Fear-Based Manipulation: How Politicians, Marketers and the Media Create Panic to Control the Masses

BY SOFO ARCHON

“Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear.” ~Bertrand Russell

Fear. Without it, we wouldn’t survive.

Why? Because it’s the emotion that warns us about potential threats to our survival and urges us to protect ourselves.

Here’s an example to illustrate what I mean.

Imagine walking outside in the dark when suddenly a snake jumps right in front of your feet. Immediately, fear kicks in. You start sweating, your heart rate rises, and your cortisol and adrenaline spike. The snake could be poisonous, so your body instinctively prepares you to protect yourself.

In such a dangerous situation, your natural response will likely be one of the following:

1. Run away from the snake.
2. Injure, kill, or somehow immobilize the snake.
3. Freeze, hoping the snake will leave you alone.

As this example shows, fear is a protective mechanism built into our survival instinct, helping us stay alive and healthy. But here’s the problem: when that mechanism becomes overactive, and we start fearing things that don’t actually threaten us, it can wreak havoc not only on our well-being (due to excessive stress), but also on our decision-making (because, as we’ll see, fear clouds clear thinking).

Manipulative people are well aware of the latter, and exploit fear to control how you think and behave. In the sections that follow, you’ll learn some of their fear-based tactics—and how to avoid falling into their trap.

Do as They Say, Or Else…

Whether you realize it or not, fear is constantly being used against you. By whom? Here are a few examples: politicians, marketers, and the media.

Let’s take a closer look at how they do it—starting with politicians.

The vast majority of politicians are demagogues. A demagogue is defined as “a political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than using rational argument.”

The emotion politicians appeal to the most is fear. By intentionally spreading messages that make the public feel threatened—or even convinced that disaster will strike if they aren’t elected or certain policies aren’t implemented—politicians are able to persuade the masses to support them.

You might be wondering: How is that possible? Don’t people base their decisions on conscious, rational thinking?

They do—much of the time—but rarely when they are gripped by fear of a threat, whether real or imagined. Cognitive psychologist and economist Robin M. Hogarth explains why:

“By creating a state of emergency in our psyche, fear distracts us from the relevant facts on which we should base our conscious decisions. A fight-or-flight instinct kicks in instantaneously when we’re afraid, leaving no time for us to question its merits. The resulting knee-jerk reaction often leads to a short-term solution that only tackles the symptoms. This act-first-think-later approach, however, doesn’t address underlying causes.”

To illustrate how fear has been used by politicians to influence the public, let’s watch a fearmongering ad used during Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 presidential run. The ad used fear to persuade voters to support Johnson over his Republican opponent, Barry Goldwater, portraying Goldwater as a warmonger who would inevitably lead the U.S. into nuclear war if elected.

Political leaders harp on any reason they can find to make us panic: terrorism, immigrants, drugs, crime, minorities, and more. A master at creating panic is former U.S. President Donald Trump. In fact, that was one of the main reasons he was able to rise to the presidency.

Trump’s rhetoric often went like this:

Illegal immigrants are flooding the country with drugs and violence. Radical Islamic terrorists are planning another major attack. Christians are being executed en masse in the Middle East.

And what was the solution to all these crises?

Himself, of course. As sociologist and author Barry Glassner put it:

“[Donald Trump’s] formula is very clean and uncomplicated: Be very, very afraid. And I am the cure.”

Another American president who relied heavily on fear-based rhetoric was George W. Bush. For instance, right after 9/11, the warning he issued was: “Be afraid, be very afraid.” For years afterward, he repeatedly spoke of America being under threat from terrorists, and that the only solution was bombing Iraq.

Today, it’s crystal clear that Bush had a hidden agenda: to expand and strengthen the American Empire by gaining economic and geopolitical power. Panicked and confused, millions of Americans failed to grasp what was really happening and blindly consented to the so-called War on Terror.

I could list many more examples of politicians who have tried to control the masses through fear, but these cases suffice to carry my point across.

