{"product_id":"on-disinformation-isbn-9780262546300","title":"On Disinformation","description":"\u003cb\u003eLearn how to fight against the disinformation campaigns imperiling American democracy in this empowering, pocket-sized guide from the author of \u003ci\u003eHow to Talk to a Science Denier.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eINSIDE THE WAR ON TRUTH: Explore the history of how disinformation has been weaponized to manipulate society.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe effort to destroy facts and make America ungovernable didn’t come out of nowhere. It is the culmination of 70 years of strategic denialism. In \u003ci\u003eOn Disinformation\u003c\/i\u003e, Lee McIntyre shows how the war on facts began, and how ordinary citizens can fight back against the scourge of disinformation that is now threatening the very fabric of our society. Drawing on his 20 years of experience as a scholar of science denial, McIntyre explains how autocrats wield disinformation to manipulate\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003ea populace and deny obvious realities; why the best way to combat disinformation is to disrupt its spread; and most importantly, how we can win the war on truth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMcIntyre takes readers through the history of strategic denialism to show how we arrived at this precarious political moment and identifies the creators, amplifiers, and believers of disinformation. Along the way, he also demonstrates how today’s “reality denial” follows the same flawed blueprint of the “five steps of science denial” used by climate deniers and anti-vaxxers; shows how Trump has emulated disinformation tactics created by Russian and Soviet intelligence dating back to the 1920s; provides interviews with leading experts on information warfare, counterterrorism, and political extremism; and spells out the need for algorithmic transparency from Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. \u003ci\u003eOn Disinformation \u003c\/i\u003elays out ten everyday practical steps that we can take as ordinary citizens—from resisting polarization to pressuring our Congresspeople to regulate social media—as well as the important steps our government (if we elect the right leaders) must take.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCompact, easy-to-read (and then pass on to a friend), and never more urgent, \u003ci\u003eOn Disinformation\u003c\/i\u003e does nothing less than empower us with the tools and knowledge needed to save our republic from autocracy before it is too late.1 Truth Killers — 1 \u003cbr\u003e2 The History of Strategic Denialism — 7 \u003cbr\u003e3 The Creators — 15 \u003cbr\u003e4 The Amplifiers — 45 \u003cbr\u003e5 The Believers — 91 \u003cbr\u003e6 How to Win the War on Truth — 103 \u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments — 135 \u003cbr\u003eNotes — 137 \u003cbr\u003eIndex — 161\u003cb\u003eIncluded in The Next Big Idea Club’s August 2023 Must-Read Books list\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This brief but impactful book offers trenchant commentary on the current war on truth and workable solutions to protect democracy in an increasingly chaotic world...thoughtful and illuminating.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“\u003ci\u003eOn Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy,\u003c\/i\u003e a new book by Lee McIntyre, captures some of the current alarm. His book is a pocket-size polemic warning of ‘truth killers’ running ‘a coordinated campaign’ intended ‘to spread disinformation out to the masses—in order to foment doubt, division and distrust—and create an army of deniers.’ McIntyre, a philosopher and research fellow at Boston University, points to conspiratorial falsehoods about Covid vaccines and the 2020 election. It’s not that accurate information about the vaccines and the election was unavailable — it’s that it was competing against a fire hose of falsehoods made infinitely easier to disseminate on social media and the internet.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—The New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Most scientists have an enduring belief that even if scientific truth is not embraced in the short term, it will be eventually. Lee McIntyre’s new manifesto, \u003ci\u003eOn Disinformatio\u003c\/i\u003en, packaged—like Mao’s—in a little red book, urges those who care about scientific truth and democracy to make a stand now rather than wait for society to come around.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003eScience\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“The philosopher Lee McIntyre, author of several books about disinformation and the scientific method, has written a short prescriptive polemic...The subject of \u003ci\u003eOn Disinformation \u003c\/i\u003eis not QAnon as such but the related phenomenon of “denialism”. The two are linked for the obvious reason that denying the realities of man-made climate change, Covid-19 or the Biden election are essential if you are to posit a conspiracy by the deep state or the Clintons to foist these “false” ideas on an accepting, sheeplike citizenry.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—The Financial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eOn Disinformation \u003c\/i\u003efollows hot on the heels of McIntyre’s \u003ci\u003eHow to Talk to a Science Denier,\u003c\/i\u003e in which the professional philosopher illustrated how difficult it is to argue with your enemy unless you understand how they think; in which he recommended taking even the most bizarre of opposing viewpoints seriously, if only to level the playing field.In what feels very much like the next logical instalment of his discourse on living in a post-truth world, \u003ci\u003eOn Disinformation\u003c\/i\u003e builds on McIntyre’s earlier work by examining how ‘strategic denialism’ is created, amplified and accepted into fringe orthodoxy.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eE\u0026amp;T, Engineering and Technology\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Lee McIntyre has emerged as our foremost scholar of science denial and an intellectual activist combatting the attempted assassination of truth. In the teeth of fake news, alternative facts, conspiracy theories, identity politics, postmodernism, and epistemological relativism, McIntyre’s \u003ci\u003eOn Disinformation\u003c\/i\u003e expertly identifies who the enemies of truth are and how to counter their claims with reason,  science, and compassion. A tour de force of scholarship and advocacy.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Michael Shermer, Publisher Skeptic magazine, Presidential Fellow Chapman University, author of \u003ci\u003eConspiracy\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Believing Brain\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eWhy People Believe Weird Things\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“McIntyre’s latest book connects the sordid history of science denial and climate denial to today’s election denial, exposing how interests exploit disinformation and work fissures in our society to weaken citizens’ trust in our democracy and in one another.