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	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Annelie Geissler

FACTS AND OTHER LIES

Ed Coper

Welcome to the Disinformation Age

A timely exploration at how we arrived at in the 'fake news' era, from an author who has been on the frontlines when the internet collided with democracy. Ed Coper has extensive experience with left-wing politics and values-based organisations and is currently the Director of the NY-based Center for Impact Communications.

How did we get here? That's what we asked when angry rioters overrun the Capitol in a bloody carnage of insurrection. How the hell did we get here? For those rioters, it was the culmination of a journey of online radicalisation that began with the weaponisation of disinformation by their political leaders and outrageously biased 'news' commentators. But despite its recent prominence, fake news and the psychology behind it is not a new phenomenon. What's new, however, is how easily disinformation spreads and takes root in the digital age. Facts and Other Lies puts fake news in its historical context and explains how disinformation has fractured society, even threatening democracy itself. It explains why disinformation is so potent and so hard to stop, and what we can do to help prevent its proliferation. As Ed Coper states we may be teetering, but haven't completely crashed yet. Simply despairing will do nothing to find a way out of this cesspool. We need to acknowledge that we live in a new epoch, only then can we start to learn the new rules. This is an entertaining and informative guide to a genuinely bewildering topic, and essential reading for anyone interested in democratic processes. PART ONE: The Information Ecosystem PART TWO: The Disinformation Ecosystem PART THREE: Game Time. The US Elections PART FOUR: The Psychology PART FIVE: Defeating Disinformation PART SIX: A Shared Reality Ed Coper has pioneered techniques to bring politics into the digital age and has been behind the scenes of many of the last decade's most prominent social movements. He has advised campaigns on every continent except Antarctica, and high-profile changemakers from Malala Yousafzai to Richard Branson.

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Book Published 2022-02-01 by Allen & Unwin

Comments

We live in a world that unfolds at a pace, and with the violent twists and turns in the plot, of a thriller. This book captures the intensity of our politics and connects it to the science of misinformation and its correction. Without losing our attention or slowing down, Coper manages to convey the main elements of the science in this page-turner. We learn about why people continue to rely on information they know to be false, why tribal bonds are not a thing of the past, and why we shouldn't try not to think of an elephant, but should inoculate ourselves against disinformation. This is a great read that gets across a lot of science in a hip narrative.

Exposed: Fiendish liars, "fake news" tricks, and their unwitting victims. This book is essential reading for anyone wanting to cut through the nonsense and get to the truth.

Read this book if you want to save democracy. Disinformation is tearing apart the fabric of our society, and this is the handbook we need to fix it. At threat is the very trust that gives legitimacy to our democratic institutions and governments. I wish I'd had this book on my nightstand every time I faced malicious fake news. Ed Coper is a must read for anyone who shudders every time they hear an anti-vaxxer, a conspiracy theorist or whenever Clive Palmer or Alan Jones opens their mouths.