Applications in governance, business, and advocacy

Although Milgram had noble intentions to study Nazi population control methods to prevent a historical repeat, his findings and methods have been adapted by governments, businesses, and special interest groups to influence the thoughts, actions, and behaviors of people and impose compliance and obedience in populations. Inspired by Nazi techniques like propaganda and hierarchical enforcement, Milgram’s work isolated psychological mechanisms of obedience, which modern entities apply in less extreme but ethically complex ways (Milgram, 1974; Miale & Selzer, 1975).

Governments

Governments use Milgram’s insight into obedience to authority for policy compliance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, health officials’ authoritative messaging promoted mask and vaccine adherence, leveraging scientific legitimacy (Reicher et al., 2018). Military and law enforcement training emphasizes hierarchical obedience, ensuring action but risking unethical conduct, as seen in Guantanamo Bay incidents where soldiers followed orders despite moral conflicts (Zimbardo, 2007). Political propaganda exploits Milgram’s “agentic state,” with authoritarian leaders justifying controversial policies like election fraud claims (Coleman, 2025).

Ethical concern: These strategies can prioritize compliance over democratic debate, echoing Nazi control tactics’ reliance on authority but lacking their ideological extremism.

Businesses

Businesses apply Milgram’s findings by using authority figures to drive consumer behavior. Pharmaceutical ads with doctors exploit trust to promote drugs, risking over-prescribing (Achology, 2024). In workplaces, managers use hierarchical structures to enforce compliance, as in the Wells Fargo scandal, where employees opened unauthorized accounts under pressure (Reicher et al., 2018). Sales strategies mimic Milgram’s incremental shocks, escalating commitments to secure purchases (Achology, 2023).

Ethical concern: These tactics can undermine consumer autonomy and employee accountability, resembling the Nazi techniques’ use of gradual coercion in a commercial context.

Special interest groups

Advocacy groups leverage Milgram’s insights on identification with authority to mobilize supporters. Environmental campaigns use scientists to drive climate action, but risk groupthink if dissent is discouraged (Reicher et al., 2018). Political movements use authoritative figures to legitimize ideologies, encouraging supporters to rationalize unethical actions in polarized campaigns (Coleman, 2025).

Ethical concern: While promoting change, these strategies can suppress critical thinking, mirroring Nazi propaganda’s use of charismatic leadership to enforce loyalty.

Special interest groups

Advocacy groups leverage Milgram’s insights on identification with authority to mobilize supporters, sometimes using tactics reminiscent of Nazi propaganda to influence populations. In the climate change debate, some groups amplify or fabricate scientific authority to demand compliance, framing dissent as harmful to the planet. For example, campaigns like Fridays for Future use figures like Greta Thunberg to rally support, but critics argue this mirrors Nazi propaganda’s emotional manipulation by invoking hypothetical apocalyptic threats to suppress debate (Delingpole, 2019). Some narratives push for centralized control by unelected bureaucrats, such as UN-driven climate policies, which critics liken to authoritarian coordination tactics (Morano, 2015).

These efforts risk fostering groupthink, as seen when media outlets frame climate protests as moral imperatives, dismissing skeptics as deniers (Happer & Lindzen, 2023)

Ethical concern: Such strategies can suppress critical thinking, echoing Nazi techniques’ use of charismatic leadership to enforce loyalty, though without their violent extremism (Haslam et al., 2015; Reicher et al., 2018).