It’s summer, 1991. And you’re in the sweltering East Coast heat of Brooklyn, New York.

Parched and looking for relief, you duck into a bodega and grab a can of Pop Top, a popular drink back in the 90s.

But as you walk up to the counter to pay for your soda, the shopkeeper behind the counter gasps.

“No, man! Don’t buy that shit!” he yells. “This lady came in here the other day with a flier about it … thought I tossed all the cans out.”

The shopkeeper shoves a dirty, crumpled piece of paper in your face over the counter:

ATTENTION!!! ATTENTION!!! ATTENTION!!!
50 CENT SODAS
BLACKS AND MINORITY GROUPS
DID YOU SEE (T.V. SHOW) 20/20???
PLEASE BE ADVISE, "Top Pop" & "Tropical Fantasy" 50 sodas are being manufactured by the Klu.. Klux..Klan.
Sodas contain stimulants to sterilize the black man, and who knows what else!!!! They are only put in stores in Harlem and minority areas. You won't find them down town ... Look around. ...
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
PLEASE SAVE THE CHILDREN

He pulls back the paper and shoves it in the cash register. “See? I’m tellin’ everybody. Now where did you find that can?”

This story — although dramatized here — comes from a book called Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know. It’s about the origin and proliferation of conspiracy theories in the United States.

This particular Top Pop soda incident is one of those theories. And its proliferation throughout the early 90s hinged on social proof.

See … the message on the flier, which is reprinted in the book, offers a brilliant (if nefarious) example of social proof: The mention of well-respected T.V. show 20/20.

The author of the book goes on to say this:

“​​Whoever crafted this lie was also clever to cite reputable news magazine shows — 20/20 and 60 Minutes, respectively — as proof of their claims.”

The fallout was tremendous. It tanked sales of sodas like Top Pop. And the conspiracy raged for nearly a decade, even making its way into popular culture.

Now, this certainly wouldn’t be the first time social proof has been used for less noble endeavors.

And I think I can safely assume that if you’re on my email list, you’d like a way to use social proof yourself … for something that actually is noble.

Perhaps you’d like to use it to get more clients, more easily, without doing any “extra” work.

That’s exactly what my new, free report is all about.

It’s called The Client Cloner, and it shows you how to leverage two key forms of proof to help you grow your network and potentially win more work.

You can see it here: stealthiscopy.com/client-cloner

David Patrick