{"product_id":"facts-and-other-lies-welcome-to-the-disinformation-age-9781761065705","title":"Facts and Other Lies: Welcome to the Disinformation Age","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom fringe conspiracy theories to 'alternative facts', a timely look at how we arrived in the 'fake news' era.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Would your younger self believe the news of today? An entire city block blown up by a suicide bomber on Christmas Day because he believed phone towers spread disease. A Representative elected to the US Congress on a platform that Democrats are secretly harvesting an anti-aging chemical from the blood of abused children. Angry rioters in furs and horns overrun the Capitol in a bloody carnage of insurrection. The Prime Minister of Australia employing the wife of his friend who fronts a group the FBI has declared terrorists. A global pandemic which, even as they lie dying from it, people refuse to believe exists. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Many who sat in shocked disbelief as these events beamed around the world asked the same question: 'How did we get here?' For those rioters, it was the culmination of a journey of online radicalisation that began with the weaponisation of disinformation by their political leaders and outrageously biased 'news' commentators. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eFacts and Other Lies\u003c\/i\u003e puts fake news in its historical context and explains how disinformation has fractured society, even threatening democracy itself. It explains why disinformation is so potent and so hard to stop, and what we can do to help prevent its proliferation. It outlines how anyone can defuse disinformation in the home, office or pub, or wherever the deluded gather to spread their nonsense. Be prepared! \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 'This is a timely account of a growing malignancy affecting all modern democracies' \u003cbr\u003e Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 'Ed Coper keenly explains how lying has been normalised in right wing media - both social and mainstream. The Trump-inspired attack on the US Capitol on 6 January is just one consequence. Coper deftly shows us what is to be done and offers some real solutions to restore trust in public discourse.' \u003cbr\u003e Malcolm Turnbull, former Prime Minister of Australia \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 'Fascinating and terrifying . . . illuminates so much about humans and social media' \u003cbr\u003e Bri Lee, author of \u003ci\u003eWho Gets to Be Smart\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 'Read this book if you want to save democracy' \u003cbr\u003e Wayne Swan, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 'Few have mapped our information dystopia more effectively - and entertainingly - than Coper' \u003cbr\u003e Bernard Keane, Politics Editor, \u003ci\u003eCrikey\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 'Essential reading for anyone wanting to cut through the nonsense and get to the truth' \u003cbr\u003e Eason Jordan, former Chief News Executive, CNN \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 'We live in a world that unfolds at a pace, and with the violent twists and turns in the plot, of a thriller. This book captures the intensity of our politics and connects it to the science of misinformation . . . a great read' \u003cbr\u003e Professor Stephan Lewandowsky, Chair in Cognitive Psychology, University of Bristol\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEd Coper\u003c\/b\u003e is a leading communications expert and was on the front lines when the internet collided with democracy, growing Australia's first online political movement GetUp to quickly amass more members than every political party combined. He\u003cb\u003e powered Change.org's global expansion into over eighteen countries\u003c\/b\u003e and pioneered techniques to bring politics into the digital age, and has been behind the scenes of many of the last decade's most prominent social movements. He has advised campaigns on every continent except Antarctica, and\u003cb\u003e high-profile changemakers from Malala to Richard Branson\u003c\/b\u003e. Ed \u003cb\u003efounded the New York-based Center for Impact Communications\u003c\/b\u003e, which has led efforts to safeguard US elections from disinformation and overcome vaccine hesitancy. Ed also \u003cb\u003efounded a New York City creative agency \u003c\/b\u003ethat serviced multiple Nobel Peace laureates, political and social leaders to scale their social impact. His groundbreaking campaigns have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for causes, won landmark social change and have featured in several museum exhibitions. Ed is based in Sydney and is director of the Populares communications agency.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50497544814866,"sku":"9781761065705","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c99c332f-c72c-4f35-aced-abfeebb08b59.jpg?v=1730713973","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/facts-and-other-lies-welcome-to-the-disinformation-age-9781761065705","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}