The Curious Person's Guide to Fighting Fake News

Name: The Curious Person's Guide to Fighting Fake News
Brand: Findaway Voices
Availability: InStock
Author: David G. McAfee
ISBN: 9781664941656

Author: David G. McAfee

Narrator: Rich Miller

Unabridged: 4 hr 46 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Pitchstone Publishing

Published: 12/02/2020

Categories: Nonfiction, Language Arts, Social Science, Media Studies

Synopsis

With each passing day the potential reach of a single false news story—and its ability to negatively impact all of us—grows in both size and scope. Although politicians, activists, and ordinary citizens regularly complain about deceptive or biased news reports, they tend to define fake news as anything with which they happen to disagree, thus compounding the problem even further. Seeking to bring some much-needed clarity to the subject, journalist David G. McAfee documents the myriad definitions of “fake news” and its various incarnations throughout history, from ideologically motivated disinformation operations to commercially motivated misinformation campaigns. Demonstrating that we are all culpable in the creation of the current pandemic, he presents a number of practical and actionable suggestions for combating it. In the end, however, he argues that each of us, no matter our political bent, have an important role to play in curbing the insidious spread and most dangerous effects of fake news.

About David G. McAfee

David G. McAfee is a journalist, religious studies scholar, and author of Disproving Christianity and other Secular Writings, as well as a contributor to American Atheist magazine. McAfee attended University of California, Santa Barbara, and graduated with a dual-degree in English and Religious Studies with an emphasis on Christianity and Mediterranean religions. He lives in California.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Lisa on May 24, 2021

I had high hopes for this book, but found it lacking. Some of the information is very good, but the author’s biases show very clearly in the writing and examples. The first red flag for me was that most (if not all?) examples of fake news gone awry revolved around republicans or right wing sources.......more

Goodreads review by Michael on February 01, 2021

I rated this so highly not because I think it's exhaustive, or that there aren't further lines of inquiry, but because this book does an excellent job of providing highly specific resources, tools, and methods for combating misinformation and disinformation. I would prefer a footnote citation style,......more

Goodreads review by Sharon C. Robideaux on December 22, 2020

A must-read Very readable, very informative. All high school students should have a copy. McAfee is sensible and practical as well as hopeful.......more

Goodreads review by Keisha on May 02, 2024

Short book about flood of fake news in recent years, how we got to this point, and how we can stop it. Nothing ground breaking- click ad revenue, echo chambers, old people don't understand computers, and humans natural tendency to seek out info that confirms our opinion and get defensive when encoun......more

Goodreads review by Jonathan on March 24, 2021

I found this book after one of the author's posts was circulated on the internet. The claims of fake news making their rounds these days aren't really anything new but the amount of attention they're receiving is. As well as the number of people who legitimately believe the media is out to get them.......more