Thinker, Faker, Spinner, Spy: Corporate PR and the Assault on Democracy

Bringing together leading activists and writers from the US and beyond, this book unmasks the covert and undemocratic world of corporate spin. Wherever big business is threatened, spin doctors, lobbyists, think tanks and front groups are on hand to push the corporate interest, often at the public's expense. The public relations industry is not just about celebrity gossip. The authors show how PR techniques are in use across a wide range of political fields, driven by corporate interests. They reveal the secrets of the PR trade including deception, the use of fake "institutes", spying and dirty tricks. The impact can be devastating-when the public is denied access to the truth, the results are rising inequality and environmental catastrophe. The book exposes the misdeeds of famous companies including BP, Coca Cola, British Aerospace, Exxon and Monsanto. It also reveals startling new information about the covert funding of various apparently independent think tanks and institutes. What can we do about it? The authors offer a guide to concrete campaigns that will help to roll back corporate power and show us how to raise awareness about resisting deceptive PR.