of how much he knows or doesn't know." Doctors should try telling people to get flu and COVID vaccines. Oh wait..
- saas_sam 5y ago
  64%+ of the entire diverse population of the USA got at least one shot of, from a layman's perspective, some kind of new experimental wonder drug. In under a year. That is an example of effective persuasion.
- 0x4d464d48 5y ago
  Then came the internet echo chambers and that authority shifted.
bleuchase 5y ago
Don’t forget his laudable work with the American Tobacco Company to encourage women to smoke. Truly a champion of gender equality. https://fcpp.org/2021/11/09/how-bernays-changed-the-world-through-pr/ https://fcpp.org/2021/11/09/how-bernays-changed-the-world-th...
- yamrzou 5y ago
  The story as told by Bernays himself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pyyP2chM8k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pyyP2chM8k

User23 5y ago

To this day the medical establishment leans heavily on rhetoric like this over dialectic. Bernays’s Propaganda[1] isn’t just a good book on the subject, it was literally an advertisement for his services. [1] http://whale.to/b/bernays.pdf http://whale.to/b/bernays.pdf

2OEH8eoCRo0 5y ago

> "You can get practically any idea accepted," Bernays explained, "if doctors are in favour. The public is willing to accept it because a doctor is an authority to most people, regardless of how much he knows or doesn't know." Doctors should try telling people to get flu and COVID vaccines. Oh wait..

saas_sam 5y ago
64%+ of the entire diverse population of the USA got at least one shot of, from a layman's perspective, some kind of new experimental wonder drug. In under a year. That is an example of effective persuasion.
0x4d464d48 5y ago
Then came the internet echo chambers and that authority shifted.

bleuchase 5y ago

Don’t forget his laudable work with the American Tobacco Company to encourage women to smoke. Truly a champion of gender equality. https://fcpp.org/2021/11/09/how-bernays-changed-the-world-through-pr/ https://fcpp.org/2021/11/09/how-bernays-changed-the-world-th...

yamrzou 5y ago
The story as told by Bernays himself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pyyP2chM8k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pyyP2chM8k