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Columbia Global Reports
The Infodemic: How Censorship and Lies Made the World Sicker and Less Free
How censorship turned a terrible disease into an assault on rights
As COVID-19 spread around the world, so did government censorship. The Infodemic lays bare not just old-fashioned censorship, but also the mechanisms of a modern brand of “censorship through noise,” which moves beyond traditional means of state control—such as the jailing of critics and restricting the flow of information—to open the floodgates of misinformation, overwhelming the public with lies and half-truths.
Joel Simon and Robert Mahoney, who have traveled the world for many years defending press freedom and journalists’ rights as the directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists, chart the onslaught of COVID censorship beginning in China, through Iran, Russia, India, Egypt, Brazil, and inside the Trump White House. Increased surveillance in the name of public health, the collapse of public trust in institutions, and the demise of local news reporting all contributed to help governments hijack the flow of information and usurp power. Full of vivid characters and behind the scenes accounts, The Infodemic shows how under the cover of a global pandemic, governments have undermined freedom and taken control—this new political order may be the legacy of the disease.
As COVID-19 spread around the world, so did government censorship. The Infodemic lays bare not just old-fashioned censorship, but also the mechanisms of a modern brand of “censorship through noise,” which moves beyond traditional means of state control—such as the jailing of critics and restricting the flow of information—to open the floodgates of misinformation, overwhelming the public with lies and half-truths.
Joel Simon and Robert Mahoney, who have traveled the world for many years defending press freedom and journalists’ rights as the directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists, chart the onslaught of COVID censorship beginning in China, through Iran, Russia, India, Egypt, Brazil, and inside the Trump White House. Increased surveillance in the name of public health, the collapse of public trust in institutions, and the demise of local news reporting all contributed to help governments hijack the flow of information and usurp power. Full of vivid characters and behind the scenes accounts, The Infodemic shows how under the cover of a global pandemic, governments have undermined freedom and taken control—this new political order may be the legacy of the disease.
- GenresNonfiction
192 pages, Paperback
First published April 26, 2022
11 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 12, 2022
Part of its appeal is part of its downfall.
This is a concise overview of different government responses to Covid worldwide related to messaging, data intrusion, and censorship. The conclusion: irrespective of political systems, data intrusion was pervasive in all countries and all countries largely failed by most public health metrics.
It was disappointing that overviews of some countries relied largely on one or limited of amount of sources, including the account of the US which predominately centered around disgruntled former Trump White House aide, Olivia Troye. The book could have benefitted from more sources, an additional 30-50 pages, and an expanded index. Entire book is only 156 pages.
This is a concise overview of different government responses to Covid worldwide related to messaging, data intrusion, and censorship. The conclusion: irrespective of political systems, data intrusion was pervasive in all countries and all countries largely failed by most public health metrics.
It was disappointing that overviews of some countries relied largely on one or limited of amount of sources, including the account of the US which predominately centered around disgruntled former Trump White House aide, Olivia Troye. The book could have benefitted from more sources, an additional 30-50 pages, and an expanded index. Entire book is only 156 pages.
February 27, 2022
Very eye-opening and timely. A journalists' look at the information and misinformation that has been circulating about Covid and how governments in some major countries have handled the pandemic. I have a pretty good handle on how things were dealt with in the US, but I wasn't aware of the situation in other parts of the world, notably Brazil, China, Mexico, and the Philippines. Fascinating and disturbing. Not really a "page-turner", but definitely a good read for anyone interested in journalism or politics or foreign relations.
July 6, 2022
Right in principle, politically biased in its analysis
Don't waste your time. Censorship and lies were - are - tools of statists of all color and ideology. Had the authors used examples from both sides of the isle, including Civid skeptics who turned out largely right, this could have been a good read. As it is, this is just another Trump-bashing propaganda piece.
Don't waste your time. Censorship and lies were - are - tools of statists of all color and ideology. Had the authors used examples from both sides of the isle, including Civid skeptics who turned out largely right, this could have been a good read. As it is, this is just another Trump-bashing propaganda piece.
May 14, 2024
It's still wild to read books that talk about COVID as a pivotal historical event from a detached big-picture perspective when it's like... 1) wasn't that long ago, and 2) something I and everyone else I know has direct personal memories about. Maybe it'll feel less weird in time, but usually I'm used to reading nonfiction about stuff that happened before my own living memory.
