Topic: George Creel

John C. Dvorak discusses a PBS special on World War I that highlights the propaganda efforts of Woodrow Wilson and George Creel. Creel headed the Committee on Public Information (CPI), an organization employing 75,000 people to manage news flow and provide 20,000 newspaper columns weekly to the media. The hosts compare the CPI's "public information" mandate to a real-world Ministry of Truth designed to edit facts and control the war narrative.

The discussion shifts to Edward Bernays, often cited as the father of modern public relations, who actually worked under George Creel during World War I. While Bernays codified these tactics in his 1923 book, the hosts argue that Creel was the original architect of deep-rooted propagandistic manipulation. They compare the relationship between Creel and Bernays to the rivalry between Tesla and Edison.

The hosts connect the historical 75,000-person CPI staff to modern reports that the Pentagon employs approximately 40,000 public relations experts. They argue that the infrastructure for "fake news" established during the Wilson administration never truly went away, but was instead folded into the Department of Defense. This ongoing operation is cited as the reason why modern media consumers are easily "railroaded" by government narratives.