The crowd manipulator engages , controls , or influences crowds without the use of physical force , although his goal may be to instigate the use of force '' by the crowd or by local authorities '' . Prior to the American War of Independence , Samuel Adams provided Bostonians with " elaborate costumes , props , and musical instruments to lead protest songs in harborside demonstrations and parades through Boston 's streets . " If such crowds provoked British authorities to violence , as they did during the Boston Massacre on March 5 , 1770 , Adams would write , produce , and disperse sensationalized accounts of the incidents to stir discontent and create unity among the American colonies . The American way of manipulation may be classified as a tool of soft power , which is " the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments " . Harvard professor Joseph Nye coined the term in the 1980s , although he did not create the concept . The techniques used to win the minds of crowds were examined and developed notably by Quintilian in his training book , '' Institutio oratoria '' and by Aristotle in '' Rhetoric '' . Known origins of crowd manipulation go as far back as the 5th century BC , where litigants in Syracuse sought to improve their persuasiveness in court
Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
Crowd manipulation