The process by which consent is engineered through control of information, media, education, and cultural narratives. Unlike Imposed Consent (which uses direct pressure), Manufactured Consent works indirectly: shaping what people believe, what seems reasonable, what appears inevitable, until they consent to arrangements that may not serve their interests. The term comes from Herman and Chomsky's analysis of mass media, but applies broadly: advertising manufactures desire, education manufactures worldview, news manufactures reality. People genuinely believe they're choosing freely—but the options, the framing, and the information were manufactured by powers they never see.
"Americans overwhelmingly support the military, but ask them about the details of defense spending and they have no idea. That's Manufactured Consent: patriotism engineered through media, education, and culture until support feels natural, inevitable, chosen. It's not conspiracy—it's just how power works when it doesn't need to impose."
by Dumu The Void February 24, 2026
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