Edward Bernays

In 1953, the Soviet Union exploded its first Hydrogen bomb, and committees and public information films were created to help calm and reassure the public. During this time Edward Bernays was living in New York, having built a public relations firm. He was one of the most powerful PR men in America and worked for most of the major corporations.

Bernays believed that human beings were driven by irrational forces, and the only way to deal with the public was to connect with their fears, and manipulate this to work to your advantage.

The United Fruit company was one of Bernay's main clients. In Guatemala, United Fruit had controlled the country for decades. In 1950 a manned named Colonel Arbens was elected President, and announced the government would take over the land of United Fruit Company. Bernays was brought in to do something about it. Bernays transformed the issue into a communist threat and made it seem as if the American way of life was threatened.

Bernays went to Guatemala and started creating the idea that Arbens was controlled by communists in Moscow. There was a communist demonstation while he was there, and some say Bernays actually brought about this demonstration. The idea that Guatemala might be used as a beach head for the Soviet Union to attack America started circulation.

Next, plans started being made in the CIA to overthrow the Guatemalen governement. American public opinion was starting to be swayed...

See the video: