There is a different old science fiction story, from 1951, where a sociopathic con artist from the present day is put in suspended animation and revived in a future that's mostly "idiocracy" with some genius overlords that don't know what to do about all the idiots.

The guy from the past, who is familiar with 20th century dictators' methods, gets them to set up a program to brainwash the masses into emigration to Venus, and then they build fake spacecraft that don't go very far but the passengers don't return, and they send letters home saying everything is great (inspired by the Nazis sending fake letters from euthanasia victims).

The end is when he thinks he's on top of the world and essentially world dictator, but the people that he was advising politely force him onto one of the "spaceships" because his job "thinking outside the box" is finished and they have no more use for him.