Not Buying It - the facts behind fake news

by Charlotte Henry

We are living in the 'post-truth' era - a time of alternative facts, fake news, social media echo chambers, dodgy statistics and outright lies. Caught in the middle of a tsunami of information, we are arguably more politically engaged than ever. But even when politicians and the media tell us the truth, we're just not buying it.

Genres: Nonfiction

204 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Stephen Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was proud to contribute a little to the funding of this book by my friend Charlotte Henry.

This book was interesting, well set out, well-researched, considered and throughout the writing was clear and concise backed up well by a plethora of sources. There is a tendency when it comes to political books for the language used to be dense and incomprehensible. This was not the case here.

I'm not sure if it would have been possible, but it would have added to the book if it had also interviewed people from vote leave, the Trump campaign etc to see what they would say on their engaging in fake news.

If you want to take a dive in to the world of fake news, its purveyors, impacts and tools to challenge it, this book is a great place to start.

[Peter Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Charlotte Henry writes, fake news does not exist in isolation, outlandish views posing as news are fed into a devoted social media echo chamber and become so widespread that eventually they become mainstream, with serious consequences. This book highlights how popularists have exploited this for their own benefit and how a lack of faith in institutions and politicians has allowed that to happen.

An insightful and perceptive tour of the issues around fake news, if you want to better understand the society we are living in and how fake news is being disseminated through mass communication to distort our values and our future then read this book.

[Tina Ambury · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating if somewhat depressing read.
It's even more relevant in the Covid-19 pandemic, with the current Government creating fake NHS account information to cover the utter failure of their preparations.

[Anett Kovacs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isn't it scary that we're living in something called the ‘post-truth’ era? Charlotte A. Henry describes very eloquently what that entails, how fake news and alternative facts rose to prominence, and what we can do to combat them.
Highly recommendable and very relevant!

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Unbound for providing me an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

"Not Buying It" is a book about fake news that is interesting and informative, but I was expecting a bit more.

In this book, the journalist Charlotte Henry talks about why fake news are common nowadays, and discusses recent political issues in which fake news had a relevant part, namely the 2016 American Elections and Brexit. In the end, she provides a few solutions for this phenomenon.

This book was insightful and interesting, and I especially enjoyed the two specific case studies. I knew fake news had an important part on both Brexit and Trump's election, but it's quite different to see it so well explained. I feel like this book would have helped me a lot with my Politics Communication class two years ago, as we talked a lot about this subject in class, and how fake news, along with other things like people's disbelief in political organizations, is affecting politics, and consequently our society, nowadays.

However, it was nothing new (at least to me) and I was expecting a bit more, since even the solutions were kind of obvious, and mostly theoretical. Nonetheless, I think this book is relevant for today, and I reccomend it if this subject is something that particularly interests you.

[Graceann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give this book four stars on the basis that it is an excellent primer on the fake news phenomenon (which is not a new thing - it's just become a more prevalent one thanks to the ease of sharing nonsense via social media). All in one book, you can find some of the more egregious stupidity that has been offered up as fact in the last few years. If you are a regular reader/follower of current events, most of this will not be new to you. I found myself reading a lot of things I'd already read elsewhere (in some cases, a long while ago). As such, I felt initially that Not Buying It had little value as an informational resource, but I noted that others with whom I was reading this *hadn't* seen these stories elsewhere, so clearly I was mistaken.

The most valuable portion of Not Buying It, for me, comes at the end, wherein the author offers advice as to how to avoid being a purveyor of discredited "news." The checklist for determining whether something is actually true, before sharing it on social media, could be invaluable. I fear that the worst offenders won't bother to read it, or won't see themselves in it if they do, but if one person reads through the list and follows the suggestions, that can only be good.

