Edward S. Herman's seminal work, 'Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media,' critically examines how mass media functions as a propaganda system for corporate and state interests. This influential book introduces the 'propaganda model,' detailing the filters—ownership, advertising, media elite, flak, and a 'common enemy' ideology—that shape news content, limiting public debate, and ensuring conformity. It provides a powerful framework for understanding systemic media bias and the subtle mechanisms through which public opinion is managed in democratic societies, offering profound insights into the true nature of media freedom and its constraints, challenging conventional views on press neutrality.