Have you ever wondered how much control you truly have over the information you consume daily? It may seem that the news you watch, the social media posts you scroll through, and the advertisements you see are coincidental. But what if I told you that much of what we encounter is part of a carefully orchestrated effort to shape how we think, feel, and behave? Welcome to the world of strategic communication and political marketing.

The line between public relations, marketing, and propaganda is thinner than most realize. Propaganda is not something confined to history books or totalitarian regimes. It is alive and well in our everyday lives, albeit in more subtle forms.

Edward Bernays, nephew of Sigmund Freud, was one of the first to employ psychological insights in the art of persuasion, which famously earned him the title of “father of public relations.” His campaigns, such as linking cigarettes to women’s liberation in the 1920s, or making owning a piano into a status symbol by associating it with having a music room, didn’t just sell products but influenced cultural norms, subtly creating desire. In his 1928 book Propaganda, Bernays argued that strategic communication is an essential building block of democratic societies, writing “We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of”.

Today, the media continues to wield immense power in shaping perceptions. As Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky explain in their classic book Manufacturing Consent, the media often serves the interests of powerful elites, dictating what stories are told and how, swaying public opinion, and influencing how we feel about social and political issues. Stories can be exaggerated or downplayed based on corporate interests, political affiliations, and advertising budgets. Language itself plays a crucial role in shaping our views. Carefully crafted media messaging can alter how we perceive a brand, a politician, or even a national event.

So how can we navigate these subtle influences to reclaim control over our own beliefs and attitudes?

Aristotle outlined three modes of persuasion—logos (logic), ethos (character), and pathos (emotion)—which remain foundational in today’s strategic communication efforts.........

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