The Silicon Valley strategy of creating a techno-cult in support of stock prices was around at least as far back as Steve Job's "Reality Distortion Field", and

The Silicon Valley strategy of creating a techno-cult in support of stock prices was around at least as far back as Steve Job's "Reality Distortion Field", and has only become more popular after that guy's autobiography and death. This isn't a 2020-era strategy, this is a 2010 or 2000-era strategy, if not earlier.