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Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
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 expert 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 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
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 2020 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.
MSNBC's legal expert 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 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
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 2020 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.
385 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 27, 2024
1100 people are currently reading
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September 23, 2024
You may have heard the quote from Joseph Goebbels, head of the Nazi Ministry of Propaganda, that goes ‘If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.’ A pretty accurate and frightening statement about disinformation, especially when you realize this often repeated quote might be fabricated or misidentified. False information lurks in every corner of the internet but combating misinformation remains a steep hill to climb. Worse still is when such false information is distributed for political gain, and such is the focus of Barbara McQuade’s Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America. A law professor and formerly deputy chief of the National Security Unit prosecuting issues of terrorism, McQuade has worked firsthand with the dangerous effects of disinformation and applies her knowledge gained investigating al-Qaeda’s social media disinformation and recruitment campaigns to present day disinformation happening in the US as well as the legal boundaries that make curbing it difficult.
‘Since in the age of the internet we are all publishers, each of us bears some private responsibility for the public’s sense of truth.’
—Timothy Snyder
But lets start at the basics and talk about why information literacy is so necessary in order to stay informed but also to make sure you don’t spread misinformation even with the best intentions of being helpful. While the term has faced wilfully bad faith resistance as some sort of “dangerous” ideology, the reality is that informational literacy simply means skills to determine the credibility of information and recognize the nuance of framing around its application in a source. But part of keeping disinformation alive is to frame basic terms as some sort of trojan horse and attack legitimate efforts to curb disinformation. McQuade became the target of online death threats following an appearance on the Rachel Maddow show with people taking specific anger over her saying that ‘we need to have a conversation and common-sense solutions to these things. Instead, we throw out terms like ‘censorship,’ we call each other names, we use labels, and we all retreat to our opposite sides. We need to be pragmatic and come up with real solutions.’ The real solutions, her detractors decided, was violence against her or anyone addressing the issues of disinformation
I am on a committee with a focus on quality reference avenues for patrons that deals with information literacy, AI, and information resources, and we all read Attack From Within as a group as part of our self-education efforts. While misinformation is a problem, for the purpose of Attack From Within McQuade focuses specifically on disinformation and the impetus behind manipulating people with lies or misleading information so we will move on to that. But first, for some fun to check your own information literacy skills, you can take a quiz HERE to see if you can vet credibility of sources.
‘If we want to protect our rights from tyrants and con men, we must fight disinformation as unpatriotic, a betrayal of the American people.’
‘The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world,’ George Orwell wrote in his reflections on propaganda during the Spanish Civil War and with the rise of social media and the internet making information sharing instantaneous this threat has only gotten greater. McQuade begins her book with a look at the history of disinformation, particularly its application in authoritarian governments with a run-down of how it was used by Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler’s regimes. In the book The Origins of Totalitarianism, philosopher Hannah Arendt discusses how a “strongman” leader attempts to manipulate the population ‘to the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing.’ McQuade argues we have seen a similar issue in the past few years in the US with much disinformation around politics and public health being used to manipulate and divide people to where even the validity of an election has been called into question and political arguments occur on subject even in the face of an utter absence of evidence or false information (not unlike how the “evidence” that spurred the US invasion of Iraq was largely untrue). But that’s all part of the plan, McQuade suggests.
McQuade lays out the intentions behind disinformation and provides recent examples to go with them and how this takes control from the people and gives it to the wealthy and power hungry who manipulate people into being controlled. Which is a real irony in the US where the ones who stormed the Capitol and say they distrust the government are doing so specifically in hopes of giving “their side” control to govern the country. Author Timothy Snyder details this use of disinformation in his book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century:
Much of this book deals directly with the online groups supporting the failed political candidate Donald Trump which keeps it on topic with headline grabbing issues, though I wish the book dealt more with larger global issues as those needing the information here most will be hard pressed to read it. McQuade shows disinformation as aiming for the heart with nostalgia, dividing through demonizing and building oneself as a sort of brand in battle. A lot of this reminds me of the classic manipulation tactic of predators: DARVO (deny, attack, and reverse victim & offender). Especially when we see those who are purveyors of disinformation staying on the offense and distracting instead of playing defense. Or simply resort to insulting and bad faith arguments that manipulate the framing. And they are often open about it too. Look at Christopher Rufo, the head of a Conservative propaganda institute that does for-profit social media manipulation bragging on twitter:
Image: Tweet from Rufo reading ‘we have successfully frozen their brand-”critical race theory’-into the public conversation and are steadily driving up negative perceptions. We will eventually turn it toxic, as we put all of the various cultural insanities under that brand category’
'I am not at all anti-tech, but we really can’t leave this stuff to socially stunted white boys and corporate greed'
—Jeanette Winterson
McQuade shows how disinformation catches hold and spreads in later chapters. First, disinformation is most effective when kept simple, hence misleading slogans, and elbow out any nuance. Repetition also helps it catch hold. There is an excellent chapter on how new technology is shaping disinformation, how it is spread, and the difficulties in handling it that spends a good deal of time questioning how AI can be used to spread disinformation far faster such as recent reports of Russian AI bot farms flooding social media and AI deepfakes of politicians. Plus a lot of AI information is simply inaccurate. Plus there is the longstanding research on how algorithms can have racist or sexist bias. In her book in her book Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism UCLA professor Safiya Umoja Noble discusses ‘technological redlining’ which is ‘embedded in computer code and, increasingly, in artificial intelligence technologies that we are reliant on, by choice or not.’ AI is a tool, like any other, and we must use it effectively and appropriately because abuse of it could only make our problems worse.
‘Why is propaganda so much more successful when it stirs up hatred than when it tries to stir up friendly feelings?’
–Bertrand Russell
Disinformation plays on fear, which is one of, if not the strongest, psychological motivators, confirmation bias, and tends to be upheld through stubborness. People also end to pay increased attention to information presented with a moralized framing, which is why viral algorithms tend to end up showing very biased information and opinions that tend to elicit strong emotional responses (the irony of desiring moralized framing while claiming they miss when the news was just straight facts as if this golden era of truth actually existed and, besides, all language is inherently political and biased, that's how language works and humans process information as a narrative so those complaints always feel more like signaling than earnest statements). Which isn’t helpful to curbing disinformation or reducing political divides but it is profitable and boosts use. Look at the ways Elon Musk changed Twitter in efforts to “promote conversation” by allowing hate speech, or how a A 2021 internal report at Facebook revealed the “angry” emoji reaction would get 5 times the algorithmic boost of the “like” reaction, thus boosting content with the intent to upset people. People are more likely to react or respond to such posts thus increasing engagement and further boosting it in the algorithm as people argue.
‘A significant number of Americans don’t seem to care anymore whether a statement is true,’ McQuade writes, ‘what seems to matter instead is whether any given message is consistent with their worldview.’ This is sadly true and studies have found that people are unlikely to change their beliefs even when presented with factual evidence. Add in conformity bias and in-group signaling and it gets even worse. Though I often think about how disinformation and the reluctance of those to resist it or the stubbornness to uphold it has a lot to do with something called Terror Management Theory (TMT). According to TMT, mortality salience (the awareness of one’s death) wedded to anxiety in high stress incidents like say, global COVID or a presidential election, causes people to solidify their worldview and react in ways they feel will defend their social groups. Such is the lesson the Hitler studies professor teaches in Don DeLillo’s White Noise:
The higher the fear of death/lack of control, the more people try to push it out or scapegoat it, blaming others, or reacting violently. This is especially true of people who have an overinflated desire to be controlling, which is the nature of politics and why disinformation can be so powerful in times of crisis or high anxiety.
‘I have no obligation to be honest’
—Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to Congress
Perhaps one of the most interesting chapters deals with how our laws make it difficult to curb disinformation and that our legal system and Rights, like free speech, in the US actually make the US more susceptible to it. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 ‘provides a “safe harbor” from legal liability’ for social media providers despite the law pre-dating social media as it is. In my home state of Michigan, it is completely legal to lie when collecting signatures for petitions. ‘The Supreme Court has set an understandably high bar for criminalizing speech,’ she writes, such as the 1969 Brandenburg v. Ohio which ruled people have the right to advocate for violence, just not incite it. Obviously she ties this into the incidents around January 6th at the Capitol, such as the FBI director stating the FBI was ‘not allowed to just sit and monitor social media…just in case.’ (sure, but the Patriot Act had no problem monitoring anyone they suspected of being Muslim). Also consider how good information is often behind paywalls, creating a financial barrier on top of the barrier of needing internet access as 12% of US households lack access as of 2022.
