FRONTIERS IN MEDIA MANIPULATION: Immigration group planned girl’s pope encounter for a year. “Sophie Cruz’s brief encounter with Pope Francis during his parade in Washington this week appeared to be the kind of spontaneous moment that is so endearing about this pope: an initially hesitant young child wrapping an arm around his neck as he offers a kiss and a blessing. But for 5-year-old Sophie, the moment unfolded as perfectly as it was scripted by members of a coalition of Los Angeles-based immigration rights groups. They had been preparing for nearly a year for the young girl from suburban Los Angeles to make a dash for the popemobile to deliver a message about the plight of immigrant parents living in the country illegally. They had even pulled off a similar public-relations coup a year ago in Rome using a 10-year-old girl with the pope.”

It’s Potemkin villages all the way down.