Lie Machines, Philip N. Howard
Lie Machines, Philip N. Howard
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Lie Machines
How to Save Democracy from Troll Armies, Deceitful Robots, Junk News Operations, and Political Operatives

Author: Philip N. Howard

Narrator: Mike Chamberlain

Unabridged: 6 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/19/2020


Synopsis

Technology is breaking politics—what can be done about it?

Artificially intelligent "bot" accounts attack politicians and public figures on social media. Conspiracy theorists publish junk news sites to promote their outlandish beliefs. Campaigners create fake dating profiles to attract young voters. We live in a world of technologies that misdirect our attention, poison our political conversations, and jeopardize our democracies. With massive amounts of social media and public polling data, and in depth interviews with political consultants, bot writers, and journalists, political consultants, Philip N. Howard offers ways to take these "lie machines" apart.

Lie Machines is full of riveting behind the scenes stories from the world's biggest and most damagingly successful misinformation initiatives—including those used in Brexit and US elections. Howard not only shows how these campaigns evolved from older propaganda operations but also exposes their new powers, gives us insight into their effectiveness, and shows us how to shut them down.

About Philip N. Howard

Philip N. Howard is director of the Oxford Internet Institute and the author of nine books, including Pax Technica: How the Internet of Things May Set Us Free or Lock Us Up. He is a frequent commentator on the impact of technology on political life, contributing to the New York Times, Financial Times, and other media outlets.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Amir

Sometimes it's really repetitive.......more

Goodreads review by Sabin

I started listening to this book on a whim, expecting a lot more examples of bot farms, social media opinion machines and other mechanisms, like the use of guerilla marketing techniques, and how they can influence public opinion on critical issues. It delivered only partially on this promise, becaus......more