McQuade shows how because of the political divide in the US, efforts to curb disinformation are politicized themselves. When the Department of Homeland Security stated in 2022 that disinformation was a threat to national security, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) wrote to them claiming attempts to curb disinformation was simply code for ‘policing the speech, thoughts, and opinions of American citizens’ She also addresses how religion gets shoehorned in to defend the divide, with religion being a very powerful motivator for many which leaves them open for manipulation.
‘Just as ISIS twists the Muslim faith to advance its vision of an Islamic state, christian nationalists are hijacking their religion for political advantage.’ There is also the anti-intellectualism movements that profit off disinfo as well.
A key chapter is ”Somebody Is Going to Get Killed”: Disinformation is Endangering Public Safety and National Security where, giving examples from the Soviet Union, Nazis, Andrew Jackson and more, McQuade shows how ‘when people become inured to the cruelty of violence, they are more likely to accept it as the cost of attaining the type of society they seek.’ Political violence, she argues, ‘not only eliminates some opponents, it also silences others,’ leaving disinformation to fester. ‘In my work as a national security prosecutor, I learned how a relatively small political movement could amplify its impact through disinformation’ she writes and shows how al-Qaeda ‘were early masters of digital media to recruit and radicalize members with propaganda’ capitalizing on hashtags and encrypted messaging platforms.
McQuade maps out how disinfo is leading to a rise in hate crimes, particularly against marginalized groups (the Club Q shooting came ‘in the midst of a series of anti-LGBTQ+ bills being advanced across the country and an increase in hate crimes targeting members of LGBTQ+ communities’) and political violence against election officials, poll workers, public health officials, school officials, etc.
Furthermore, it weakens trust in institutions. If we have journalists claiming the FBI cannot investigate Trump, making false claims about planting evidence or saying the judge is rigged, repeated often, how is anyone going to trust our rule of law? Yes, we should definitely be criticizing our legal system and police but if we don’t do it in a productive manner and only do it to protect some elderly rich man and not people who have actually been wronged, its only destructive. Disinformation has also attacked schools and libraries using LGBTQ+ issues or book bans as wedge issues to weaken public trust and demonize them in hopes of eroding public institutions to replace them with privatized education and profit barriers to knowledge. There are people like Chaya Raichik of LibsofTikTok who’s platform exists to advocate for violence against teachers, librarians and public officials but are legally protected despite promoting false of misleading information leading to many bomb threats.
SO, what can we do about it? McQuade lays out suggestions such as making social media companies legally responsible for the content and creating a social media code of ethics, something Lee McIntyre also advocates for in his book On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy:
She also suggests regulation to reduce bots, eliminate anonymous users, and subsidize paywalls. Bolstering local journalism as well. But we can also be more vigilant in our own lives and promote civic engagement by advocating for information literacy, improving online tools and, most importantly, a complete overhaul of campaign finance and eliminate Citizens United.
Attack from Within is an accessible and informative book and McQuade does an excellent job trying information to current events. I think I preferred this more when it got into the technical, legal aspects but it was a quick and helpful read and available through your local library!
4/5
‘Since in the age of the internet we are all publishers, each of us bears some private responsibility for the public’s sense of truth.’
—Timothy Snyder
But lets start at the basics and talk about why information literacy is so necessary in order to stay informed but also to make sure you don’t spread misinformation even with the best intentions of being helpful. While the term has faced wilfully bad faith resistance as some sort of “dangerous” ideology, the reality is that informational literacy simply means skills to determine the credibility of information and recognize the nuance of framing around its application in a source. But part of keeping disinformation alive is to frame basic terms as some sort of trojan horse and attack legitimate efforts to curb disinformation. McQuade became the target of online death threats following an appearance on the Rachel Maddow show with people taking specific anger over her saying that ‘we need to have a conversation and common-sense solutions to these things. Instead, we throw out terms like ‘censorship,’ we call each other names, we use labels, and we all retreat to our opposite sides. We need to be pragmatic and come up with real solutions.’ The real solutions, her detractors decided, was violence against her or anyone addressing the issues of disinformation
I am on a committee with a focus on quality reference avenues for patrons that deals with information literacy, AI, and information resources, and we all read Attack From Within as a group as part of our self-education efforts. While misinformation is a problem, for the purpose of Attack From Within McQuade focuses specifically on disinformation and the impetus behind manipulating people with lies or misleading information so we will move on to that. But first, for some fun to check your own information literacy skills, you can take a quiz HERE to see if you can vet credibility of sources.
‘If we want to protect our rights from tyrants and con men, we must fight disinformation as unpatriotic, a betrayal of the American people.’
‘The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world,’ George Orwell wrote in his reflections on propaganda during the Spanish Civil War and with the rise of social media and the internet making information sharing instantaneous this threat has only gotten greater. McQuade begins her book with a look at the history of disinformation, particularly its application in authoritarian governments with a run-down of how it was used by Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler’s regimes. In the book The Origins of Totalitarianism, philosopher Hannah Arendt discusses how a “strongman” leader attempts to manipulate the population ‘to the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing.’ McQuade argues we have seen a similar issue in the past few years in the US with much disinformation around politics and public health being used to manipulate and divide people to where even the validity of an election has been called into question and political arguments occur on subject even in the face of an utter absence of evidence or false information (not unlike how the “evidence” that spurred the US invasion of Iraq was largely untrue). But that’s all part of the plan, McQuade suggests.
‘Tactics in the authoritarian playbook include appealing to emotion over reason, exploiting divisions, undermining critics, dismantling public institutions, stoking violence, and creating an image of the Leader as both an everyman and a superman. Disinformation is the catalyst that allows these tactics to work.’
McQuade lays out the intentions behind disinformation and provides recent examples to go with them and how this takes control from the people and gives it to the wealthy and power hungry who manipulate people into being controlled. Which is a real irony in the US where the ones who stormed the Capitol and say they distrust the government are doing so specifically in hopes of giving “their side” control to govern the country. Author Timothy Snyder details this use of disinformation in his book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century:
‘To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.’
Much of this book deals directly with the online groups supporting the failed political candidate Donald Trump which keeps it on topic with headline grabbing issues, though I wish the book dealt more with larger global issues as those needing the information here most will be hard pressed to read it. McQuade shows disinformation as aiming for the heart with nostalgia, dividing through demonizing and building oneself as a sort of brand in battle. A lot of this reminds me of the classic manipulation tactic of predators: DARVO (deny, attack, and reverse victim & offender). Especially when we see those who are purveyors of disinformation staying on the offense and distracting instead of playing defense. Or simply resort to insulting and bad faith arguments that manipulate the framing. And they are often open about it too. Look at Christopher Rufo, the head of a Conservative propaganda institute that does for-profit social media manipulation bragging on twitter:
Image: Tweet from Rufo reading ‘we have successfully frozen their brand-”critical race theory’-into the public conversation and are steadily driving up negative perceptions. We will eventually turn it toxic, as we put all of the various cultural insanities under that brand category’
'I am not at all anti-tech, but we really can’t leave this stuff to socially stunted white boys and corporate greed'
—Jeanette Winterson
McQuade shows how disinformation catches hold and spreads in later chapters. First, disinformation is most effective when kept simple, hence misleading slogans, and elbow out any nuance. Repetition also helps it catch hold. There is an excellent chapter on how new technology is shaping disinformation, how it is spread, and the difficulties in handling it that spends a good deal of time questioning how AI can be used to spread disinformation far faster such as recent reports of Russian AI bot farms flooding social media and AI deepfakes of politicians. Plus a lot of AI information is simply inaccurate. Plus there is the longstanding research on how algorithms can have racist or sexist bias. In her book in her book Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism UCLA professor Safiya Umoja Noble discusses ‘technological redlining’ which is ‘embedded in computer code and, increasingly, in artificial intelligence technologies that we are reliant on, by choice or not.’ AI is a tool, like any other, and we must use it effectively and appropriately because abuse of it could only make our problems worse.
‘Why is propaganda so much more successful when it stirs up hatred than when it tries to stir up friendly feelings?’