This book makes the argument that it turns out the pandemic was even worse than we thought it was, which is a pretty tough sell considering how much we all agree it already sucked. But this is peeking under some un-turned stones I had not considered, and likely would not have given much thought to otherwise. I'm speaking specifically about modern journalism and how it came under unique pressure from multiple fronts in the 2020-2021 period. This book presented a thorough look at how whether you lived in a top-down authoritarian society or an open, democratic country, your overall civil rights likely took a hit for the worse. Rather that positing a "West vs. Everyone Else" dichotomy, it gives poor grades to everyone, but for different reasons.
My two main takeaways from this book that I'll remember going forward will be the interesting framing of "positive freedoms" (the freedom to do something), and "negative freedoms" (the freedom from having something done to you), but also the argument that local press and small journalism is more important than we previously gave it credit for. A Nieman Lab study was quoted as saying "Local newspapers are basically little machines that spit out healthier democracies," which stuck with me. And I buy the line of reasoning that the average person trusts a local news source over a national or international one because it can't afford to be biased; when your target audience is everyone in a small geographic area, you can't risk financially alienating potentially half of them because you want to put a spin on every story.
I'm already on a big sustainability and "buy local" kick already this year, why not continue the trend with shelling a few bucks out for my local rag?
This book makes the argument that it turns out the pandemic was even worse than we thought it was, which is a pretty tough sell considering how much we all agree it already sucked. But this is peeking under some un-turned stones I had not considered, and likely would not have given much thought to otherwise. I'm speaking specifically about modern journalism and how it came under unique pressure from multiple fronts in the 2020-2021 period. This book presented a thorough look at how whether you lived in a top-down authoritarian society or an open, democratic country, your overall civil rights likely took a hit for the worse. Rather that positing a "West vs. Everyone Else" dichotomy, it gives poor grades to everyone, but for different reasons.
My two main takeaways from this book that I'll remember going forward will be the interesting framing of "positive freedoms" (the freedom to do something), and "negative freedoms" (the freedom from having something done to you), but also the argument that local press and small journalism is more important than we previously gave it credit for. A Nieman Lab study was quoted as saying "Local newspapers are basically little machines that spit out healthier democracies," which stuck with me. And I buy the line of reasoning that the average person trusts a local news source over a national or international one because it can't afford to be biased; when your target audience is everyone in a small geographic area, you can't risk financially alienating potentially half of them because you want to put a spin on every story.
I'm already on a big sustainability and "buy local" kick already this year, why not continue the trend with shelling a few bucks out for my local rag?
January 10, 2023
I wanted to like this book, even if I didn’t agree with everything it said, but I just don’t enjoy nonfiction that draws too many conclusions for you. “So and so did this because of this.” It just muddies up more waters to make assumptions on someone’s actions, rather than make objective suggestions and give options for someone’s motivations. I think the authors tried to have an edgy book with about how the world handled the pandemic, but the stories told here are very one sided.
Another reviewer mentioned that there was very limited analysis of what they were trying to establish. It honestly felt like they had interviewed on or two people out of each country and wrote an entire book analyzing the country’s responses based off of that. Very disappointing.
Another reviewer mentioned that there was very limited analysis of what they were trying to establish. It honestly felt like they had interviewed on or two people out of each country and wrote an entire book analyzing the country’s responses based off of that. Very disappointing.
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December 14, 2021Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
May 12, 2023
The Infodemic is a book about Covid-19 and how a selection of governments around the world reacted to it. Mainly it is about how different governments reacted by imposing censorship and a limitation of freedoms. It is about the perceived worldwide decline of freedom and democracy worldwide during the times of Covid.
I’m impressed and surprised by this book. I was worried that it would be a work of propaganda itself but in my opinion it is not. It presents a concise log of how multiple countries faced the spread of Covid and how they responded to the threat of it. It presents this information in an easy to absorb manner and is very well written. It covers both autocratic and democratic countries and shows the ways that they succeeded against and failed with their approach to containing the spread of the outbreak.
Overall I like the approach that this book has. It has a lot of information and presents it very well. It presents its case in a very clear manner and shows the reasoning that different countries may have had for their approaches to the pandemic. I highly recommend this for nonfiction readers and readers looking for more information on the history of the pandemic and on current events.
I’m impressed and surprised by this book. I was worried that it would be a work of propaganda itself but in my opinion it is not. It presents a concise log of how multiple countries faced the spread of Covid and how they responded to the threat of it. It presents this information in an easy to absorb manner and is very well written. It covers both autocratic and democratic countries and shows the ways that they succeeded against and failed with their approach to containing the spread of the outbreak.
Overall I like the approach that this book has. It has a lot of information and presents it very well. It presents its case in a very clear manner and shows the reasoning that different countries may have had for their approaches to the pandemic. I highly recommend this for nonfiction readers and readers looking for more information on the history of the pandemic and on current events.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews