Battling the Big Lie
How Fox, Facebook, and the MAGA Media Are Destroying America
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- USD 11.99
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- USD 11.99
Descripción editorial
“BATTLING THE BIG LIE is an important read for anyone who’s wondering how the far right traffics in lies and what we can all do to fight back.” ―PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER OF YES WE (STILL) CAN! AND CO-HOST OF POD SAVE AMERICA.
BATTLING THE BIG LIE explains how to combat political disinformation and dangerous lies of the right-wing propaganda machine.
In BATTLING THE BIG LIE, bestselling author Dan Pfeiffer dissects how the right-wing built a massive, billionaire-funded disinformation machine powerful enough to bend reality and nearly steal the 2020 election. From the perspective of someone who has spent decades on the front lines of politics and media, Pfeiffer lays out how the right-wing media apparatus works, where it came from, and what progressives can do to fight back against disinformation.
Over a period of decades, the right-wing has built a massive media apparatus that is weaponizing misinformation and spreading conspiracy theories for political purposes. This “MAGA Megaphone” that is personified by Fox News and fueled by Facebook is waging war on the very idea of objective truth—and they are winning. This disinformation campaign is how Donald Trump won in 2016, almost won in 2020, and why the United States is incapable of addressing problems from COVID-19 to climate change.
Pfeiffer explains how and why the Republicans have come to depend on culture war grievances, crackpot conspiracies, and truly sinister propaganda as their primary political strategies, including: Republican efforts from Roger Ailes to Steve Bannon and Donald Trump to sow distrust while exploiting the media’s biases and the Democratic Party’s blind spots. The optimization of Facebook as the ultimate carrier of Trumpist messaging. Educating the Left to stop clutching pearls and start “fighting fire with fire.” How to fight back against the trolls spreading disinformation and hate on the Internet. A functioning democracy depends on a shared understanding of reality. America is teetering on the edge because one of the two parties in our two-party system views truth, facts, and science as their opponent. BATTLING THE BIG LIE is a call to arms for anyone and everyone who cares about truth and democracy. There are no easy answers or quick fixes, but something must be done.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pod Save America cohost Pfeiffer (Un-Trumping America) takes a punchy look at "how disinformation and propaganda became the dominant Republican political strategy, how it works, what it means, and how Democrats can fight back." Focusing on recent history, Pfeiffer discusses Russia's disinformation campaign to help Donald Trump win the 2016 election; Trump's allegations of "fake news" against CNN, the New York Times, and other mainstream outlets; Republicans' embrace of climate change denialism and the conspiracy theory that President Obama wasn't born in the U.S.; the decline of local news; and Trump's efforts to downplay the dangers of Covid-19 by attacking the credibility of Anthony Fauci and other public health experts. Pfeiffer also documents how a group founded by a "Trump-supporting dirty trickster" targeted Black voters with false claims that people who voted by mail in the 2020 election "would have their information shared with law enforcement and collection agencies seeking warrants and unpaid debts." To combat Republican propaganda, Pfeiffer encourages progressives to promote positive ideas and organizations on social media, rather than launching into counterattacks that only serve to spread disinformation. Though Pfeiffer's sarcasm and mocking tone can grate, he makes lucid and persuasive arguments. Progressives will relish this fiery call to arms.