–Bertrand Russell
Disinformation plays on fear, which is one of, if not the strongest, psychological motivators, confirmation bias, and tends to be upheld through stubborness. People also end to pay increased attention to information presented with a moralized framing, which is why viral algorithms tend to end up showing very biased information and opinions that tend to elicit strong emotional responses (the irony of desiring moralized framing while claiming they miss when the news was just straight facts as if this golden era of truth actually existed and, besides, all language is inherently political and biased, that's how language works and humans process information as a narrative so those complaints always feel more like signaling than earnest statements). Which isn’t helpful to curbing disinformation or reducing political divides but it is profitable and boosts use. Look at the ways Elon Musk changed Twitter in efforts to “promote conversation” by allowing hate speech, or how a A 2021 internal report at Facebook revealed the “angry” emoji reaction would get 5 times the algorithmic boost of the “like” reaction, thus boosting content with the intent to upset people. People are more likely to react or respond to such posts thus increasing engagement and further boosting it in the algorithm as people argue.
‘A significant number of Americans don’t seem to care anymore whether a statement is true,’ McQuade writes, ‘what seems to matter instead is whether any given message is consistent with their worldview.’ This is sadly true and studies have found that people are unlikely to change their beliefs even when presented with factual evidence. Add in conformity bias and in-group signaling and it gets even worse. Though I often think about how disinformation and the reluctance of those to resist it or the stubbornness to uphold it has a lot to do with something called Terror Management Theory (TMT). According to TMT, mortality salience (the awareness of one’s death) wedded to anxiety in high stress incidents like say, global COVID or a presidential election, causes people to solidify their worldview and react in ways they feel will defend their social groups. Such is the lesson the Hitler studies professor teaches in Don DeLillo’s White Noise:
‘To become a crowd is to keep out death. To break off from a crowd is to risk death as an individual, to face dying alone. Crowds came for this reason above all others. They were there to be a crowd.’
The higher the fear of death/lack of control, the more people try to push it out or scapegoat it, blaming others, or reacting violently. This is especially true of people who have an overinflated desire to be controlling, which is the nature of politics and why disinformation can be so powerful in times of crisis or high anxiety.
‘I have no obligation to be honest’
—Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to Congress
Perhaps one of the most interesting chapters deals with how our laws make it difficult to curb disinformation and that our legal system and Rights, like free speech, in the US actually make the US more susceptible to it. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 ‘provides a “safe harbor” from legal liability’ for social media providers despite the law pre-dating social media as it is. In my home state of Michigan, it is completely legal to lie when collecting signatures for petitions. ‘The Supreme Court has set an understandably high bar for criminalizing speech,’ she writes, such as the 1969 Brandenburg v. Ohio which ruled people have the right to advocate for violence, just not incite it. Obviously she ties this into the incidents around January 6th at the Capitol, such as the FBI director stating the FBI was ‘not allowed to just sit and monitor social media…just in case.’ (sure, but the Patriot Act had no problem monitoring anyone they suspected of being Muslim). Also consider how good information is often behind paywalls, creating a financial barrier on top of the barrier of needing internet access as 12% of US households lack access as of 2022.
McQuade shows how because of the political divide in the US, efforts to curb disinformation are politicized themselves. When the Department of Homeland Security stated in 2022 that disinformation was a threat to national security, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) wrote to them claiming attempts to curb disinformation was simply code for ‘policing the speech, thoughts, and opinions of American citizens’ She also addresses how religion gets shoehorned in to defend the divide, with religion being a very powerful motivator for many which leaves them open for manipulation.
‘Just as ISIS twists the Muslim faith to advance its vision of an Islamic state, christian nationalists are hijacking their religion for political advantage.’ There is also the anti-intellectualism movements that profit off disinfo as well.
A key chapter is ”Somebody Is Going to Get Killed”: Disinformation is Endangering Public Safety and National Security where, giving examples from the Soviet Union, Nazis, Andrew Jackson and more, McQuade shows how ‘when people become inured to the cruelty of violence, they are more likely to accept it as the cost of attaining the type of society they seek.’ Political violence, she argues, ‘not only eliminates some opponents, it also silences others,’ leaving disinformation to fester. ‘In my work as a national security prosecutor, I learned how a relatively small political movement could amplify its impact through disinformation’ she writes and shows how al-Qaeda ‘were early masters of digital media to recruit and radicalize members with propaganda’ capitalizing on hashtags and encrypted messaging platforms.
‘Stochastic terrorism occurs domestically in the United States when prominent Americans use their platforms to aggressively demonize others’
McQuade maps out how disinfo is leading to a rise in hate crimes, particularly against marginalized groups (the Club Q shooting came ‘in the midst of a series of anti-LGBTQ+ bills being advanced across the country and an increase in hate crimes targeting members of LGBTQ+ communities’) and political violence against election officials, poll workers, public health officials, school officials, etc.
Furthermore, it weakens trust in institutions. If we have journalists claiming the FBI cannot investigate Trump, making false claims about planting evidence or saying the judge is rigged, repeated often, how is anyone going to trust our rule of law? Yes, we should definitely be criticizing our legal system and police but if we don’t do it in a productive manner and only do it to protect some elderly rich man and not people who have actually been wronged, its only destructive. Disinformation has also attacked schools and libraries using LGBTQ+ issues or book bans as wedge issues to weaken public trust and demonize them in hopes of eroding public institutions to replace them with privatized education and profit barriers to knowledge. There are people like Chaya Raichik of LibsofTikTok who’s platform exists to advocate for violence against teachers, librarians and public officials but are legally protected despite promoting false of misleading information leading to many bomb threats.
SO, what can we do about it? McQuade lays out suggestions such as making social media companies legally responsible for the content and creating a social media code of ethics, something Lee McIntyre also advocates for in his book On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy:
‘To stop the truth killers from succeeding, we must get more serious about fighting the amplification of misinformation and disinformation, and for that we need to create more reason for both partisan and social media outlets to curb the role that they play in propagating polluted content.’
She also suggests regulation to reduce bots, eliminate anonymous users, and subsidize paywalls. Bolstering local journalism as well. But we can also be more vigilant in our own lives and promote civic engagement by advocating for information literacy, improving online tools and, most importantly, a complete overhaul of campaign finance and eliminate Citizens United.
Attack from Within is an accessible and informative book and McQuade does an excellent job trying information to current events. I think I preferred this more when it got into the technical, legal aspects but it was a quick and helpful read and available through your local library!
4/5
October 9, 2024
“We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what’s in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense.” – President Barack Obama
I wasn’t sure I wanted to read this one. Not that it didn’t have a relevant message. Its message, if anything was critical. I just wasn’t sure the audience that needed to read it would. My head aches with information overload. But I believe in our country and our world that we can be a better place if we choose to listen to one another, be civil with each other and educate ourselves to the truth of what is happening around us. And as our former President Obama said above, “we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together…”
So, here I am. With you. Again. Reading and discussing another book about an important issue affecting our way of life.
“In a warm information war, the human mind is the territory.” – Renee Diresta, The Digital Maginot Line
First of all, what is disinformation? Dictionary definition:
“False information intended to mislead – especially propaganda issued to manipulate others.”
Disinformation is designed to evoke a strong emotional response to push people toward more extreme views, unable to find common ground with others.
Would you agree?
McQuade was a U.S. Attorney in Michigan from 2010 to 2017. She was a vocal proponent about the effects of disinformation on society. Her point in writing this book is that she believes our democratic freedoms have become susceptible to disinformation.
Would you agree with the author?
I think that is what attracted me to this book in the first place.
Her basic argument is that “we need to have a conversation and common-sense solution to this issue.”
Instead, what she sees is that we are calling each other names, using labels, and retreating to opposite sides, instead of coming up with solutions. And, I think we could agree that is right.
Our country is more polarized than ever.
I saw this one meme on Facebook yesterday. It showed a picture of Obama with the word Hope, a picture of Trump with the word Hate, a picture of Biden with the word Heal and a picture of Harris with the word Grow.
It is easy to understand how each of those individuals became “labeled” with those words. That is the message that they have embodied. It is the message they speak. Think about this a moment.
Let us focus especially on how the message of hate may play out with disinformation.
“In fascist politics, language is not used simply, or even chiefly, to convey information but to elicit emotion.” – Jason Stanley, Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy, Yale University
For McQuade, as she shared more and more about the message of disinformation, and, the more she would speak out, the more she would be threatened with violence. She noted that disinformation and violence are part of the same authoritarian playbook. Her examples noted were quite historically familiar – i.e., Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union.
McQuade shared that “political violence not only eliminates some opponents it also silences others.” And, when that happens, disinformation is ignored. As well as goes unchecked.
McQuade, is unsparing throughout this book, when it comes to Donald Trump, his administration, and his enablers. Considering the “big lie”, the excusers of political violence (the insurrection comes to mind) and the distorters of history, their disinformation spreading is down to a science.
