In democratic societies, propaganda is subtle and subliminal, manufactered by those who control the media. PR firms protect the more than 100 billion dollars per year spent on advertising, and it is estimated that half of what we read or hear on the news comes from PR Firms. Currently six corporations control the majority of the information distributed over most of the western world. Most news agencies, television networks and even the internet are controlled by large corporations and the government. As Noam Chomsky wrote, "The real mass media are trying to divert people." By emphasizing entertainment, business and scandal, news has become "infotainment."

Why does this matter? Elite news agencies such as the New York Times and the Washington Post set the tone which regional papers (with limited resources) follow. These agencies are controlled by large corporations with vested interests in Washington's policies and business. Corporate control of the government has become overwhelmingly obvious. One needs only to look at the President's cabinet and to Washington to see the involvement of major corporations. This is the richest, most corporate administration in history, and there are more lobbyists in Washington than there are politicians. Those in control of the media have become a private club in which information becomes "rewritten government pronouncements and shallow entertainments designed primarily to promote consumer commodities." Advertising, corporations and the government, through controlling the media, also control our world view and collective history.