Terrorized About Terrorism

When we feel our survival is threatened, we’re ready to do just about anything to protect ourselves. Yet, all too often, we end up harming ourselves instead.

For example, one study estimates that at least a thousand additional lives were lost in U.S. road accidents the year after the 9/11 attacks. The reason? Many people chose to drive rather than fly, fearing another possible terrorist attack, even though the probability of dying from in-flight terrorism is about 1 in 540,000—while the probability of dying in a car accident is roughly 1 in 7,000.

It’s understandable why Americans made that choice. Mainstream newspapers and TV channels often make it seem like terrorism is one of the leading causes of death. The reality, however, is that you’re far more likely to die from a multitude of other causes, including heart disease, cancer, obesity, suicide, workplace accidents, or contaminated food. Yet the media rarely covers these threats with the same intensity. So why all the fuss over terrorism?

There are various reasons, such as siding with their preferred political parties, but the most important one is simply this:

Fear sells like nothing else.

For instance, when a newspaper headline triggers a fear response, you’re far more likely to pick it up and read it. As author and journalist Neil Strauss explains:

“We’re wired to respond to fear above everything else. If we miss an opportunity for abundance, life goes on; if we miss an important fear cue, it doesn’t.”

Fear drives better ratings, and better ratings mean increased profit. The media knows this very well and does its best to capitalize on it. By terrorizing us, it keeps our attention hooked and ruthlessly exploits it for profit.

You are What You Buy

Another way fear is used to control you is through commercial advertising.

You might not even realize it, but corporations rely on fear-based advertising to make you buy their products—and it works remarkably well. By triggering fear, these ads push people to make emotional rather than rational decisions.

Let’s look at an example of how fear-based advertising works.

All great marketers understand that one of the strongest human desires is to connect with others and feel part of a community. They also know that one of people’s biggest fears is being excluded from their social groups. Advertising often exploits this fear, convincing you that if you don’t buy certain products, others won’t like you—and you risk being ostracized.

Buy the latest iPhone and you’ll not appear to be poor. Get this pair of Nike shoes and you’ll be cool. Obtain this wristwatch and you’ll feel important. Purchasing them will cost you some money, but not doing so will cost you your happiness.

Afraid and insecure, many people follow these cues blindly, wasting their hard-earned money on things they don’t really need—items that only offer a fleeting, superficial sense of belonging.

Dealing with Fear-Based Manipulation

Now that we’ve explored some of the ways fear is used against you, I’d like to share a few powerful tips to help you avoid falling victim to fear-based manipulation.

The first and most important step is to recognize fear when it arises and see it for what it is—without avoiding it or pretending it doesn’t exist. By bringing fear into conscious awareness, you can examine its source and understand the message it’s trying to convey, which helps you respond more effectively. Research even suggests that simply acknowledging an emotion and explicitly identifying fear can help manage its subsequent effects on our behavior.

Secondly, when dealing with political, social, or other important issues, associate feelings of fear with the need to slow down and regain mental and emotional clarity. Instead of reacting impulsively, take the time to educate yourself about the issue at hand. Doing so will allow you not only to assess your options and make better-informed decisions, but also to discern what you should fear from what you shouldn’t.

Secondly, when dealing with political, social, or other important issues, treat feelings of fear as a signal to slow down and regain mental and emotional clarity. Instead of reacting impulsively, take the time to educate yourself about the issue at hand. This will help you assess your options, make better-informed decisions, and discern what you should fear from what you shouldn’t.

Lastly, rather than blindly conforming to the norm or obeying authority figures, act mindfully and take responsibility for your own actions. Just because a politician, an award-winning journalist, or a commercial on a major TV channel tells you what to do or believe doesn’t mean you should. After years of conditioning, many people stop thinking critically and allow others to think for them. To break free from this pattern, question—and do not automatically accept—any “truth” presented to you, no matter who delivers it.