40 Things Normalized By Corporations But Are Actually Just Propaganda That Prove We Have Been Fooled All Our Lives

It's not really a secret that most corporations throughout the decades have relied on sheer manipulation to profit from consumers, and some marketing strategies from the past century are still taken seriously today. For example, women were encouraged to shave all their body hair due to a marketing strategy devised by a brand as early as the 1920s.

Imagine a world where consumers are not easily manipulated by these marketing tactics. We would probably have fewer expenses and would only spend on things that we truly need.

While it is true that some companies genuinely care about the results they produce for their consumers, others are obviously in it for profit. Still, we can't deny that the marketing machinery behind the scenes that made these products or certain beliefs thrive in society is actually quite genius.

Business is business, no matter how you look at it. And when corporations are always striving to find ways to make more money, there is no stopping them from manipulating people into buying their products, no matter how trivial the reasons for needing them may be.

One example is advertisements. When you are using a free application or a free trial of a service, the system will continue to "harass" you with ads to the point that you feel compelled to purchase a premium subscription just to get rid of them.

This may be effective for most people, but there are instances where consumers can see through the propaganda and expose how these corporations are misleading us. That being said, when a Reddit user asked the question "What is something that's considered normal today but is actually a successful propaganda created by corporations?", people were quick to share their insights.

Take a look at some of the best responses in the thread below!

1. How Immigrants Are 'Taking' Our Jobs

Andy Rogers slackfrop

2. The Truth About Self-Made Billionaires

N A I T Mcbagelflavor

3. Unpaid Internships Are Just Free Labor for the Higher-Ups

Underway In Ireland marisquo

4. Unhealthy Work Systems

Duc Ly jollyrogerbumps

5. Global Warming Isn't Just Every Person's Fault

hiroaki maeda Fire__fall

6. Insurance Is Not Healthcare

Presidencia de la República armahillo

7. Logos and Brands on Shirts

retna karunia Powerful-Reaction284

8. Pharmaceutical Marketing

Herry Lawford patches181

9. Dandelions Are Weeds, They Say

Bob Jenkins culnaej

10. Working in a Catch-22

Scott Garner Ennion

11. Sugar Industry Blaming All Other Processing Industries for Obesity

Lisa Risager BlackSage8

12. Unfair Political Systems

Bernt Rostad OneTwoKnow

13. Limited Use Products

Cristiano Betta Lenny_III

14. "Recyclable" Plastics

Alan Levine FriendlyWisconsinite

15. Weddings—You Don't Actually Have to Spend That Much

Christine Warner Justa_little_wrath

16. Diamonds Are the Hardest Substance, but They Are Also Very Brittle

Géry Parent RonDeoo

17. Bottled Water

Alper Çuğun Whosyouranimedaddy

18. Work Grind Culture

Michael Cannon claire0

19. Diamonds, Meat, and Printer Ink

Abdillah Wicaksono IndigoTrailsToo

20. Sending Your DNA

Petra B. Fritz ThadisJones

21. Single-Use Packaging

Emma Jane AmateurOntologist

22. Baby Care Products

INGURALDE lexrp

23. "Breakfast Is the Most Important Meal of the Day"

Mike Barry -eDgAR-

24. Company and Taxes

401 (K) 2012 FunnOnABunn

25. Terms of Service Agreements

Sean MacEntee WolfThick

26. Monoculture Grass Lawns

Jeanne Menjoulet OwningMOS

27. Women Shaving Becoming Such a Big Deal in the Beauty Industry

Barfignugen

28. Companies Banking on Holidays for Profit

Shetland Arts Share-Shuffle

29. Diamond Rings for Engagements

ljv thealchimistguy

30. Mother's Day Celebration

Nenad Stojkovic _Royal_Insylum

31. Calcium in Milk

Mike Mozart ur-squirrel-buddy

32. Commercials

kotnikFollow Psychological-Site-9

33. A Full Nurdle of Toothpaste

Kenneth Lu starstarstar42

34. Credit Ratings

401 (K) 2012 DexterJameson

35. Salary Discussions

Mitchelle Laurren-Ring Chico119

36. Apples, the Real Ones

Neil Turner Brian_Gay

37. This KFC Marketing Campaign

Marufish

38. Merchandise

Phil Cloud TheMiddleManz

39. Carrots Giving Night Vision

Tony Alter -eDgAR-

40. Endless Debts

Wit-Hoid6674

Undeniably, we have fallen into the traps of capitalism at multiple points in our lives. Well, who can blame us—some of these marketing strategies are simply irresistible!

What's important, though, is that we must learn to distinguish which products will actually provide the kind of results or services that we truly want to achieve, and which ones were created solely for profit.

Comment with your thoughts or share this article with all your family and friends to see!