Crowd manipulation

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The art of crowd manipulation involves the strategic application of techniques to alter the behavior or perceptions of a collective group. This practice, deeply ingrained in our ancient past, hinges on capitalizing shared interests or situations to sway actions or beliefs. Renowned contributors to the evolution of these methods include Aristotle, Quintilian, Edward Bernays, and Gustave Le Bon. The notion of crowd manipulation doesn’t exclusively carry a negative implication; it can be utilized for both advantageous and harmful objectives in diverse fields such as business, politics, and religion. Grasping crowd psychology, including the variety and distinct stages of crowd behavior, is vital for executing successful manipulation strategies. Instances of crowd manipulation are visible in numerous domains, including political rallies, advertising^[1] campaigns, and even coordinated public gatherings like flash mobs.

Terms definitions

1. ↑ advertising. Promoting a product or service through communication, also known as advertising, aims to inform or persuade a target audience. Its roots trace back to early civilizations where sales messages were inscribed on Egyptian papyrus, and wall murals were utilized for promotional purposes across ancient Asia, Africa, and South America. Over the centuries, advertising has adapted to technological advancements and the rise of mass media, transitioning from newspaper prints to audio-visual and digital platforms. The strategies employed in advertising vary, with some focusing on raising awareness or boosting sales, targeting different demographics at a local, national, or international level. Common methods encompass print, radio, web banners, and television commercials, among others. Modern advertising models have introduced innovative trends like guerrilla marketing and interactive advertisements. Women's contribution to advertising is significant, with their perspectives highly valued due to their influential purchasing power.

Crowd manipulation (Wikipedia)

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Crowd manipulation is the intentional or unwitting use of techniques based on the principles of crowd psychology to engage, control, or influence the desires of a crowd in order to direct its behavior toward a specific action. This practice is common to religion, politics and business and can facilitate the approval or disapproval or indifference to a person, policy, or product. The ethicality of crowd manipulation is commonly questioned.

Crowd manipulation differs from propaganda—although they may reinforce one another to produce a desired result. If propaganda is "the consistent, enduring effort to create or shape events to influence the relations of the public to an enterprise, idea or group", crowd manipulation is the relatively brief call to action once the seeds of propaganda (i.e. more specifically "pre-propaganda") are sown and the public is organized into a crowd. The propagandist appeals to the masses, even if compartmentalized, whereas the crowd-manipulator appeals to a segment of the masses assembled into a crowd (such as a political demonstration or a congregation or a camp meeting) in real time. In situations such as a national emergency, however, a crowd manipulator may leverage mass media to address the masses in real time as if speaking to a crowd.^{[need quotation to verify]}

Crowd manipulation differs from crowd control, which serves a security function. Local authorities use crowd-control methods to contain and disperse crowds and to prevent and respond to unruly and unlawful acts such as rioting and looting.

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