We're all frogs boiling in water.

My friend recounted an interaction. She told me about how she met with a brilliant friend of hers to catch up. Her friend was the epitome of modern success: a large online following, financial freedom, a published author, etc., etc.

But something felt off. At a point in their conversation, conspiracy theories emerged. Despite this friend's intellect, her brain had been pickled by toxic ideas.

No one is immune to the influences of media, marketing, and propaganda. We are machines of story. Our operating system is not numbers nor facts—it is narrative. And when a narrative is just plausible enough, and repeated enough by various sources, that story begins to feel true.

This is the dark side of marketing. There is no distinction between healthy and harmful narratives. Marketing does not care—it is merely the vehicle for the story.

Another friend of mine described our susceptibility to toxic, conspiratorial marketing as the water we're boiling in. It’s slow and imperceptible. We are the frogs, unknowingly steeping in these narratives.

The next time you catch yourself hearing and believing a new cultural story, here’s my invitation: Ask yourself if you can truly know whether that story is true. Then ask yourself how you can hop out of the water you've been unconsciously placed in—into one that you choose.