Influence profiles the British reputation manager, Lord Timothy Bell. Co-founder of the legendary PR firm Bell Pottinger, Bell used his marketing prowess to fire racial, political and social divisions across the planet, in service of an unsavory cast of strongmen. Influence examines how Bell and his associates shaped and co-opted the very institutions on which our governance systems are premised, quietly entrenching one of the most sophisticated — and successful — business ventures of recent times: the weaponization of democracy.