Attack from Within How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America

Cover of Attack from Within How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America by Barbara McQuade
Year: 2024
Language: en
Pages: 384
ISBN-13: 9781644213636
ISBN-10: 164421363X
Dimensions:
Weight: 1.25 Pounds
Editorial overview Touché

Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America by Barbara McQuade, published by Seven Stories Press on February 27, 2024, is a comprehensive examination of the impact of disinformation on democracy. This 384-page book delves into how false narratives are strategically used to polarize American society, disrupt legal structures, and consolidate power among a select few. McQuade, a legal scholar and analyst, outlines the various tactics employed by disinformation campaigns and highlights the vulnerabilities within the American political landscape.

Readers will find a detailed exploration of the historical context of disinformation, tracing its use by authoritarian figures throughout history. The book discusses the emotional manipulation inherent in disinformation tactics and their implications for social structures, including electoral systems and public institutions. McQuade also offers practical solutions aimed at countering disinformation, such as enhancing media literacy and addressing domestic terrorism. Attack from Within serves as a crucial resource for understanding the challenges posed by disinformation and the steps necessary to safeguard democracy.


Official synopsis Publisher

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

An urgent, comprehensive explanation of the ways disinformation is impacting democracy, and practical solutions that can be pursued to strengthen the public, media, and truth-based politics

MSNBC’s legal analyst breaks down the ways disinformation has become a tool to drive voters to extremes, disempower our legal structures, and consolidate power in the hands of the few.

“One of the most acute observers of our time shares . . . a compelling work about a challenge that—left unexamined and left unchecked—could undermine our democracy.” —Eric H. Holder Jr, 82nd Attorney General of the United States

American society is more polarized than ever before. We are strategically being pushed apart by disinformation—the deliberate spreading of lies disguised as truth—and it comes at us from all sides: opportunists on the far right, Russian misinformed social media influencers, among others. It’s endangering our democracy and causing havoc in our electoral system, schools, hospitals, workplaces, and in our Capitol. Advances in technology including rapid developments in artificial intelligence threaten to make the problems even worse by amplifying false claims and manufacturing credibility.

In Attack from Within, legal scholar and analyst Barbara McQuade, shows us how to identify the ways disinformation is seeping into all facets of our society and how we can fight against it. The book includes:

  • The authoritarian playbook: a brief history of disinformation from Mussolini and Hitler to Bolsonaro and Trump, chronicles the ways in which authoritarians have used disinformation to seize and retain power.
  • Disinformation tactics—like demonizing the other, seducing with nostalgia, silencing critics, muzzling the media, condemning the courts; stoking violence—and reasons why they work.
  • An explanation of why America is particularly vulnerable to disinformation and how it exploits our First Amendment Freedoms, sparks threats and violence, and destabilizes social structures.
  • Real, accessible solutions for countering disinformation and maintaining the rule of law such as making domestic terrorism a federal crime, increasing media literacy in schools, criminalizing doxxing, and much more.

Disinformation is designed to evoke a strong emotional response to push us toward more extreme views, unable to find common ground with others. The false claims that led to the breathtaking attack on our Capitol in 2021 may have been only a dress rehearsal. Attack from Within shows us how to prevent it from happening again, thus preserving our country’s hard-won democracy.

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What is “Attack from Within How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America” about?
This page includes the available description and bibliographic details for “Attack from Within How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America” by Barbara McQuade. Synopsis preview: A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERAn urgent, comprehensive explanation of the ways disinformation is impacting democracy, and practical solutions that can be pursued to strengthen the public, media, and truth-based politicsMSNB…
Who is the author of “Attack from Within How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America”?
“Attack from Within How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America” is credited to Barbara McQuade.
When was “Attack from Within How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America” published?
Publisher: Seven Stories Press. Year: 2024.
What is the ISBN for “Attack from Within How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America”?
ISBN-13: 9781644213636. ISBN-10: 164421363X.
What are the book details (language, pages, edition)?
Language: en. Pages: 384.

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