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senator, Rhode Island\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In post-truth America, reality isn't dying by accident or suicide; it's being poisoned on purpose. Lee McIntyre -- a philosopher of knowledge as well as a student of disinformation -- names the culprits and exposes their methods. Even more important, he shows how to foil the crime. \u003ci\u003eOn Disinformation\u003c\/i\u003e is the brisk, bracing primer that everyone should read on how to make America truthful again.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e— Jonathan Rauch, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, and author of \u003ci\u003eThe Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“McIntyre returns to deliver one of the most important books of the year. If you’re going to buy one book, buy this pocket-sized guide and help save our democracy from disinformation.”\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Sander van der Linden, Professor of Social Psychology in Society, University of Cambridge; author of Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects our\u003ci\u003e Minds and How to Build Immunity\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“We hear and read a lot about disinformation but too often this phenomenon is presented as something random or chaotic when it is in fact organized and deliberate. Professor McIntyre brilliantly dissects the strategies and mechanisms fueling disinformation, as well as its major actors and perpetrators. This information is essential if we ever hope to topple disinformation in America and maintain our democratic values.”\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, Dean, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine and Director, Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Some people carry around a pocket Constitution. In today’s post-truth era, Lee McIntyre’s On Disinformation is another pocket guide Americans would be wise to keep close at hand. Understanding how to identify and respond to the erosion of our shared reality is an indispensable prerequisite for restoring democratic norms and guardrails laid out in our founding document.”\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Asha Rangappa, Senior Lecturer, Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs and former FBI Special Agent\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eLee McIntyre is Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. Formerly Executive Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University, he has taught philosophy at Colgate University, Boston University, Simmons University, Tufts Experimental College, and Harvard Extension School.The storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, was an American tragedy. It was also completely predictable. The “patriots” in face paint—who carried sharpened flagpoles, bats, and zip ties into the Senate chamber—were the inevitable result of seventy years of lies about tobacco, evolution, global warming, and vaccines. After the “truth killers” provided a blueprint for how to deny scientific facts that clashed with their financial or ideological interests, it was a small step for unscrupulous politicians to figure out how to use this strategy to lie about anything they wanted, such as the baseless claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and that the January 6 insurrectionists were actually “peaceful protestors” or Antifa in disguise.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Welcome to the world of reality denial, where truth is subordinate to ideology, feelings have more weight than evidence, and democracy hangs in the balance. Throughout history, autocratic leaders and their wannabes have understood that the quickest way to control a population is to control their information sources. But in a society that still has a free press, disinformation is the new censorship.  Remember that scene in \u003ci\u003eIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade\u003c\/i\u003e where Harrison Ford has finally found the Holy Grail but can’t tell which one it is because it’s surrounded by a hundred fakes?  That’s the point of disinformation. If you can’t hide or destroy the truth, surround it with bullshit. You can always kill it later.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The post-truth playbook goes like this: attack the truth tellers, lie about anything and everything, manufacture disinformation, encourage distrust and polarization, create confusion and cynicism, then claim that the truth is available only from the leader himself. The goal is not merely to get people to believe any particular false claim, but to so demoralize them with a tsunami of falsehoods that they begin to give up on the idea that truth can be known at all, outside a political context.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In her landmark work on totalitarianism in the twentieth century, political philosopher and Holocaust historian Hannah Arendt said it best: “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced communist, but people for whom the distinction[s] between fact and fiction . . . true and false . . . no longer exist.”1 More recently another Holocaust historian, Timothy Snyder, put it even more succinctly: “post-truth is pre-fascism.”2\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e We’ve got less than a year to figure this out.  Now that Kevin McCarthy and the Republican faithful have succeeded in retaking the House in the 2022 midterm elections—which means that the GOP was effectively rewarded for having embraced Trump’s “big lie” in 2021—they’re perfectly positioned to install Trump (or whomever they like) as president, no matter the vote count in 2024. After that, some wonder how close we’ll be to Orwell’s nightmare: 2 + 2 = 5 in the basement of the Ministry of Love.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Once truth dies, the end may come swiftly for American democracy. Like Russia and China, we’ll still have politicians in suits going about a charade of the people’s business in the halls of government, we may even have further elections, but it won’t really matter. If the truth killers succeed in using reality denial to undermine democracy, the next day we’ll wake up in an electoral dictatorship.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 1. Hannah Arendt, \u003ci\u003eThe Origins of Totalitarianism\u003c\/i\u003e (New York: Meridian Books, 1958), 474. \u003cbr\u003e 2. Timothy Snyder, “The American Abyss,” \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, January 9, 2021, https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021 \/01\/09\/magazine\/trump-coup.html.","brand":"The MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300619735269,"sku":"NP9780262546300","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262546300.jpg?v=1767734083","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/on-disinformation-isbn-9780262546300","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}