The Mighty Wurlitzer at work

Google “mighty wurlitzer” and you’ll get two definitions. I’m talking about the second one; a metaphor CIA official Frank Wisner used to describe the Agency’s influence over public opinion. Wisner may have been wielding that metaphor fifty years ago, but the mighty Wurlitzer plays on today. Mainstream and social media toot the same notes at the same time, whether the tune is about George Floyd or Greta Thunberg or Little Bana or Donald Trump or Covid. The CIA probably has more influence on public opinion today than it had fifty years ago. Of course, any hint of such a thing is nothing but a “conspiracy theory.” If I’m not mistaken, the term “conspiracy theory” was coined by the CIA, about fifty years ago.