In Class, Fussell cited think-tanks' kind-of-ridiculous adoption of academic titles and trappings ("Fellow" and such) to make themselves seem respectable and trustworthy as evidence of the social and class standing of academics.

They're lobbying organizations with a carefully and consciously applied veneer of learned, academic legitimacy.

It becomes even more powerful when every single mainstream media outlet and every 'think tank' approach the context with the same 'frame.'