Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power

by Anna Merlan

Overview

A riveting tour through the landscape and meaning of modern conspiracy theories, exploring the causes and tenacity of this American malady, from Birthers to Pizzagate and beyond

American society has always been fertile ground for conspiracy theories, but with the election of Donald Trump, previously outlandish ideas suddenly attained legitimacy. Trump himself is a conspiracy enthusiast: from his claim that global warming is a Chinese hoax to the accusations of “fake news,” he has fanned the flames of suspicion.

But it was not by the power of one man alone that these ideas gained new power. Republic of Lies looks beyond the caricatures of conspiracy theorists to explain their tenacity. Without lending the theories validity, Anna Merlan gives a nuanced, sympathetic account of the people behind them, across the political spectrum, and the circumstances that helped them take hold. The lack of a social safety net, inadequate education, bitter culture wars, and years of economic insecurity have created large groups of people who feel forgotten by their government and even besieged by it. Our contemporary conditions are a perfect petri dish for conspiracy movements: a durable, permanent, elastic climate of alienation and resentment. All the while, an army of politicians and conspiracy-peddlers has fanned the flames of suspicion to serve their own ends.

Bringing together penetrating historical analysis and gripping on-the-ground reporting, Republic of Lies transforms our understanding of American paranoia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250231277
Publisher:	Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	07/14/2020
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	183,969
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Anna Merlan is a journalist specializing in politics, crime, religion, subcultures, and women’s lives. She is a reporter at the Special Projects Desk, the investigative division of Gizmodo Media Group. She was previously a senior reporter at Jezebel and staff writer at the Village Voice and the Dallas Observer. She lives in New York.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

1 False Times 11

2 "None of It Is Crazy" 35

3 Nocturnal Ritual Pizza Party 57

4 False Flags 79

5 Useful Murders 103

6 Medical Oddities 121

7 A Natural Man 149

8 White Nationalist Cookout 171

9 The Politics of UFOs 199

10 Conspiracism Is for Everyone: The Deep State and Russiagate 219

Epilogue 241

Sources 251

Acknowledgments 261

Index 263

Editorial Reviews

A captivating book that illuminates the landscape of conspiracy theories and what they might say about society as a whole.”
—New York Magazine

“Meticulously researched.”
—Mother Jones

“A frequently jaw-dropping, yet deeply sensitive and curious, journey through some of the most pervasive conspiracy theories in America today.”
—Huffington Post

“Merlan approaches conspiracy theories and the people who believe them as a thoughtful, thorough journalist, looking at how those in power wield them at the expense of those who are destabilized and looking for answers. An amazing read.”
—Corinne Segal, Literary Hub

“A fascinating perspective on the current political era.”
—Refinery29

"Merlan’s deeply researched, brilliantly synthesized . . . book carrie[s] warnings about the ways disinformation filters into the sphere of legitimate public discourse . . . Her message is chilling but it makes the case—and the space—for hope: if these harms were co-created, so too might be their solutions."
—Sarah Krasnostein’s, Literary Hub

“[Merlan] is one of the sharpest reporter/commentators in the game.”
—Flavorwire

“Engrossing assessment of the profitable mainstreaming of conspiracy mongering in civic and political life … A lucid look at a slippery topic.”
—Kirkus

From the Publisher

04/01/2019

Merlan (former senior reporter, Jezebel; staff writer, Village Voice) has regularly reported on politics. After covering a cruise ship voyage filled with conspiracy theorists, quaintly called the Conspira-Sea Cruise, the author recognized that the interest in conspiracy theories was becoming increasingly relevant to her coverage. Here, she explores the many alternate societies devoted to beliefs at odds with provable truth and explains various theories including the antivaccine movement and "false flag" theories that doubt the veracity of recent reports of mass shootings. An especially fascinating chapter traces the history of UFO theories. Merlan further describes conditions in society that encourage such thinking, how social media and the Internet enhance distribution of theories and enable believers to find one another, overall maintaining a fair level of objectivity, though her exasperation with some of the theories is apparent. Quick to condemn racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, and anti-Muslim bias, the author supports her writing with excellent supporting documentation. VERDICT An engaging and valuable explication of one of the most confusing and complex topics in today's society.—Jill Ortner, SUNY Buffalo Libs.

Library Journal

2019-01-14

Engrossing assessment of the profitable mainstreaming of conspiracymongering in civic and political life.

In her debut book, Merlan, a reporter at Gizmodo Media Group's Special Projects Desk, captures this unsettling narrative succinctly and concretely. As she writes, once "the United States narrowly elected a conspiracy enthusiast as its president," there followed the codification of a long-gestating seamy underbelly of shared belief in ominous, far-fetched plots. The election of Donald Trump allowed a network of conspiracy profiteers, ranging from InfoWars' Alex Jones to white supremacist Richard Spencer, to accrue wealth and credibility; their acolytes "loved Trump, even the left-leaning among them who might have once preferred Bernie Sanders." Yet, she notes, "conspiracy theorizing has been part of the American system of governance and culture and thought since its beginnings." These dual lenses of current events and longitudinal narrative allow for clear structure. In each chapter, Merlan focuses on a conspiracy subtopic—e.g. UFO theories, false-flag proponents, anti-vaxxers, the sovereign citizen movement—chronicling her conversations with prominent adherents and the academics, activists, or investigators who document and fitfully counter them. She is cleareyed about the harm done by figures like Jones and his ilk, who have inspired harassment of Sandy Hook victims and the family of DNC staffer Seth Rich, whose family discovered that "social sites give enterprising self-investigators access to the subjects of their conspiracies as never before." Similarly, while attending a "white nationalist cookout" shortly before the 2017 Charlottesville events, the author concluded that the much-discussed "alt-right" relies on familiar, shopworn conspiracy theories regarding immigrants and Jews: "Hate groups all over the world are fueled by terrified, wild conjectures about the people they hate." However, Merlan has sympathy for conspiracy theorists influenced by actual abuses of power, noting that "the history of UFOs is a perfect illustration of the way in which genuine government secrecy feeds citizen paranoia." The author ably navigates this troubling landscape, with thought and some humor, though she seems more engaged by recent figures and controversies.

A lucid, well-researched look at a slippery topic.

Kirkus Reviews