Manufacturing Consent
Manufacturing Consent by Herman and Chomskyby Herman and Chomsky
Hacker ApprovedRanked 7 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
People recommend it for its propaganda model of mass media, backed by historical examples. Critics call it outdated and object to the author's politics.
People recommend it for its propaganda model of mass media, backed by historical examples. Critics call it outdated and object to the author's politics.
21 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 18
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 86%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 18 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Explains the media propaganda model
“Reminds me a lot of the book Manufacturing Consent, where it breaks down the split between 'journalism' and 'propaganda'.”
Comment from 24 Jun 2026 in “Journalism is rearranging the deckchairs. It needs to reinvent itself” “are you familiar with manufacturing consent’s propaganda model of the mass media?”
Comment from 29 Jul 2026 in “Delayed Gratification – Proud to Be 'Last to Breaking News'” Persuasive, excellent, favorite read
“I've read Manufacturing Consent more than once - it's one of my favorite books”
Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “Rob Reiner has died” “imo quite persuasively argue in Manufacturing Consent”
Comment from 24 Apr 2026 in “DeepSeek v4” “Manufacturing Consent is an excellent read”
Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “The turbulent AI era is here” Backed by historical examples and evidence
“If you read Chomsky & Herman's 'Manufacturing Consent', you'll get examples from the 1970s and 1980s”
Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “How Jeff Bezos Brought Down the Washington Post” “provides hard statistical evidence for this: Manufacturing Consent.”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “US Government designates host of noblogs.org a "global terrorist"”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Cliff Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| Manufacturing Consentby Herman and ChomskyThis page | 18 | 3 | 86% | 10 | — | Approved |
What people said
22 of the 24 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Especially when that book is itself written by someone supportive of genocidal dictatorships.”
“Yes, it's been true for a long time. See the book "Manufacturing Consent" for example”
“provides hard statistical evidence for this: Manufacturing Consent.”
“Manufacturing Consent is an excellent read”
“You missed "manufacturing consent". Check that one out”
“There's a really good documentary with Noam Chomsky called "manufacturing consent" that really gives a good overview of this topic.”
“are you familiar with manufacturing consent’s propaganda model of the mass media?”
“the truth is what their readers need to make decisions in the real world”
“There's a good book that spends a huge amount of time dissecting the use of the word terrorism”
“I think Manufacturing Consent is a deeply outdated book.”
“Reminds me a lot of the book Manufacturing Consent, where it breaks down the split between 'journalism' and 'propaganda'.”
“imo quite persuasively argue in Manufacturing Consent”
“From Manufacturing Consent:”
“to explain why the current war propaganda in the west”
“I loved Noam's analysis back when his health was in prime condition”
“then was totally amazed by reading a decade later Manufacturing Consent”
“If you read Chomsky & Herman's 'Manufacturing Consent', you'll get examples from the 1970s and 1980s”
“The problem with Chomsky's argument is that you can't do anything about it.”
“See manufacturing consent.”
“I've read Manufacturing Consent more than once - it's one of my favorite books”
“I wish people would read it.”
“The brilliance of Manufacturing Consent is that it neither relies on conspiracy, nor precludes it.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.