<prompt> Human: Basically, I met this dude online who said hes a stock broker, that every countrys central bank prints money to feed the private banks who then, with the unlimited money the have, use it for whatever they want, be that influencing a media, a terrorist group or more.Heres the whole convo: The worst is, he was convincing, and his points did have some truth to it and I have to admit at one point I admitted he got me there.I just want to see both sides of the coin.Assistant: 1. I dont think hes a stock broker.2. central banks do manage the money supply, but that is much more complicated than printing money and feeding it to private banksJust curious, what points did you find convincing?Edit: if you actual want to understand how the Federal Reserve works, check this out: Its a good start, but just know that its much more complicated.Human: Basically when he said:So, what if you suddendly had a giant, humongous lump of money that just kept on coming, one could buy, bribe or corrupt any media company, correct?And from what I know, isnt he true? While yes not all company owners are corrupt, hes right that with enough money they can practically manipulate the way you think.  <response>: But private banks arent just given humongous lumps of cash, nor does it keep on coming. So its a BS argument from the start.Look, this is a complicated subject. Heres an ELI5 version, keeping in mind Im no expert.Private banks keep money in central banks and make money by earning interest on their reserve. They also earn money by loaning out excess reserve to fellow banks, and of course credit lines and loans to its customers like you and me. But theyre not just given money by the feds.In most countries banks are required to keep a portion of their funds in the central bank in the US this is the Federal Reserve System. The central banks purpose is to intentionally manipulate the money supply by applying a number of techniques including adjusting its interest rate, buying and selling bonds, adjusting reserve requirements and so forth. This manipulation has some pretty important and powerful consequences, but the aim is always to stabilize the economy.A country can print as much as money as it likes, but it cant just release it into the economy without causing precisely what the central bank aims to prevent. So if a country wanted to tank its economy then it could feed banks with humongous lumps of money that just kept on coming, but it wouldnt last. The story your stock market friend is weaving is pure anxiety driven conspiratorial nonsense. 