There is a lot of anger in these pages (or, is it just my interpretation of my feelings?). And, I am sure a lot of readers will recognize it, too. Or, am I projecting, again? Especially, since so much of this disinformation is so recent. But again, historically it goes back to Nazi Germany plays, and so forth.
Through her chapters, McQuade shows how the dis-informers gain their power, the tactics they use, how the disinformation works, the dangers of emerging technology, and how vulnerable we are – enough to destroy us as a nation.
Consider the many fact-checkers that come out after every political speech provided.
McQuade provides extensive footnotes to support her subject. She also provides practical solutions to break down the ways disinformation has taken over our lives, and shows readers how we can prevent future attacks on our democracy.
I’d like to believe we can see through the disinformation and find our way to a more rational way of governing ourselves. Moving beyond the hate mongering and returning to a more civil form of communication. Respecting differences and appreciating them, as well. And, perhaps even paying attention to the fact-checking. By knowing when a lie is a lie, is a lie.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to read this one. Not that it didn’t have a relevant message. Its message, if anything was critical. I just wasn’t sure the audience that needed to read it would. My head aches with information overload. But I believe in our country and our world that we can be a better place if we choose to listen to one another, be civil with each other and educate ourselves to the truth of what is happening around us. And as our former President Obama said above, “we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together…”
So, here I am. With you. Again. Reading and discussing another book about an important issue affecting our way of life.
“In a warm information war, the human mind is the territory.” – Renee Diresta, The Digital Maginot Line
First of all, what is disinformation? Dictionary definition:
“False information intended to mislead – especially propaganda issued to manipulate others.”
Disinformation is designed to evoke a strong emotional response to push people toward more extreme views, unable to find common ground with others.
Would you agree?
McQuade was a U.S. Attorney in Michigan from 2010 to 2017. She was a vocal proponent about the effects of disinformation on society. Her point in writing this book is that she believes our democratic freedoms have become susceptible to disinformation.
Would you agree with the author?
I think that is what attracted me to this book in the first place.
Her basic argument is that “we need to have a conversation and common-sense solution to this issue.”
Instead, what she sees is that we are calling each other names, using labels, and retreating to opposite sides, instead of coming up with solutions. And, I think we could agree that is right.
Our country is more polarized than ever.
I saw this one meme on Facebook yesterday. It showed a picture of Obama with the word Hope, a picture of Trump with the word Hate, a picture of Biden with the word Heal and a picture of Harris with the word Grow.
It is easy to understand how each of those individuals became “labeled” with those words. That is the message that they have embodied. It is the message they speak. Think about this a moment.
Let us focus especially on how the message of hate may play out with disinformation.
“In fascist politics, language is not used simply, or even chiefly, to convey information but to elicit emotion.” – Jason Stanley, Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy, Yale University
For McQuade, as she shared more and more about the message of disinformation, and, the more she would speak out, the more she would be threatened with violence. She noted that disinformation and violence are part of the same authoritarian playbook. Her examples noted were quite historically familiar – i.e., Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union.
McQuade shared that “political violence not only eliminates some opponents it also silences others.” And, when that happens, disinformation is ignored. As well as goes unchecked.
McQuade, is unsparing throughout this book, when it comes to Donald Trump, his administration, and his enablers. Considering the “big lie”, the excusers of political violence (the insurrection comes to mind) and the distorters of history, their disinformation spreading is down to a science.
There is a lot of anger in these pages (or, is it just my interpretation of my feelings?). And, I am sure a lot of readers will recognize it, too. Or, am I projecting, again? Especially, since so much of this disinformation is so recent. But again, historically it goes back to Nazi Germany plays, and so forth.
Through her chapters, McQuade shows how the dis-informers gain their power, the tactics they use, how the disinformation works, the dangers of emerging technology, and how vulnerable we are – enough to destroy us as a nation.
Consider the many fact-checkers that come out after every political speech provided.
McQuade provides extensive footnotes to support her subject. She also provides practical solutions to break down the ways disinformation has taken over our lives, and shows readers how we can prevent future attacks on our democracy.
I’d like to believe we can see through the disinformation and find our way to a more rational way of governing ourselves. Moving beyond the hate mongering and returning to a more civil form of communication. Respecting differences and appreciating them, as well. And, perhaps even paying attention to the fact-checking. By knowing when a lie is a lie, is a lie.
February 6, 2024
Thoughtful and well-laid out discussion of disinformation. Has a textbook feel, which is not a bad thing from a professor. Ends with ideas on how to address the issue.
March 4, 2024
I had high expectations for this book, based on the author’s impressive credentials. I thought that a former U.S Attorney, current university law professor, and legal analyst for MSNBC would have something trenchant to say about “How Disinformation is Sabotaging America,” but alas, not. As I read the recounting of recent newsworthy events, and even some historical ones, all carefully explained, and then explained again, I could not help thinking that the only reasonably educated person (and I am no law professor, so that bar is not set high) who would find these items to be new information must surely have been in a coma for the last 10 years.
There were a few gems, like the Michigan judge who said that the would-be kidnappers of Governor Gretchen Whitmer might be able to use Michigan’s “citizens arrest” law as their defense. THAT was a new one on me! But in general, the discussion was about as sophisticated as a 7th grade civics textbook from the 1970’s. Very disappointing.
A note on the audiobook edition: the author narrates this book, and that only makes things worse. While she speaks clearly and has a pleasant voice, her cadence is, however unintentionally, condescending in the extreme. It is painful to listen to.
There were a few gems, like the Michigan judge who said that the would-be kidnappers of Governor Gretchen Whitmer might be able to use Michigan’s “citizens arrest” law as their defense. THAT was a new one on me! But in general, the discussion was about as sophisticated as a 7th grade civics textbook from the 1970’s. Very disappointing.
A note on the audiobook edition: the author narrates this book, and that only makes things worse. While she speaks clearly and has a pleasant voice, her cadence is, however unintentionally, condescending in the extreme. It is painful to listen to.
February 28, 2024
Fabulous book. Very well researched and so much great information. Now if only EVERYONE would read this, that would be great and people might actually learn something.
April 25, 2024
Well done, informative book. Sadly, I’m not sure it will reach the audience that really needs to read it.
March 8, 2024
I was hoping for a book that talked about how social media and the people who control it are shaping out thoughts. The Audible plot synopsis made it appear that way. But the author is just Trump bashing. Sure he gives plenty of material and is a liar, but all politicians use social media to influence voters and this book is in no way balanced. It isn’t until Chapter 4 where she addresses technology and how the media has changed. That chapter was decent. All those before and after are just going on and on about Trump. I got very tired of it and didn’t buy the book to hear that. Trump wasn’t mentioned once in the synopsis but is 90% of this book.
September 5, 2024
I have once again decided to embark on a mission to read a number of books on subjects that will be of great importance to the upcoming 2024 US Presidential Election. This was a great success as I prepared for 2020, with an outcome at the polls (and antics by both candidates up to Inauguration Day) that only a fiction writer might have come up with at the time! Many of these will focus on actors and events intricately involved in the US political system over the last few years, in hopes that I can understand them better and, perhaps, educate others with the power to cast a ballot. I am, as always, open to serious recommendations from anyone who has a book I might like to include in the process.
With the events of July 21, 2024, when Joe Biden chose not to seek re-election, the challenge has become harder to properly reflect the Democratic side. I will do the best I can to properly prepare and offer up books that can explore the Biden Administration, as well as whomever takes the helm into November.
This is Book #22 in my 2024 US Election Preparation Challenge.
Exploring some of the legal concerns about the upcoming election, I sought some ideas from MSNBC’s legal expert, Barbara McQuade. In a book that is as eye-opening as it is embarrassing, McQuade pulls no punches as she clearly outlines many of the concerns facing America ahead of the upcoming 2024 election. Tackling concerns from many angles, McQuade lays out her arguments clearly and with strong facts, rather than relying on rhetoric used by many on the right to cement their views, even without support (something that McQuade addresses within the book). A well-paced book that is sure to fan the flames and leave some wailing all the way to the ballot box (if they can meet the voting requirements in their respective states)!
The wave of mis- and dis-information is on the rise in America, of that there is no doub. Barbara McQuade cites that this is highly concerning and wishes to explore many of the problems that have come to pass and will prove troublesome when voters go to the polls in November 2024. Democracy is being eroded and there is no stopping it unless someone stands up and addresses many of the issues McQuade presents in this well-researched book.
