When profitability depends on risk assessment of products or projects, industrial sectors such as pharmaceuticals and agro-chemicals are plagued with corporate scandals about falsifying science and influencing professionals and policymakers. These corporate scandals are often treated as exceptions but they are in fact symptoms of systematic efforts and strategies routinely deployed to shape social and informational structures in ways that benefit commercial interests. We call \u201cghost-management\u201d the systematic behind-the-scenes efforts and strategies deployed by corporations to shape knowledge, ideas and narratives about specific products. Ghost-Management is corporate power in action. It entails not only the production of knowledge, but also the production of ignorance or uncertainty through the dissemination of false, misleading, or contradictory information. It also entails influencing policymaking and socio-economic structures through lobbying and conflicts-of-interests.<\/p>\n
In April of 2022, we were able to bring together our team of researchers, as well as other outside experts, to host a symposium focused on investigating and conceptualizing ghost management. The symposium was recorded, and the recordings are available below.<\/p>\n