Web of Deceit: Misinformation and Manipulation in the Age of Social Media

by Anne P. Mintz

For all its amazing benefits, the worldwide social media phenomenon—epitomized by such sites as Facebook, Myspace, eBay, Twitter, and craigslist—has provided manipulative people and organizations with the tools (and human targets) that allow hoaxes and con games to be perpetrated on a vast scale.

In this eye-opening follow-up to her popular 2002 book, Web of Deception, Anne P. Mintz brings together a team of expert researchers, journalists, and subject experts to explain how misinformation is intentionally spread and to illuminate the dangers in a range of critical areas.

Web of Deceit is a must-read for any internet user who wants to avoid being victimized by liars, thieves, and propagandists in the age of ubiquitous social media.

Genres: Nonfiction

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2011

Reviews

[Matthew Connolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a reasonable overview of various forms of online deception, although it concentrates primarily on the fraudulent and criminal. Given the mention of social media in the subtitle, I had expected there to be more about personal deception: false personas, cyberbullying, etc.. There is one chapter that covers that sort of material, but it's not the primary aim.

That being said, the topics that are covered are good things to know about. The problem is that some of the coverage is fairly superficial (and a bit uneven from chapter to chapter). Some contributors offer useful resources and websites that can be used to, say, evaluate a charity or combat identity theft. Others provide a little too much detail. I found the first appendix, on evaluating websites, to be a good reminder of how to assess sources critically; but the second, an annotated glossary of terms, to be a little more specific than I needed it to be.

[Jyv · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably more a book for naive internet users. It didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. I skipped a couple of US-centric chapters on politics and security.

[Wayne Osborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so I haven't read this book. I read a similar book by the same author, "Web of Deceit: Misinformation on the Internet". It was an amazing book, detailing the many ways in which corporations intentionally deceive the public and their competition by intentionally posting false and misleading information on their websites. Mintz also touches on the various scams that we all know and love, but the corporate angle was the most eye opening information for me. Even if you trust the source...beware!

[Cardyn Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Web of Deceit provides a strong overview of the variety of risks the Internet combined with the insatiability of the 24/7/365 media across all platforms and human nature present. It's an intriguing jump-off point for deeper study. The endnotes and bibliography are exhaustive.