Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion

We live in an age of propaganda. Americans consume 57% of the world's advertising while representing only 6% of the population, and half of our waking hours are spent with the mass media. Persuasion has always been integral to the democratic process -- it's how we make decisions, elect governments, do business, and resolve disputes. Increasingly, however, thoughtful discussion is being replaced with simplistic sound bites, manipulative messages, and deceptive propaganda tactics.Drawing on the history of propaganda and modern research in social psychology, the authors examine the tactics used by political campaigners, sales agents, advertisers, televangelists, and demagogues, showing how persuasion influences our behavior and why some techniques work better than others.Thoroughly revised and updated, this new edition covers the media's handling of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, recent election campaigns, the rise of talk radio, teen suicide, U.F.O abductions, the Columbine shootings, and novel propaganda tactics based on hypocrisy and false allegations. Also included is a completely new chapter on how to protect yourself from unwa