I’ve been exploring the question of whether magazines have always been propaganda. I think it’s safe to say that the answer is YES.

At the very least, they are a very convenient meme vector for propagandists such as Edward Bernays, the inventor of PR and nephew of Sigmund Freud. He pioneered the “hall of mirrors” technique by orchestrating an “environment of consent” around his products. This included pitching a different “exclusive” story to all the different women’s magazines.