A note on the actual presentation of the text. I read this as part of Pigeonhole, and I thank them, and Ms Henry, for allowing me the opportunity to read Not Buying It in exchange for my honest review. A major complaint at first was that the links provided as resources were not clickable (and some of those URLs were quite unwieldy if you wanted to go to the trouble of retyping them). If, in a general ebook release, the links are clickable and the ereading device or app is web-connected, that's all well and good. If, however, you're reading this as a paper book, and you are presented with a long, ungainly URL as source material, that's not great. At best, readers will be annoyed that they have to type all that into a search engine to do additional reading, and at worst, readers will just ignore the notes that the author has taken time and energy to include. Footnotes or endnotes would, in my opinion, work better, and be more in keeping with the usual nonfiction style of citing the writer's sources.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very timely read with yet another General Election coming up in the UK. Well researched and written, it was clear and accessible although requiring some concentration. Some of the chapters were deeply troubling and downright depressing and I discovered that Trump is even more of a habitual liar than I had thought. Reading that Fake or Junk news has destroyed reputations or caused actual bodily harm is unjust and frightening. I also learned that we are living in the post-truth era where the rise in technology and social media has muddied the waters.
I have not before heard the facts behind news stories such as The Hillsborough Disaster and antisemitism in the Labour Party set out in such a succinct and easily understandable way.
The last chapter does end on a note of hope - a teacher teaching his 11 year old pupils to think critically by asking a list of 7 questions when looking at a piece of news. Charlotte Henry does admit that it is rather dispiriting looking into the post-truth era and wonders whether the pendulum can swing back the other way.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting unpacking of the issues around fake news, how it starts up, and what is fanning the flames that allows it to continue to propagate. It's worth a read, if only to help arm yourself in identifying it and attempting to combat it.

[Maria Rivas-mc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I began Charlotte Henry's 'Not Buying It' with great expectation. It began well and, in the main, it did deliver. It appears to have been written for Academia so there is a lot of quoting from the work of other experts in the field with the intent of proving her thesis. I would suggest, however, that when a thesis paper is to be published for a general audience with an interest in the area, some editing and paring of data are required to make it people friendly. I plodded on but found my initial enthusiasm much diminished by the end. My thanks to the Pigeonhole and the author for facilitating the reading of this book.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not Buying It describes the ‘post-truth’ era really well, how social media and the media manipulates our opinions, and how politics is becoming a central area where we are seeing the results of this (as well as science). It covers both sides of the Atlantic and Charlotte Henry looks at how ‘fake news’ became a thing, how we were (and are) fed alternative facts, and finally what we can do to better inform ourselves.

It’s NOT a cheery read, but it’s an essential one! Highly recommended, and I enjoyed it very much.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, Unbound and Charlotte Henry for reading along.

[JoJo Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was slow to start - in fact, at one point, I thought it was going to be a DNF.

However, there are some very good points with regards to the onslaught of fake news, the constant slander and manipulation of politicians and large corporations which has resulted in the mess we are in now.

However, I think the only message I gleaned from it is trust no-one (Fox Mulder, eat your heart out); fact check everything; and snooze family and friends on Facebook who are frustrating you with their blind recirculation of fake news!

I'm glad I read it, it was hard going but it's worth reading.

[Star · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an informative, pertinent, provocative and depressing book that one should read to better equip oneself to become more discerning when it comes to fake news, post-truths, alternative facts, propaganda, dodgy statistics and social influencers' white noise on 'social media echo chamber'. It is a good reminder to always fact check everything you read or hear and to block out those who circulate unsubstantiated rhetorics with the help of social media. It took me longer to finish the book because I found it disturbing that this is what our political process has come to.

[Dinesh Shah]

This is a really useful .to say the least ,and essential ,if we truly want people to understand modern post truth world ,use the understanding to analyze the myriad complex issues associated with many of the issues ,politics ,journalism , other media shenanigans that mislead and lead us ,commons ,astray in issues more affecting our lives.
Three cheers to give this much needed ,public education book. Hope more such issues would be taken up and disseminated like this.

[Christine Rennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book via Pigeonhole and finished reading it on the morning of the UK General Election. Ironic really when the main point of the book was the prominence given to the rise of fake news and misinformation. It was an interesting and thought provoking read.
Highly recommended.