Brought to You By
How Corporations Warped the Truth, Conned the Public, and Broke Democracy
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Brought to You By
Narrated by:
Amy Westervelt
Buy Now for ₹667.71
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Narrated by:
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Amy Westervelt
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Written by:
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Amy Westervelt
Recommended by BILL McKIBBEN on the EZRA KLEIN SHOW
"A book that every citizen needs to read." —JILL ABRAMSON, author of Merchants of Truth
A gripping account of the corporate propaganda that has invaded our media, our democracy, and now the very nature of truth itself—from investigative reporter and Drilled podcast host Amy Westervelt.
Whether it’s the tobacco industry lying about the health dangers of cigarettes, Big Pharma burying studies that make its products less marketable, or Big Oil misleading the public on the dangers of the climate crisis, we all know corporations use doubt and science denial to avoid responsibility. So why do we continue to let them get away with it?
In Brought to You By, Amy Westervelt exposes the plot hidden within the familiar story of science denial. Over the last century, Big Industry has built a vast apparatus of think tanks, lobbyists, sponsored university labs, and obliging news networks to con the public and fool decision-makers, poisoning the informational ecosystem and warping the nature of truth along the way.
With her signature wit and incisiveness, Westervelt shows how the masterminds of corporate misinformation—people like Herb Schmertz, the public relations pioneer who made Mobil “the thinking man’s oil company,” Richard Edelman, the PR guy who helped the dairy industry vilify oat milk, and David Petraeus, the disgraced spy chief using counter- insurgency tactics to discredit climate science, have ushered in an era of unprecedented corporate control.
Only by exposing this well-oiled machine can we begin to repair the social contract; reclaim truth and democracy; and redraw the lines between corporate speech and individual speech, a lie and an opinion, a dollar and a word.©2026 Amy Westervelt (P)2026 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
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Critic Reviews
Absolutely essential reading... This is no subtle cautionary tale; this is a blaring, screaming, flashing-red-lights emergency alert.
An investigative climate journalist by trade, Westervelt did some impressive archival research to introduce readers to some of the major players in corporate PR… What Westervelt makes clear is that we arrived here by design, not accident. From climate change to capitalism, American perceptions and attitudes have been molded and reinforced by a relentless information — and disinformation — campaign.
A must-read for anyone tracking the machinery of climate denial and delay.
Urgent…Most edifying are Westervelt’s profiles of the individuals that built the modern PR machine…she convincingly conveys how dire corporate influence on knowledge production is for democracy.
There are few writers as dogged and skilled at identifying the endless lies that plague our society like locusts as Amy Westervelt. In this big and vital book she answers the big question: 'where did all these lies come from and who profits from them?'
Well, thank heaven for this book. The indefatigable Amy Westervelt uncovers the spin at the base of so many of our current confusions, and in meticulous fashion she makes clear not only what's gone wrong but how we might start to fix it. She diagnoses the function of reporting in the best possible way—with great reporting.
Both daunting and empowering. Daunting to realize what we're up against; empowering to learn the history, names, and playbook of those subverting truth and democracy. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to defend and advance both.
In this brilliant and fascinating book, Amy Westervelt tells the important story of how large corporate interests have clouded the truth and twisted facts to the point that democracy itself is threatened. With scrupulous accuracy and vivid examples, Westervelt investigates the "information polluters," unearthing stories that are original, colorful, and frightening. With her signature masterly reporting, she has created a book that every citizen needs to read.
A blistering indictment of the long history of corporate pollution and corruption of our information landscape. What Westervelt shows—with both justified anger and wit and charm—is that corporate American realized long ago that democracy was bad for business. And so they set out to undermine it, and undermine it they have. A must read for anyone trying to figure out how we begin to reclaim our democracy.
In her deeply-researched and wide-ranging narrative, Westervelt mines the consequential ways corporate information pollution has eroded democracy and put us all in danger. A must-read full of moxie—motivating us to fight for each other before it’s too late
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