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Also in the Middle Ages , rumor was a powerful instrument . Oligarchies manipulated discourse to influence public perceptions . Nobles and the powerful used rumors to discredit their political enemies , showing how information , whether true or false , could be exploited to perpetuate oligarchic power .
Flashmag ! Issue 158 March 2025
With the invention of the printing press , oligarchies had a new tool at their disposal . During the Renaissance , pamphlets and books enabled a wider circulation of ideas such as racism , which solidified in popular Western memory a “ logical ” need to enslave peoples deemed inferior . Economic and political elites financed literary works and pamphlets designed to reinforce their position on politico-religious issues . The Protestant Reformation , for example , was partly made possible by the printing press , but the oligarchies also sought to control the message by financing works that defended their interests . From the 19th century onwards , with the rise of mass media such as newspapers and later radio and television , oligarchies were able to spread their ideas on an even wider scale . Interest groups understood the importance of taking control of the media to shape public opinion . For example , media magnates like William Randolph Hearst used their newspapers to manipulate public opinion on political and social issues , including US involvement in foreign wars .
Today , the Internet and social networks represent a new frontier for oligarchies . Digital media enable the instant and massive dissemination of ideas . The oligarchs can thus finance disinformation campaigns , influence the algorithms of social platforms and use advertising funding to promote policies that favor them .
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