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On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy Kindle Edition

by Lee McIntyre (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 74 ratings
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A powerful, pocket-sized citizen’s guide on how to fight back against the disinformation campaigns that are imperiling American democracy, from the bestselling author of Post-Truth and How to Talk to a Science Denier.

The effort to destroy facts and make America ungovernable didn’t come out of nowhere. It is the culmination of seventy years of strategic denialism. In On Disinformation, 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 twenty years of experience as a scholar of science denial, McIntyre explains how autocrats wield disinformation to manipulatea 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.

McIntyre 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. On Disinformation lays 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.

Compact, easy-to-read (and then pass on to a friend), and never more urgent, On Disinformation does nothing less than empower us with the tools and knowledge needed to save our republic from autocracy before it is too late.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Included in The Next Big Idea Club’s August 2023 Must-Read Books list

"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."
—Kirkus Reviews

"On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, 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.""
—the New York Times Book Review

“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, On Disinformation, 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.”
—Science

“The philosopher Lee McIntyre, author of several books about disinformation and the scientific method, has written a short prescriptive polemic...The subject of On Disinformation is 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.”
—The Financial Times

"On Disinformation follows hot on the heels of McIntyre’s How to Talk to a Science Denier, 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, On Disinformation builds on McIntyre’s earlier work by examining how ‘strategic denialism’ is created, amplified and accepted into fringe orthodoxy."
—E&T, Engineering and Technology

Review

“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 On Disinformation 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."
—Michael Shermer, Publisher Skeptic magazine, Presidential Fellow Chapman University, author of Conspiracy, The Believing Brain, and Why People Believe Weird Things

“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.” 
—Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senator, Rhode Island

“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. On Disinformation is the brisk, bracing primer that everyone should read on how to make America truthful again.”
— Jonathan Rauch, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, and author of The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth

“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.”
—Sander van der Linden, Professor of Social Psychology in Society, University of Cambridge; author of Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects our Minds and How to Build Immunity

“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.”
—Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, Dean, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine and Director, Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development

“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.”
—Asha Rangappa, Senior Lecturer, Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs and former FBI Special Agent
 --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BN57QX4F
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The MIT Press (August 22, 2023)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 22, 2023
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 345 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 174 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0262546302
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 74 ratings

About the author

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Lee McIntyre

Lee McIntyre

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Lee McIntyre is a philosopher from the Boston area who writes fiction and nonfiction aimed at the general public. Though trained as a scholar, his writing seeks to engage a wide audience in philosophical topics that are relevant to current events. He has also edited several anthologies for philosophy teachers and scholars.

His most recent book is How To Talk To A Science Denier (MIT Press, 2021). He is also the author of The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience (MIT Press, 2019), Post-Truth (MIT Press, 2018), Respecting Truth: Willful Ignorance in the Internet Age (Routledge, 2015), Dark Ages: The Case for a Science of Human Behavior (MIT Press, 2006), and Laws and Explanation in the Social Sciences (Westview, 1996).

McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and an Instructor in Ethics at Harvard Extension School. He has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and has taught previously at Colgate, Tufts, Simmons, and Boston University. A black belt martial artist, he lives with two German Shepherds and the rest of his family just outside Boston.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
74 global ratings
It's Time to Fight Back
4 Stars
It's Time to Fight Back
We live in an age of deception. True, misleading statements have always been around, but the modern age in which we live, the rise of social media, and other factors have led to a disinformation surge like we have never seen before. This book, On Disinformation, is here to offer facts about this dangerous trend as well as words of advice on how to fight back.This book starts off with some historical perspective on truth and untruth before it launches into its main premise, which is the identification of falsehoods and how to fight for the truth. By now, we all know that one of the chief architects of disinformation and lying is the former president known as trump. His propaganda campaign and his willingness to lie, even about things that do not even matter, is a force to reckon with and one we shouldn’t take lightly. Far too many members of the public have fallen for these falsehoods, and we need to fight back for the good of the nation.But the use of false statements goes far beyond the words of politicians. Like this book states, the internet and social media are havens for false information and the book shares many examples of how these mediums have been used to amplify false messages, spreading their venom far and wide. It’s a real problem, and one we need to take seriously.We aren’t in the clear from disinformation yet. It will take many changes to our laws and a concerted effort on the part of those who support and defend the truth to come forward and fight back. As this book says, we need to quit being polite, portray these truth- haters as the liars they are, and do what we can to protect and preserve democracy. This book is small and short and can be read in a single sitting, but its words are concise and the call to action is one we cannot and should not ignore.
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Top reviews from the United States

charlotte Vaughn
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally....I wish this was mandatory reading
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2024
Verified Purchase
Short and to the point. References are cited. Good info. I hope the truth becomes apparant to those that have been living in the alternate.
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Virginia M.
5.0 out of 5 stars protect democracy
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2024
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great book.
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Bryan Carey
4.0 out of 5 stars It's Time to Fight Back
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2024
We live in an age of deception. True, misleading statements have always been around, but the modern age in which we live, the rise of social media, and other factors have led to a disinformation surge like we have never seen before. This book, On Disinformation, is here to offer facts about this dangerous trend as well as words of advice on how to fight back.

This book starts off with some historical perspective on truth and untruth before it launches into its main premise, which is the identification of falsehoods and how to fight for the truth. By now, we all know that one of the chief architects of disinformation and lying is the former president known as trump. His propaganda campaign and his willingness to lie, even about things that do not even matter, is a force to reckon with and one we shouldn’t take lightly. Far too many members of the public have fallen for these falsehoods, and we need to fight back for the good of the nation.

But the use of false statements goes far beyond the words of politicians. Like this book states, the internet and social media are havens for false information and the book shares many examples of how these mediums have been used to amplify false messages, spreading their venom far and wide. It’s a real problem, and one we need to take seriously.

