“Methodical and earnest.”—Jennifer Szalai, New York Times
“The Misinformation Age covers big subjects like truth and the fate of the species” —Jennifer Szalai, International New York Times
“Empowering and thoroughly researched, this book offers useful contemporary analysis and possible solutions to one of the greatest threats to democracy.”—Kirkus Reviews
“[The authors] deftly apply sociological models to examine how misinformation spreads among people and how scientific results get misrepresented in the public sphere. They offer scientific case studies—the discovery that CFCs were responsible for the ozone hole in the 1980s, for example—to explore the question of what constitutes truth and to consider the role that information plays in a healthy democracy.”—Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American
“A notable new volume . . .The Misinformation Age explains systematically how facts are determined and changed—whether it is concerning the effects of vaccination on children or the Russian attack on the integrity of the electoral process.”—Roger I. Abrams, New York Journal of Books
"It’s a good read on a very important subject, definitely worth exploring."—Hugh Taylor, Journal of Cyberpolicy
“An important book for an era of weaponized information.”—George Musser, contributing editor, Scientific American and Nautilus
"Fake news has revealed a dark side of networks: an almost unstoppable ability to spread false and misleading information, changing people's perception of reality and shaking the political establishment. The Misinformation Age is a timely, engaging narrative of how this happened and how the mix of fake news and networks is changing our world."—Albert-László Barabási, author of Linked: The New Science of Networks
"In this perilous moment—when knowledge is powerfully eroded by new and effective campaigns of misinformation—O’Connor and Weatherall offer a critically important philosophical defense of evidence, facts, and above all, the truth."—Allan M. Brandt, Harvard University
“The Misinformation Age is the best book I've read on why the fake-news epidemic is afflicting us and what we can do about it. It offers in-depth reporting and provocative analysis delivered in lively prose, a rare combination.”—John Horgan, director of the Center for Science Writings, Stevens Institute of Technology
"In this perilous moment—when knowledge is powerfully eroded by new and effective campaigns of misinformation—O’Connor and Weatherall offer a critically important philosophical defense of evidence, facts, and above all, the truth."—Allan M. Brandt, Harvard University
"An important book for an era of weaponized information. False beliefs aren’t due to stupidity or cognitive biases, but to the trust that all of us necessarily place in others. It has to be tackled at the systems level, and the authors offer some provocative ideas for how."—George Musser, contributing editor for Scientific American and Nautilus magazines
2018-11-26
"We live in an age of misinformation—an age of spin, marketing, and downright lies." So write two professors of logic and the philosophy of science in this sober study of the "important mechanisms by which false beliefs spread."
Today, with the broad reach of the internet and social media, both individuals and institutions are vulnerable to fake news and manipulation, with far-reaching consequences. As O'Connor and Weatherall (The Physics of Wall Street, 2013), who teach at the University of California, Irvine, contend, if "you make decisions on the basis of [false] beliefs, then those decisions are unlikely to yield the outcomes you expect and desire." In this fresh addition to the groaning shelf of recent books about fake news, the authors thoroughly examine nearly every facet of this phenomenon, which may seem new but is not. Fleshing out examples running from the 1898 explosion of the USS Maine through the Pizzagate nonsense in 2016, the authors comb through the historic peaks of fake news and propaganda, demonstrating its potential to not only swing elections, but also inspire killing sprees and even ignite wars. Giving ample space to the ongoing problem of misleading scientific reportage, the book explores big tobacco's cancer links in the 1950s through today's purposefully ignorant discussion of climate change. While social media often blames algorithms for the viral spread of false information, the authors write, "organizations like Facebook, Twitter, and Google are responsible for the rampant spread of fake news on their platforms for the past several years—and, ultimately, for the political, economic, and human costs that resulted." The most significant question? "Can democracy survive in an age of fake news?" For starters, the authors demand more editorial discretion, fact checking, and investment. "The challenge," they write, "is to find new mechanisms for aggregating values that capture the ideals of democracy, without holding us all hostage to ignorance and manipulation."
Empowering and thoroughly researched, this book offers useful contemporary analysis and possible solutions to one of the greatest threats to democracy.