Disinformation—the act of knowingly presenting false information to ensure people have incorrect facts—is on the rise in America and can be found in many areas. One such prevalent area is the use of social media, with little filter or limitations to what people can post. This allows those who wish to dream of sentiments or views to do so freely. How people seeing these posts will react is entirely unpredictable and creates an ever-building system of both mis- and disinformation. While free speech is espoused by many (especially those on the right who post such items), there are limits that McQuade posits can lean towards the dangerous. She wonders why some people are so susceptible to this influencing, though she offers added proof that some have means of weaving problematic anonymous support to push their views. This veiled support helps fuel ongoing confusing and lies that cannot be proven wrong.
Influences from outside the country help to create more problematic issues about spreading lies, especially since there is no means of stopping the influx coming from Russian and Chinese bots. McQuade cited many of the concerns from the 2016 and 2020 elections, where Trump used those falsifiers to fuel his campaigns. However, these falsehoods are not simply concerning about outsider meddling, but the lies and unsubstantiated comments only go to dupe those who lap it up. McQuade presents her concerns repeatedly as she explains away how many do not realise the problems before them, so they cannot think critically. Advances in technology including rapid developments in artificial intelligence threaten to make the problems even worse by amplifying false claims and manufacturing credibility.
Not only are there concerns with ongoing digital media presentation, but a complete lack of substantiation of comments made by the right in person. People are expected to simply take it at face value and not challenge what s being said, When some are challenged to support their comments, the speakers accuse those who ask them of being a part of the problem or tossing epithets in their direction, further propagating the telling of false truths. This whirlwind of chaotic sentiment can only perpetuate the ongoing issues America faces, where truths are no longer seeped in reality, but rather whatever the speaker chooses to purport as truth. “Many have said...” or “I was told by someone earlier...” become to norm as creating rumour-injected comments to fuel a truth that has no legs on which to stand. As the everyday citizen is inundated with messaging from all sides—both in person and through social media—there is a need to be highly critical, though time leaves no chance to challenge much of anything. McQuade hopes to shed light on these issues, but can only do so much hoping the reader will take up the challenge to find the truth for themselves.
Perhaps one of the most troubling aspects that McQuade addresses is the changing of voting laws to make casting a ballot all the more difficult. These laws arose years ago and had, after significant changes in the Civil Rights Movement and up until the early 21st century, a gatekeeper to ensure they were fair and just. In a post-2020 era, after Trump falsely claimed the election he lost was rigged —I cannot help but wonder if the same would have been said had he eked out a tiny win—states began changing the laws to ensure that mail-in ballots were strictly limited to prevent ‘Democratic surges’ on election night. McQuade comments that some on the right worried that people were ‘not getting the results by 10pm before they went to bed’. Laws that seek not only to limit voting hours, but also make identification difficult to procure are appearing and standing firm in Republican-backed statehouses. It is said that this is to protect the democratic process and some ate lapping it up, but the veiled choice to limit voting abilities is clearly seen and those who fire up the rhetoric machine are feasting on the lies it churns out. These limitations are surely going to influence the results, though one can hope that information campaigns can get out there to ensure voters have what they need to cast a ballot and protect the democracy Americans cherish.
A book of this nature is meant not only to stir up emotions, but to challenge views that are presented from all sided. Barbara McQuade does well to unveil many of the problems facing Americans ahead of the 2024 election, especially with an intense presidential campaign set to divide the country once more. With thorough chapters meant to explore issues and offer some answers, she seeks to dispel the numerous myths that are drowning out all the truths that linger in the shadows. Well-paced arguments and substantiated ideas help fuel the discussion, though there are times I felt McQuade was shouting int the wind, trying to shed light on something that is sure to vilify her amongst the rightists. True, she is a talking head for one of the ‘fake news’ platforms that many on the right have been told to avoid, but her comments hold water and can be seen by many, given the chance to explore them. I would welcome something from the other side that seeks to use evidence and not simply rhetoric.
America has been though the wringer, particularly with the 2021 insurrection, but there are some who want to ride that wave and hope to keep pushing the falsehoods as their own realities. What needs doing now is to challenge these views and have the general public (if not the reader alone) seek to critically analyze everything that is going on. Time is running out, but there is no expiry date on democratic views, even as authoritarians seek to change the rules and make it seem as though they are the victims.
Kudos, Madam McQuade, for shedding more light on the issues at hand and addressing many problems that are being swept under the rug or labelled as ‘left-wing conspiracies’.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
With the events of July 21, 2024, when Joe Biden chose not to seek re-election, the challenge has become harder to properly reflect the Democratic side. I will do the best I can to properly prepare and offer up books that can explore the Biden Administration, as well as whomever takes the helm into November.
This is Book #22 in my 2024 US Election Preparation Challenge.
Exploring some of the legal concerns about the upcoming election, I sought some ideas from MSNBC’s legal expert, Barbara McQuade. In a book that is as eye-opening as it is embarrassing, McQuade pulls no punches as she clearly outlines many of the concerns facing America ahead of the upcoming 2024 election. Tackling concerns from many angles, McQuade lays out her arguments clearly and with strong facts, rather than relying on rhetoric used by many on the right to cement their views, even without support (something that McQuade addresses within the book). A well-paced book that is sure to fan the flames and leave some wailing all the way to the ballot box (if they can meet the voting requirements in their respective states)!
The wave of mis- and dis-information is on the rise in America, of that there is no doub. Barbara McQuade cites that this is highly concerning and wishes to explore many of the problems that have come to pass and will prove troublesome when voters go to the polls in November 2024. Democracy is being eroded and there is no stopping it unless someone stands up and addresses many of the issues McQuade presents in this well-researched book.
Disinformation—the act of knowingly presenting false information to ensure people have incorrect facts—is on the rise in America and can be found in many areas. One such prevalent area is the use of social media, with little filter or limitations to what people can post. This allows those who wish to dream of sentiments or views to do so freely. How people seeing these posts will react is entirely unpredictable and creates an ever-building system of both mis- and disinformation. While free speech is espoused by many (especially those on the right who post such items), there are limits that McQuade posits can lean towards the dangerous. She wonders why some people are so susceptible to this influencing, though she offers added proof that some have means of weaving problematic anonymous support to push their views. This veiled support helps fuel ongoing confusing and lies that cannot be proven wrong.
Influences from outside the country help to create more problematic issues about spreading lies, especially since there is no means of stopping the influx coming from Russian and Chinese bots. McQuade cited many of the concerns from the 2016 and 2020 elections, where Trump used those falsifiers to fuel his campaigns. However, these falsehoods are not simply concerning about outsider meddling, but the lies and unsubstantiated comments only go to dupe those who lap it up. McQuade presents her concerns repeatedly as she explains away how many do not realise the problems before them, so they cannot think critically. Advances in technology including rapid developments in artificial intelligence threaten to make the problems even worse by amplifying false claims and manufacturing credibility.
Not only are there concerns with ongoing digital media presentation, but a complete lack of substantiation of comments made by the right in person. People are expected to simply take it at face value and not challenge what s being said, When some are challenged to support their comments, the speakers accuse those who ask them of being a part of the problem or tossing epithets in their direction, further propagating the telling of false truths. This whirlwind of chaotic sentiment can only perpetuate the ongoing issues America faces, where truths are no longer seeped in reality, but rather whatever the speaker chooses to purport as truth. “Many have said...” or “I was told by someone earlier...” become to norm as creating rumour-injected comments to fuel a truth that has no legs on which to stand. As the everyday citizen is inundated with messaging from all sides—both in person and through social media—there is a need to be highly critical, though time leaves no chance to challenge much of anything. McQuade hopes to shed light on these issues, but can only do so much hoping the reader will take up the challenge to find the truth for themselves.
Perhaps one of the most troubling aspects that McQuade addresses is the changing of voting laws to make casting a ballot all the more difficult. These laws arose years ago and had, after significant changes in the Civil Rights Movement and up until the early 21st century, a gatekeeper to ensure they were fair and just. In a post-2020 era, after Trump falsely claimed the election he lost was rigged —I cannot help but wonder if the same would have been said had he eked out a tiny win—states began changing the laws to ensure that mail-in ballots were strictly limited to prevent ‘Democratic surges’ on election night. McQuade comments that some on the right worried that people were ‘not getting the results by 10pm before they went to bed’. Laws that seek not only to limit voting hours, but also make identification difficult to procure are appearing and standing firm in Republican-backed statehouses. It is said that this is to protect the democratic process and some ate lapping it up, but the veiled choice to limit voting abilities is clearly seen and those who fire up the rhetoric machine are feasting on the lies it churns out. These limitations are surely going to influence the results, though one can hope that information campaigns can get out there to ensure voters have what they need to cast a ballot and protect the democracy Americans cherish.
