Information Wars: How We Lost the Global Battle Against Disinformation and What We Can Do About It

Synopsis

From former Time editor and Under Secretary of State Richard Stengel, this is the first and only insider account of how the U.S. tried--and failed--to combat the global rise of disinformation that eventually spilled into the 2016 election. In February of 2013, Richard Stengel, the former editor of Time, joined the Obama administration as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Within days, two shocking events made worldwide headlines: ISIS executed American journalist James Foley in a graphic video seen by millions, and Vladimir Putin's "little green men"--Russian special forces--invaded Crimea, accompanied by a blizzard of Russian denials and false flags. What these events had in common besides their violent lawlessness is that they were the opening salvos in a new era of global information warfare, in which countries and non-state actors use social media and disinformation to create their own narratives and undermine anyone who opposes them. Stengel was thrust onto the front lines of this battle as he was tasked with responding to the relentless weaponizing of information by ISIS, Russia, China, and others. He saw the scale of what he was up against and found himself hopelessly outgunned. Then, in 2016, the wars Stengel was fighting abroad came home during the presidential election, as "fake news" became a rallying cry and the Russians used the techniques they learned in Ukraine to influence the election here. Rarely has an accomplished journalist been not only a close observer but also a principal participant in American foreign policy as events unfold, issues are debated, and decisions are made. Stengel takes you behind the scenes in the ritualized world of diplomacy, from the daily 8:30 morning huddle with a restless John Kerry to a midnight sit-down in Saudi Arabia with the prince of darkness, Mohammed bin Salman. The result is a compulsively readable account of how this new kind of warfare works and how difficult it is to fight. RICHARD STENGEL was the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs from 2013 to 2016. Before working at the State Department, he was the editor of Time for seven years, from 2006 to 2013. From 1992 to 1994, he collaborated with Nelson Mandela on the South African leader's autobiography Long Walk to Freedom. Stengel later wrote Mandela's Way, a New York Times bestseller, on his experience working with Mandela. He is the author of several other books, including January Sun, a book about life in a small South African town, as well as You're Too Kind: A Brief History of Flattery. He is an NBC/MSNBC analyst and lives in New York.

Copyright:

2019

Book Details

Book Quality:

Excellent

Book Size:

357 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780802147981

Publisher:

Grove/Atlantic, Incorporated

Date of Addition:

12/17/20

Copyrighted By:

Richard Stengel

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Psychology, Communication, Politics and Government

Submitted By:

Terry Gorman

Proofread By:

Terry Gorman

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.