a scathing exposé of the tactics used by corporations to manipulate public opinion and prioritize profit over truth. Jacque meticulously unravels the strategies employed by industries to downplay scientific evidence, distort facts, and deceive the public for financial gain. This serves as a wake-up call, urging us to question the motives behind corporate agendas and demand transparency and integrity in business practices, a call to action for individuals and societies to resist manipulation and advocate for ethical governance and responsible stewardship of our collective well-being.

An eye-opening if not totally surprising take about how big corporations control society.

I always suspected that such things went on but it is still shocking to see it down in black and white.

This is a book about how corporations deny science in order to make money and generally be a little bit evil, exploring ideas such engaging with academics and dealing with statistics. I love a book that questions big business so this was quite an interesting read, whilst being a little out of my comfort zone. It’s a satirical take on non fiction and was quite an accessible read, I’ve never read anything like this and I think it’s something I will come back to in the future.

If you ever worked in big corp you will recognise some of the things explained in this book and wonder if there's also the rest.
It's interesting and thought provoking
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

An interesting look at lies for profit mentality of many big corporations, told in a fun way – the book is literally a ‘playbook’ as if pitching ideas those corporations already use. It’s certainly more than halfway accurate although I’d definitely want to fact check a few things!

4.5 rounded up. Reading The Playbook: How to Deny Science, Sell Lies, and Make a Killing in the Corporate World by Jennifer Jacquet was at times infuriating, other times really sad, sometimes funny. This short non-fiction book has an interesting format. It's a satirical "playbook" for corporations, detailing all the tricks to avoid science and its accompanying regulations.

I already knew that money rules the world, but this book opened my eyes to a few things. Firstly, that a lot of scientists are being bought out by companies. Not outright, but effectively, a lot of research and PhD are being funded by industry. With a few caveats, such as, if the results are not what that corporations need or want, then they can often ask these scientists to rerun the study, or to buy the results.

You think I'm exaggerating?

Ask yourself why it took so many decades for tobacco ads to be banned, for smoking and cancer to be directly linked.

Ask yourself why fossil fuels companies continue to make so much profit despite them being well aware of their devastating impact on the planet, since the 70s.

Ask yourself why fish are about to disappear from the ocean, and why meat consumption is on the rise despite the many studies linking the cattle industry to cancer and deforestation.

There is so much in this book which is pretty scary yet not that surprising. Governments and the media are often complicit; for example giving as much importance, exposure or even protection to inaccurate studies or dangerous, biased ideas. Why? Because it creates controversy, clicks, votes… I won't really go into much more detail, but I highly recommend picking this up. It is an addictive read about politics, science, and PR.

The only caveat is that there aren't many explanations as to why we are still in this mess decades after realising that most corporations are evil entities, putting profit before everything. A takedown of the American education system, or capitalism, and possible alternatives, would have been interesting. But perhaps that is for another book…!

Thank you @NetGalley and @penguinrandomhouse for a proof copy in exchange of an honest review.

The Playbook is a nonfiction book about how corporations deny science in order to make money, told in the format of a playbook aimed at these corporations telling them about all the techniques that can be used. The book explores concepts like engaging with academics and PR companies, dealing with statistics, and reframing arguments, as well as having a satirical glossary that looks at how particular words and ideas are used in this fight.

This is high concept nonfiction that combines facts with satire, combining many actual business practices with a mocking tone in order to engage people with a topic that could come across as quite dry. I liked the concept and it did make the book easily digestible, though sometimes the tone would grate a bit. Due to the presentation as a playbook, there is more of a focus on what and how rather than why, so the book is a useful exposition but doesn't offer analysis of what could be done to combat these techniques, if anything.

The Playbook is a non-fiction satirical attempt to showcase the ways in which corporations use science to undermine democracy, harm public health and just generally be evil. While the content was interesting, the book was a bit of an information overload and the writing style didn't help that. I'd also have appreciated a bit more querying of the idea that scientists are apolitical and that's why they often don't notice that they're being paid off, as this seemed overly simplistic. I really enjoyed the last chapter, however, and the meta-style ending worked well.

The playbook exposes the secrets of the corporation and universities on the cover up.
Focused on the tobacco, fisheries, oil, health and environment this book exposes how the industry gets around the science. I found the revelations shocking but not really surprising.
Stories and examples are based in the USA.

Not my usual genre but an interesting read that did spark my curiosity and makes me wonder what else don’t we know?

The book no bi corporation wants published. The truth behind the lies, cover ups and scandals. A very informative read