A book of this nature is meant not only to stir up emotions, but to challenge views that are presented from all sided. Barbara McQuade does well to unveil many of the problems facing Americans ahead of the 2024 election, especially with an intense presidential campaign set to divide the country once more. With thorough chapters meant to explore issues and offer some answers, she seeks to dispel the numerous myths that are drowning out all the truths that linger in the shadows. Well-paced arguments and substantiated ideas help fuel the discussion, though there are times I felt McQuade was shouting int the wind, trying to shed light on something that is sure to vilify her amongst the rightists. True, she is a talking head for one of the ‘fake news’ platforms that many on the right have been told to avoid, but her comments hold water and can be seen by many, given the chance to explore them. I would welcome something from the other side that seeks to use evidence and not simply rhetoric.
America has been though the wringer, particularly with the 2021 insurrection, but there are some who want to ride that wave and hope to keep pushing the falsehoods as their own realities. What needs doing now is to challenge these views and have the general public (if not the reader alone) seek to critically analyze everything that is going on. Time is running out, but there is no expiry date on democratic views, even as authoritarians seek to change the rules and make it seem as though they are the victims.
Kudos, Madam McQuade, for shedding more light on the issues at hand and addressing many problems that are being swept under the rug or labelled as ‘left-wing conspiracies’.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Read
March 11, 2024Excellent. Prof McQuade will be giving a lecture at Powell's later this month, can't wait to attend. (she was also just a guest on the podcast Amicus and that was a very informative episode)
In reading the other reviews, I find it interesting that people were like "duh, as if we didn't know all of this already"... well THAT is the problem. Only some of us hardcore news junkies know this stuff, the majority of Americans don't know, don't care, don't bother to follow current events (or worse, only get their news from TikTok/Instagram). It is hard to write a book that both educates those that follow everything closely and those that don't.
In reading the other reviews, I find it interesting that people were like "duh, as if we didn't know all of this already"... well THAT is the problem. Only some of us hardcore news junkies know this stuff, the majority of Americans don't know, don't care, don't bother to follow current events (or worse, only get their news from TikTok/Instagram). It is hard to write a book that both educates those that follow everything closely and those that don't.
September 25, 2024
Non-Fiction makes up less than 10% of my reading, and political non-fiction is probably 10% of that. But Barbara McQuade - along with the other whip-smart women who contribute to the Sisters In Law podcast - is always thoughtful, measured, and compelling.
This discussion of disinformation, misinformation, and other forms of destructive political rhetoric that have been eroding America's democratic foundations is outstanding and exceeded my already high expectations. It may not be everyone's cup of tea. Certainly I intended to pass it by until the advent of Kamala Harris in these final months of our next major election dispelled my apathy and reignited my interest in critical thinking about our election woes.
If you happened to read and appreciate The Idea that Is America: Keeping Faith with Our Values in a Dangerous World, McQuade's book is similarly worth your time.
4.5 stars
This discussion of disinformation, misinformation, and other forms of destructive political rhetoric that have been eroding America's democratic foundations is outstanding and exceeded my already high expectations. It may not be everyone's cup of tea. Certainly I intended to pass it by until the advent of Kamala Harris in these final months of our next major election dispelled my apathy and reignited my interest in critical thinking about our election woes.
If you happened to read and appreciate The Idea that Is America: Keeping Faith with Our Values in a Dangerous World, McQuade's book is similarly worth your time.
4.5 stars
May 24, 2024
We Must Save Our Democracy!!
"When we’re dancing with the angels, the question will be asked, in 2019, what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact?" - Elijah Cummings
As I read this book, I couldn’t help but think about these profound words from Congressman Elijah Cummings in 2019. "Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America" delves deep into how falsehoods and misinformation are seriously harming American society and politics, nudging us perilously closer to authoritarianism. The author, Barbara McQuade, not only pinpoints the problem but also suggests practical fixes, like implementing new rules and getting more people involved. By analyzing current political trends, she stresses the urgent need to defend democracy. Ignoring these issues won't make them disappear; we must tackle them head-on.
It's unfortunate that those who could benefit most from reading this book might not pick it up. But if you genuinely care about America and want our democracy to thrive, please, do yourself a favor and give it a read!
"When we’re dancing with the angels, the question will be asked, in 2019, what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact?" - Elijah Cummings
As I read this book, I couldn’t help but think about these profound words from Congressman Elijah Cummings in 2019. "Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America" delves deep into how falsehoods and misinformation are seriously harming American society and politics, nudging us perilously closer to authoritarianism. The author, Barbara McQuade, not only pinpoints the problem but also suggests practical fixes, like implementing new rules and getting more people involved. By analyzing current political trends, she stresses the urgent need to defend democracy. Ignoring these issues won't make them disappear; we must tackle them head-on.
It's unfortunate that those who could benefit most from reading this book might not pick it up. But if you genuinely care about America and want our democracy to thrive, please, do yourself a favor and give it a read!
June 4, 2024
Nothing wrong with the information here.
But the bias and tone of it make it borderline useless.
Even when information is true it does not serve the author well to have such a flagrant bias.
But the bias and tone of it make it borderline useless.
Even when information is true it does not serve the author well to have such a flagrant bias.
March 11, 2024
Seems like a middle or high school essay that would receive an A. And a waste of time. Very little new information for anyone following the news or just being alive in the United States. Surprised this was a bestselling book.
January 15, 2025
Truth matters, and this historically important document is full of it. On the question of who is attacking America, objective truth is fully available, in here.
Chapter 9, about solutions is especially valuable, introducing dozens of ideas. Many already exist, but are not widely distributed. Others seem less realistic to me, given American's current inability to agree on anything.
Chapter 9, about solutions is especially valuable, introducing dozens of ideas. Many already exist, but are not widely distributed. Others seem less realistic to me, given American's current inability to agree on anything.
February 29, 2024
This is an outstanding book delineating the meaning of disinformation and its powerful effects on American society and governance. The author carefully describes the path to authoritarianism through disinformation. Her proposals for policy and regulatory solutions are sound, along with the ways in which citizens must engage to fend off the negative impacts of this assault to American discourse.she makes a strong case to support the premise that our democracy is at risk and we need to pay attention!
March 3, 2024
A bit too surface level evaluation of our current time and politics. Like, this is the exact book that the 'MSNBC' correspondent that is occasionally brought onto Maddow would write.
April 4, 2024
Listen, I don't disagree with the premise at all, but the expansion of it left a little to be desired.
Sadly, this is one of those books that will mostly be read by people who, like me, do agree with her premise from the get-go, and for whom much of it will be preaching to the choir. The people who most need to absorb this information are the ones who probably think the book should be banned because it's offensive to their Dear Leader (aka, in their minds apparently, Jesus, which...oy vey) and it's all HOAX and WITCH HUNT and ARGLE BARGLE LIES. But I hope some normies who don't pay much day to day attention to the news might also pick it up and come to a better understanding of what has been done to our systems and society and what continues to be done to undermine and destroy them. The fact is that one of our two major parties has gone down the nutjob conspiracy theorist authoritarian bigoted rabbit hole and has no interest in crawling back up to ground level where the sane people reside. So elections, particularly presidential elections, are indeed a matter of "Do you want democracy or do you want dictatorship", and too many people are traipsing around in willful obliviousness to that truth.
To that end, I do think McQuade did a very good job of running through all the ways disinformation shows up in our political, and other, systems, how it functions, how it achieves its goals, the disastrous outcomes it can cause, and so on. Sometimes, even for someone like me who is very politically aware, it helps to see it all spelled out like this, and to be reminded of some of the horrifying things people have said--not just randos but elected officials, making literal threats of murder against liberals or anyone else they don't like, attacking them, their families, and making it very clear that what they want is a country where everyone lives by their specific interpretation of Christian scripture and the Constitution and anyone who doesn't can and should be jailed and/or killed. Like, this isn't guessing. They have said these things in plain English. And I also appreciated that she showed how the work to undermine the country from the inside can also harm other nations around the world, as well as our general standing among those nations.
However, as is typical in a work like this, there is a lot of repetition. Sometimes literally, where certain quotes are used in multiple chapters, sometimes more broadly where she uses similar general examples or explanations in different chapters. Part of the issue is that the topics in the chapters are not wholly distinct but elements of a larger whole, so teasing them out into their own sections leaves not a lot to say that you didn't already say. It would be like having one chapter about why it's good to eat fruits and another about why it's good to eat vegetables--a lot of those reasons will be the same! So sometimes it just felt like going back to the same well with slightly different wording.
