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Edward Bernays Orchestrated CIA Coup in Guatemala Using Propaganda for United Fruit

The Why Files · The Machines Are Watching You | And They Know Everything (Compilation) · May 17, 2026
Edward Bernays Orchestrated CIA Coup in Guatemala Using Propaganda for United Fruit
The Why Files
The Why Files
The Machines Are Watching You | And They Know Everything (Compilation)
"Jacobo Árbenz was elected as Guatemala's president in 1951. But United Fruit wasn't looking to compromise. They wanted to win. So they hired Edward Bernays, who went right to work. Bernays flooded American media with articles portraying Árbenz as a dangerous communist. It was a lie. The CIA launched Operation PB Success in 1954. For 40 years, Guatemala suffered brutality, terror, death squads, and political instability. 200,000 dead."
Public relations pioneer Edward Bernays was hired by United Fruit Company to overthrow Guatemala's democratically elected president using mass media propaganda falsely portraying him as communist. The CIA then funded Operation PB Success installing a military dictator. The coup led to 40 years of violence killing 200,000 and displacing another 200,000 with 93% of human rights violations committed by CIA-trained operatives.
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