The Planning Lady

Book Review

In a recent episode of the Booked on Planning podcast, author Grant Ennis, discussed his book “Dark PR: How Corporate Disinformation Undermines Our Health and the Environment.” The book focuses on the world of corporate disinformation and its profound impact on public perception and political actions. Ennis exposes the sophisticated strategies that corporations employ to manipulate narratives and divert attention from significant political issues and action.

Grant Ennis brings to light the devious frames used by corporations to pacify public response to issues like road safety, climate change, and diabetes. The framing tactics, which include denialism, post-denialism, and normalization, are designed to shape discourse and influence political support. Ennis illustrates how these frames are applied, citing the automobile industry’s historical efforts to normalize road deaths as “accidents,” which the Vision Zero movement has worked to correct by advocating for the use of the term “crashes.”

Rather than being distracted by superficial solutions and the misleading promise of panacea frames, Ennis emphasizes the need for concerted efforts and focused political demands. The myths of self-reliance, popularized by the “Little House on the Prairie” series, are also scrutinized. These narratives have often obscured the untold role of government in the settlement of the American West, promoting a culture of individualized responsibility that ultimately stifles support for collective political action. Ennis discusses how these misleading narratives have been perpetuated and the need to challenge and debunk them.

Underscoring the negative outcomes of focusing attention on individual rather than collective action are campaigns like Keep America Beautiful. While it may seem like a well intentioned movement, the focus on individual responsibility is weaking the political will for meaningful action at the federal level. The false idea that if we all just pitch in and do our part, then we could move the needle does not work.

The power of collective action is what needs to be prioritized. There is a clear distinction between aggregate and collective action, the latter being essential for demanding political change. Collective action is when people organize into groups and then those organized groups demand political action. It’s the idea that groups of people are more than just the sum of their parts. Aggregate action on the other hand is a bunch of isolated actors, individuals working separately towards the same goal without coordination. As isolated actors in aggregate there will never be enough power to really achieve change. 

In summary, Dark PR and the Booked on Planning interview, is a thought-provoking exploration of the ways corporate disinformation shapes our perceptions and political actions. By decoding corporate narratives and exposing industry disinformation tactics, Grant Ennis provides valuable insights into driving genuine political change. The episode is a call to action for organized political movements and a deeper understanding of the power of words in shaping public thought.