How does public relations influence public opinion?

Answer 1

Ever since the 1920's governments and powerful individuals have used public relations techniques to take advantage of large masses of people. As a result, public relations has established itself as the most effective form of persuasion due to its insidious nature, convincing people to believe lies, support unjust wars, and fall for other deceptive agendas.

John Rockefeller was the epitome of big business in the late 1800's, but the oil tycoon became very unpopular after a massacre known as "Bloody Ludlow." This disaster occurred when Rockefeller ordered fourteen of his striking miners to be shot dead. Seven of the miners perished, along with six women and three children who were in the miners' tents. The news of these vicious murders spread quickly and Rockefeller was viewed as an evil man, costing his business huge amounts of money. Rockefeller became desperate to restore his public image so he turned to a young journalist named Ivy Lee to persuade the public that he was a good man with honest intentions. Lee utilized public relations to achieve this goal, as he distributed advertisements, newspaper articles, and informational bulletins that promoted Rockefeller and discredited claims that he had done anything wrong. One of Lee's most successful persuasive strategies was to print a series of newspaper articles that portrayed Rockefeller as a benevolent and kind man who was involved in many charitable causes, although no proof has ever been found to support these claims. Lee even went as far as lying to the public about the actual event, claiming that Rockefeller had told the soldiers not to fire and that they had deliberately disobeyed him by shooting at the miners. People in the United States were constantly subjected to Lee's Propaganda and public relations schemes, and their opinion of Rockefeller gradually became more positive. Lee advocated relentlessly for Rockefeller, providing such a large amount of fallacious evidence that the majority of the people had no choice but to think Rockefeller was a good man. The tycoon's oil business was saved and he ironically became one of the most respected men in New York City; he even had a garden dedicated to him in recognition of his fabricated contributions to the community. Lee was single-handedly responsible for resurrecting the image of Rockefeller, and this victory made him the father of public relations. A few of Lee's opponents noticed his uncanny ability to persuade and compel people to believe complete