Come on guys, this is your moment! Come tell us how everything isn't a conspiracy, and the corporations aren't all out to get us!
This is how businesspeople behave all the time. Virtually all of them see us as a lesser species to be manipulated and milked for profit. Advertising is manipulation of your emotional state to cause you to make decisions you'll regret. The whole business world runs on gaslighting you, the only difference between this and that is degree. It's a war for your wallet, and your security and sanity are the casualties.