A firehose of falsehood : the story of disinformation
Edition
First edition.
Publication Information
New York, NY : First Second, 2023.
Physical Description
219 pages, 19 unnumbered pages : chiefly color illustrations ; 24 cm
Series
Summary
Presents a graphic novel that breaks down disinformation tactics and offers tools for defending and restoring truth. Using examples from Darius I of ancient Persia (522-486 BCE), to blood libel of the Middle Ages, to Soviet disinformation tactics and modern election deniers, Teri Kanefield and Pat Dorian show how tyrants and would-be tyrants deploy disinformation to gain power. Democracy, which draws its authority from laws instead of the whim of a tyrant, requires truth. For a democracy to survive, its citizens must preserve and defend truth. Now that the internet has turned what was once a trickle of lies into a firehose, the challenge of holding on to truth has never been greater. This volume offers readers these necessary tools. --
Contents
- Introduction: Joseph Stalin
- Ancient lies Darius I of Persia
- Disinformation & the printing press
- Fascism and myth-making
- A brief interlude: benign lies vs. disinformation
- Nazi Germany & the big lie
- Active measures
- Russia attacks America
- Disinformation destroys
- America's public sphere takes a beating
- Wear raincoats
- Epilogue: The big election fraud lie and the future of American democracy.