We aren’t in the clear from disinformation yet. It will take many changes to our laws and a concerted effort on the part of those who support and defend the truth to come forward and fight back. As this book says, we need to quit being polite, portray these truth- haters as the liars they are, and do what we can to protect and preserve democracy. This book is small and short and can be read in a single sitting, but its words are concise and the call to action is one we cannot and should not ignore.
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Bryan Carey
4.0 out of 5 stars It's Time to Fight Back
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2024
We live in an age of deception. True, misleading statements have always been around, but the modern age in which we live, the rise of social media, and other factors have led to a disinformation surge like we have never seen before. This book, On Disinformation, is here to offer facts about this dangerous trend as well as words of advice on how to fight back.

This book starts off with some historical perspective on truth and untruth before it launches into its main premise, which is the identification of falsehoods and how to fight for the truth. By now, we all know that one of the chief architects of disinformation and lying is the former president known as trump. His propaganda campaign and his willingness to lie, even about things that do not even matter, is a force to reckon with and one we shouldn’t take lightly. Far too many members of the public have fallen for these falsehoods, and we need to fight back for the good of the nation.

But the use of false statements goes far beyond the words of politicians. Like this book states, the internet and social media are havens for false information and the book shares many examples of how these mediums have been used to amplify false messages, spreading their venom far and wide. It’s a real problem, and one we need to take seriously.

We aren’t in the clear from disinformation yet. It will take many changes to our laws and a concerted effort on the part of those who support and defend the truth to come forward and fight back. As this book says, we need to quit being polite, portray these truth- haters as the liars they are, and do what we can to protect and preserve democracy. This book is small and short and can be read in a single sitting, but its words are concise and the call to action is one we cannot and should not ignore.
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2 people found this helpful
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Aramis Thomas
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb update to authors’ 2018 “Post-Truth”
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2023
Verified Purchase
Clear and concise discussion of DISinfornation v MISinformation. It is also an update of the steady steam of deliberate disinformation since 2018. Which I was embarrassed to realize were things that I had forgotten, perhaps demonstrating my own vulnerability to this tactic and strategy of how to get the public to stop paying attention and give up on “reality” itself.

I believe that this work succeeds as a stand-alone, but I personally suspect that it could be useful to be familiar with the ideas of Lippman and Bernays, along with Le Bon, Trotter, and Snyder.

This book is clearly very focused on the present and as such is very streamlined. It feels more like an extended Op Ed piece than a full book which seems appropriate, but then leaving many open questions about how it is happening.

I found Everett Dean Martin’s “The Behavior of Crowds: A Psychological Study” from 1919 (yes, over a century ago) to be an unnervingly accurate characterization of the psychology and sociology of the contemporary MAGA herd and it’s cultivation. Gustave Le Bon’s “The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind” from 1895 (yes, also over a century ago!) strikes me to be an accurate description of contemporary US. Walter Lippman’s “Public Opinion” (1922) and Edward Bernay’s “Crystallizing Public Opinion” (1923), along with Daniel Boorstin’s “The Image” (1961) give context and background that I have found priceless in 2023.

Since all of these insights have been in the public domain for decades, it should not be surprising that they are being put to use and quite skillfully.

I am grateful to the author for reminding me that reality matters!
6 people found this helpful
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Grace W.
5.0 out of 5 stars Quick read and informative
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2024
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This would be a good book to share with others. It is a quick summary of current disinformation and is informative enough to want to share with others on how to self-educate.
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elaine
5.0 out of 5 stars Democracy matters!
Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2023
Verified Purchase
The book clearly defines disinformation as "lies." Disinformation began in the 1920s by Feliks Dzerzhinsk who founded Cheka under Lenin. Cheka evolved into Russian intelligence agencies such as the GPU, the KGB and the current FSV. Trump and his helpers such as Steve Bannon and Roger Stone use Putin's techniques to amplify lies about opponents in order to create an alternative reality which benefits them and defeats their enemies.
One person found this helpful
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Bruce Watson
3.0 out of 5 stars Where's the "How" here?
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2024
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This is a very detailed recap of all the right-wing MAGA lies and disinformation. If you have paid absolutely no attention for the last eight years, much of this will be new to you, and therefore helpful. IF you have paid any attention at all, most of it will be old. I read to learn "how to fight for truth." McIntyre pretty much avoids any solutions until the final pages and they aren't anything new either. Jonathan Rauch's "The Constitution of Knowledge" and Michiko Kakutani's "The Death of Truth" are more thoughtful and useful.
3 people found this helpful
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Dr. Kevin Folta
5.0 out of 5 stars A Concise Primer on the Danger of Bulls Hit
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2023
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I appreciate McIntyre's work, and this is one of the best. A compact format for a dangerous topic, how blatantly false, deliberate production of disinformation stands to harm democracy. How is it created, who spreads it, why does it work? The answers are eye opening, all written in a clever style that I frequently dog-eared and underlined. Very recommended.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Russell O. Redman
4.0 out of 5 stars A call to arms against lies and political treachery
Reviewed in Canada on September 15, 2023
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I previously read the author's book, "How to Talk to a Science Denier," which was a mild-mannered exploration of why people believe things that are obviously false and how to get along with them. This book takes the gloves off, calling for much stronger actions against the wealthy opportunists who are deliberately feeding lies into the American political system. Behind the disinformation campaigns there is always huge amounts of money at stake, whether from tobacco sales, oils, or guns. America used to be the bastion of democracy, but has become an oligarchy run by a handful of powerful corporations and their unbelievably wealthy owners. This is a warning, not just to America but to the entire world, since the same forces are active everywhere and collaborate freely with the tyrants who run Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.
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