I also got frustrated at a few points with what I felt to be short-sightedness, overdone optimism, and also, oddly, a bit of both-sidesism where it was really not needed or merited. Mostly, she avoids that fallacy and makes clear that it is the right wing which is to blame for nearly all of these kinds of intentional attacks on our civil society and government. At one point, she'd been running through a lot of just horrendous threats of violence made by Republicans and right wingers against Democrats, really blatant and direct statements about needing to kill them and such. And then she throws in the moment on January 6 when Pelosi was told Trump might be coming to the Capitol, and she said she hoped he did so she could punch him out, and she'd go to jail and be happy. For one thing, it was obvious she was speaking in a moment of very VERY justified anger. I mean, the rioters were chanting her name in the halls so they could find her and kill her. They made very clear what they would do if they got their hands on her. They were destroying the place and attacking police. So yeah, she was pissed, and rightly so. But also "I want to punch this man who unleashed a violent mob on the Capitol" is a far cry from "We need to kill all these damn liberals who want to make us use pronouns we don't like" or whatever. Comparing Pelosi to the rest of them was silly and gross.
Then in her conclusion, she's going through some "what can we do" steps, many of which were wise and thoughtful, but some of which were baffling. First off, stop fucking telling me to offer "olive branches" to right wingers. (Yes, she uses that term.) Stop talking about "political differences" like this is about zoning laws or something. I ain't offering any peace to someone who thinks I deserve to die because I'm queer and disabled and Jewish. I'm not having conversations with someone who believes trans people are all pedophiles. How about THEY learn to be decent human beings and then they can offer a fucking olive branch to us? Also, her notion that no one should be allowed to be anonymous on social media is laughably obtuse, considering how many people would be at great risk of doxxing, violent threats, harassment, and even death if their identity was known. But also, saying that every single account should have to be officially verified by the platform is CRAZY. For example, Instagram has around 2 billion users, and probably tens of thousands of new accounts every day. How in the bloody hell would they have time to do a complete ID verification process for all of them?? They would need like 10,000 employees doing nothing but that all day long. That idea just felt like someone who came of age long before the internet and still doesn't fully understand it.
So...yes, the book is important and very well-researched and well-explained, and I think could do a lot for the mushy middle to wake them the fuck up. But it is not without flaws and was kind of frustrating for me to read, even as someone who completely agrees with all of her basic points and warnings.
Sadly, this is one of those books that will mostly be read by people who, like me, do agree with her premise from the get-go, and for whom much of it will be preaching to the choir. The people who most need to absorb this information are the ones who probably think the book should be banned because it's offensive to their Dear Leader (aka, in their minds apparently, Jesus, which...oy vey) and it's all HOAX and WITCH HUNT and ARGLE BARGLE LIES. But I hope some normies who don't pay much day to day attention to the news might also pick it up and come to a better understanding of what has been done to our systems and society and what continues to be done to undermine and destroy them. The fact is that one of our two major parties has gone down the nutjob conspiracy theorist authoritarian bigoted rabbit hole and has no interest in crawling back up to ground level where the sane people reside. So elections, particularly presidential elections, are indeed a matter of "Do you want democracy or do you want dictatorship", and too many people are traipsing around in willful obliviousness to that truth.
To that end, I do think McQuade did a very good job of running through all the ways disinformation shows up in our political, and other, systems, how it functions, how it achieves its goals, the disastrous outcomes it can cause, and so on. Sometimes, even for someone like me who is very politically aware, it helps to see it all spelled out like this, and to be reminded of some of the horrifying things people have said--not just randos but elected officials, making literal threats of murder against liberals or anyone else they don't like, attacking them, their families, and making it very clear that what they want is a country where everyone lives by their specific interpretation of Christian scripture and the Constitution and anyone who doesn't can and should be jailed and/or killed. Like, this isn't guessing. They have said these things in plain English. And I also appreciated that she showed how the work to undermine the country from the inside can also harm other nations around the world, as well as our general standing among those nations.
However, as is typical in a work like this, there is a lot of repetition. Sometimes literally, where certain quotes are used in multiple chapters, sometimes more broadly where she uses similar general examples or explanations in different chapters. Part of the issue is that the topics in the chapters are not wholly distinct but elements of a larger whole, so teasing them out into their own sections leaves not a lot to say that you didn't already say. It would be like having one chapter about why it's good to eat fruits and another about why it's good to eat vegetables--a lot of those reasons will be the same! So sometimes it just felt like going back to the same well with slightly different wording.
I also got frustrated at a few points with what I felt to be short-sightedness, overdone optimism, and also, oddly, a bit of both-sidesism where it was really not needed or merited. Mostly, she avoids that fallacy and makes clear that it is the right wing which is to blame for nearly all of these kinds of intentional attacks on our civil society and government. At one point, she'd been running through a lot of just horrendous threats of violence made by Republicans and right wingers against Democrats, really blatant and direct statements about needing to kill them and such. And then she throws in the moment on January 6 when Pelosi was told Trump might be coming to the Capitol, and she said she hoped he did so she could punch him out, and she'd go to jail and be happy. For one thing, it was obvious she was speaking in a moment of very VERY justified anger. I mean, the rioters were chanting her name in the halls so they could find her and kill her. They made very clear what they would do if they got their hands on her. They were destroying the place and attacking police. So yeah, she was pissed, and rightly so. But also "I want to punch this man who unleashed a violent mob on the Capitol" is a far cry from "We need to kill all these damn liberals who want to make us use pronouns we don't like" or whatever. Comparing Pelosi to the rest of them was silly and gross.
Then in her conclusion, she's going through some "what can we do" steps, many of which were wise and thoughtful, but some of which were baffling. First off, stop fucking telling me to offer "olive branches" to right wingers. (Yes, she uses that term.) Stop talking about "political differences" like this is about zoning laws or something. I ain't offering any peace to someone who thinks I deserve to die because I'm queer and disabled and Jewish. I'm not having conversations with someone who believes trans people are all pedophiles. How about THEY learn to be decent human beings and then they can offer a fucking olive branch to us? Also, her notion that no one should be allowed to be anonymous on social media is laughably obtuse, considering how many people would be at great risk of doxxing, violent threats, harassment, and even death if their identity was known. But also, saying that every single account should have to be officially verified by the platform is CRAZY. For example, Instagram has around 2 billion users, and probably tens of thousands of new accounts every day. How in the bloody hell would they have time to do a complete ID verification process for all of them?? They would need like 10,000 employees doing nothing but that all day long. That idea just felt like someone who came of age long before the internet and still doesn't fully understand it.
So...yes, the book is important and very well-researched and well-explained, and I think could do a lot for the mushy middle to wake them the fuck up. But it is not without flaws and was kind of frustrating for me to read, even as someone who completely agrees with all of her basic points and warnings.
July 20, 2024
Did not finish. Two stars is generous. It was incredibly biased toward one side of what should have been a neutral approach to expounding on the epidemic of misinformation through American media. Only one side is to blame: Trump and the GOP. It was an endless wrap sheet of all he has ever done wrong, all of the things he’s said that are bad or untrue, and all of the ways the GOP has harmed the nation. It’s not that everything was factually untrue, much of it is true and perhaps deserved, but the book neglected a balance elaborating on both sides of the political spectrum and the responsibility all politicians, news outlets, and American citizens have to report the truth. There were hypocritical statements one after the other. The author would criticize Trump for something awful that he had said, and in the next paragraph, she’d quote something Clinton had said, without condemning her obtuse comment. Keep in mind, this is all coming from someone who doesn’t love Trump, and I believe that Trump’s insensitivity is second to none when it comes to American’s presidential candidates. But what I dislike even more, is a book that has a promise of education and intrigue, but instead, is saturated with unapologetic bias, immature hypocritical statements, historical anecdotes that are not properly vetted or nuanced, and organization as sound as a toddler’s toy chest. What’s more, the only person who would perhaps find this book enlightening would be someone who had never heard of the United States or was at least unfamiliar with its history for the past 10 years. As a US citizen who has lived through it all, the new pieces of information were few and far between.
June 16, 2024
I am a part-American who has lived much of his life outside the country and now for family and professional reasons will not likely ever return save as a short-term tourist. So, living in MAGA America is not my fate. Still, the descent into the madness of Donald Trump’s Christian White Nationalist America is profoundly disturbing and its peril for the international community cannot be discounted. This book ably analyzes the “why” and suggests the “what” of could be done to counter the toxicty of the MAGA movement and its impact on American insitutions. Let us pray people of goodwill carry the day.
