First published 2024
Barbara McQuade examines how deliberate lies disguised as truth are tearing American society apart. The MSNBC legal analyst demonstrates that disinformation has become a powerful weapon used by far-right opportunists, Russian agents, and misguided social media personalities to drive citizens toward extreme positions. McQuade shows how these false narratives have infiltrated schools, hospitals, workplaces, and even the Capitol itself. She warns that artificial intelligence will amplify these threats by manufacturing fake credibility and spreading lies faster than ever before. The book reveals how disinformation strategically targets emotions to prevent Americans from finding shared ground with their neighbors. McQuade argues that the January 6th Capitol attack may have been practice for something worse. She provides readers with tools to recognize when false information is manipulating them and offers concrete steps to defend democratic institutions from this internal assault.
Genres: american, political-science, politics, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: America, Capitol
Period: 21st-century
384 pages · Hardcover · Seven Stories Press
Content warnings: violence