Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

UPDATED EDITION: The MSNBC legal analyst explores the impact of disinformation after the 2024 presidential election—and what Americans can do before it’s too late.

“A comprehensive guide to the dynamics of disinformation and a necessary call to theethical commitment to truth that all democracies require.” —Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny


Disinformation—the deliberate spreading of lies disguised as truth, whether from opportunists on the far right, misinformed media influencers, or others—is fragmenting America more than ever before, pushing the nation toward extreme views, civil unrest, and violence.

In this bestselling book, now with a new introduction by the author, Barbara McQuade identifies how disinformation is seeping into all facets of our society, causing havoc in our voting systems, schools, hospitals, workplaces, and the Capitol.

McQuade, an MSNBC legal analyst and former federal prosecutor confronts the ways disinformation is being weaponized to polarize voters, degrade our legal structures, and leverage the political influence of manipulators and authoritarians. Now newly updated, Attack from Within shows us how to fight back against misinformed, extremist thinking and work toward preserving America’s hard-won democracy.