May 11, 2024
An especially important book leading up to the 2024 election. Barbara McQuade goes through the ways Republicans have used disinformation to weaken our democratic institutions. She draws on her own expertise, as well as other experts on authoritarianism, propaganda, and democracy. While the people who need this most (indoctrinated Republicans) will be unlikely to read this, it's still worthwhile to learn the tactics politicians like Trump use to indoctrinate. She ends with suggestions of meaningful changes, both at the legal, societal, and personal levels.
March 29, 2024
She seems bent on the idea that I should put this one in my "could not finish" for all her TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) thought processes. George Soros as a progressive hero almost makes my case by itself.
In the end I did finish listening and now might just kick myself for doing so. I suppose that people really ought to pay closer attention to that which they imbibe, but please do not take this woman seriously.
In the end I did finish listening and now might just kick myself for doing so. I suppose that people really ought to pay closer attention to that which they imbibe, but please do not take this woman seriously.
May 12, 2024
Basically a recap of the last years of US politics, not anything new to anyone who follows the news.
July 24, 2024
What I’ve learned recently: this country is messed up as hell and we ought to start over
June 2, 2024
A profoundly important book about how disinformation works to destabilize democracies. Written by a law professor and former federal prosecutor who served on anti-terrorism task forces, she brings her experience with terrorism and her understanding of the legal system to present the challenges we face as a country. In the book she discusses that these tactics are being used mostly by conservatives here but points to autocratic dictatorships around the world to demonstrate this isn’t a uniquely right or left issue, but rather an authoritarian one.
It was interesting to read this book following Trump’s conviction because it’s much easier to identify the tactics being used by Trump to sow discord about our judicial system. I’ve also begun to notice how much false information is posted on social media, even about nonsense like celebrities to get an emotional reaction. And with the addition of AI, this begins to give a veneer of truth. We must be vigilant, her book offers several solutions, from market solutions to government solutions to private citizens’ solutions. This is a must read for everyone participating in the digital world.
It was interesting to read this book following Trump’s conviction because it’s much easier to identify the tactics being used by Trump to sow discord about our judicial system. I’ve also begun to notice how much false information is posted on social media, even about nonsense like celebrities to get an emotional reaction. And with the addition of AI, this begins to give a veneer of truth. We must be vigilant, her book offers several solutions, from market solutions to government solutions to private citizens’ solutions. This is a must read for everyone participating in the digital world.
March 12, 2024
5-
I have no desire to go to Law School or be an attorney, but I would love to be a fly on the wall in Barbara McQuade's Ann Arbor law class at the University of Michigan This book is written and narrated so clearly that it can be understood and pondered by anyone concerned with preserving the rule of law and fair justice in our country. I wish that all of my professors at Michigan, back in the day, had been as articulate and engaging as she.
I follow the news closely, especially the progress in our 2024 elections. This book is an analysis of the last 8 years and confirms what I have personally heard, watched, and read from a variety of sources during that period. Recommended.
I have no desire to go to Law School or be an attorney, but I would love to be a fly on the wall in Barbara McQuade's Ann Arbor law class at the University of Michigan This book is written and narrated so clearly that it can be understood and pondered by anyone concerned with preserving the rule of law and fair justice in our country. I wish that all of my professors at Michigan, back in the day, had been as articulate and engaging as she.
I follow the news closely, especially the progress in our 2024 elections. This book is an analysis of the last 8 years and confirms what I have personally heard, watched, and read from a variety of sources during that period. Recommended.
November 15, 2024
DNF at 76% - this book isn't contributing any new analysis of US propaganda and political misinformation; rather, it is using a very elementary and partisan interpretation of these tools to attack the GOP (rightfully so) with minimal discussion of how the democratic party has also regularly employed them for their cause, often drawing cause-and-effect conclusions that are extremely weak and one-dimensional. Also, the classic neoliberal BS is out-of-control: quoting MLK and saying "everything Hitler did was legal" while in the same breath saying we need to trust "law and order", taking a pro-imperialist stance in advocating that the US is "promoting global democracy" while also admitting that our government has regularly put autocratic regimes into power, acknowledging "systemic racism" and then immediately saying we should trust police officers, etc. etc. (but then again, what did I expect from an MSNBC prosecutor, that's probably my bad lol)
April 29, 2024
Brilliant book about miss information, text book style that was excruciating to read and mostly helpful getting me to sleep.
I watch her most days on MSNBC and was hopeful that I would also enjoy her book.
I watch her most days on MSNBC and was hopeful that I would also enjoy her book.
May 4, 2025
Perhaps I was reading this because I needed an outlet and a way to understand how certain politicians came to power… Obviously the author is also a politician and has an agenda with this book which needs to be taken into consideration. However, her thesis was convincing and provided clear examples based on quotations and events. The author also took evidence from leaders like Hitler and Mussolini and related their actions to today’s world. This book was published in February 2024 and it was interesting to see how certain themes were even more obvious today! The regulations being put in place across the country that restrict voting in order to combat the - false - allegations of voting fraud are especially troubling. The author also presented relevant circumstances in today’s world such as social media and the rise of AI. I appreciated that she provided solutions at the end - some better than others - about how to improve our world.
July 15, 2024
This is a five star read because it captures in the most succinct form I have found, the slew of challenges our country faces and all the historical parallels (and things for which there are no parallels) that we have to deal with to survive as a nation. A few things stand out: 1) how dangerous false claims of voter fraud are, especially when secretaries of state are buying into them, and just how crazy Kari Lake and George Santos took this to extremes, 2) It's not about Democrats v. Republicans, it's about truth, the Soviets started with disinformation campaigns--and we are catching up--and our commitment to free speech is a double-edged sword because it's hard to limit misinformation then, 3) Almost all limits on voting hit communities of color, young voters, and poor voters--leaving many potential Democrats disenfranchised, 4) Crazy people think that second amendment means we get to have the same weapons as the government, 5) Democracies are not inevitable--some die in coups, but others die through the abuse of democratic norms, 6) AI can manufacture disinformation faster than anything we have seen before, 7) Strategies of strongmen is to manipulate the public so they believe both anything and nothing - Hannah Arendt, 8) Pushing declinism - that society is going downhill - is classic totalitarian tactic, think of how babyboomers judge younger generations just as they were once judged, Trump's MAGA theme is all this 9) Trump is star of the show, kind of like Hitler, flags, big crowds, colors, etc. they are sites of emotional training, Trump brands everything, 10) Shut down critics--media is a threat to the authoritarian, so now they are enemy of the people, experts are elites, and administrators are deep state, 11) Authoritarians have no patience for protest, because it shows them as not completely loved, but if you show them as violent criminals, protesters are shunned, 12) Targeting journalists is just a way to silence and alter honest journalism, 13) Stalin created Pravda which meant truth, Trump has truth social, Years of exposure to fake truth make all truth less meaningful, 14) Public access is necessary for an enlightened citizenry, democracy is in peril if public is mis- or disinformed, 15) Availability bias and emotional message help authoritarians, go big, use humor, keep it simple, destroying truth are all tactics, 16) False claim becomes more believable because of its audacity, most people tell small lies but wouldn't make big ones--which weirdly makes big ones more believable--this is Hitler's idea, but Trump is using it too, election was stolen? Seriously? 17) Chants and cheers and repetition create availability cascade that make things more believeable because they are said so often, 18) Trump doesn't tell jokes, he just makes fun of people, 19) we believe conspiracies because we want there to be reasons for things, it's an innate desire for safety, 20) Cognitive dissonance got conservatives to stop watching Fox news when they called election for Biden, so Fox started with conspiracy theories after to get viewers back, 21) If we get news online, we don't know if it's news, gossip, or opinion, and this makes us more susceptible to misinformation, Some times we just check out from news completely, 22) Destroy belief in trust, because if everyone is corrupt, then you might as well pick a strong person, 23) Voter fraud cases serve the same purpose as the old grandfather-clause laws, let's limit the vote, it's no longer about policy, it's about identity, 24) Society is weakened when we have doubts for too many years. Public service is not the deep state, but say drain the swamp enough, and people doubt experts, teachers, journalists, etc., and this gives leader the chance to fill all these positions with blind loyalists.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2026
The chapters covering what we can do about it was interesting and thought provoking but otherwise it was a little bit repetitive. She draws heavily on Steven Levitsky, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Ben Rhodes and Peter Pomerantsev so if you've read them you probably won't find a lot of new information here.
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