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In: Society

Media Manipulation

One of the most dangerous trends of our time: Harnessing the vast new possibilities of the digital age, including misuse of both mainstream and social media, malicious actors find it easier than ever to disseminate lies and conspiracy theories. With minimal effort and resources they can destabilize whole societies and even influence elections. Read these summaries and learn how they operate by distorting the messages the public receives, what damage they inflict, and how free and open societies can defend against them.

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Summaries

9 Book

Liars

Falsehoods and Free Speech in an Age of Deception (Inalienable Rights)
Cass R. Sunstein
Oxford UP, 2021
8 Book

#Republic

Divided Democracy in the Age of Social Media
Cass R. Sunstein
Princeton UP, 2017
9 Book

Free Speech

A History from Socrates to Social Media
Jacob Mchangama
Basic Books, 2022
8 Article

The People Onscreen Are Fake.

The Disinformation Is Real.
Alan Satariano and Paul Mozur
The New York Times, 2023
8 Article

Building Trust at the Origin

Project Origin aims to create a measure of accountability through provenance: By certifying the source of the content like a watermark, we can safeguard against manipulation.
Microsoft, 2021
8 Article

The Facts Are True, the News Is Fake

How to Disagree with Yourself
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Medium, 2017
9 Article

The Supply of Disinformation Soon Will Be Infinite

Disinformation campaigns used to require a lot of human effort, but artificial intelligence will take them to a whole new level.
Renee DiResta
The Atlantic, 2020
8 Book

Culture Warlords

My Journey into the Dark Web of White Supremacy
Talia Lavin
Legacy Lit, 2020
8 Book

Regardless of Frontiers

Global Freedom of Expression in a Troubled World
Lee C. Bollinger and Agnes Callamard
Columbia UP, 2021
8 Article
Tobias Natterer
Webby Awards, 2021
8 Book

Media Capture

How Money, Digital Platforms, and Governments Control the News
Anya Schiffrin
Columbia UP, 2021
8 Article

The Enduring Lure of Conspiracies

Conspiracy theories seem to meet psychological needs and can be almost impossible to eradicate. One remedy: Keep them from taking root in the first place.
Greg Miller
Niemanlab.org, 2021