The Disinformation Age Politics, Technology, and Disruptive Communication in the United States

The intentional spread of falsehoods – and attendant attacks on minorities, press freedoms, and the rule of law – challenge the basic norms and values upon which institutional legitimacy and political stability depend. How did we get here? The Disinformation Age assembles a remarkable group of historians, political scientists, and communication scholars to examine the historical and political origins of the post-fact information era, focusing on the United States but with lessons for other democracies. Bennett and Livingston frame the book by examining decades-long efforts by political and business interests to undermine authoritative institutions, including parties, elections, public agencies, science, independent journalism, and civil society groups. The other distinguished scholars explore the historical origins and workings of disinformation, along with policy challenges and the role of the legacy press in improving public communication. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Preface. The origins and political importance of disinformation; Author Biographies; Part I. Disinformation in Political and Historical Context: 1. A brief history of the disinformation age: information wars and the decline of institutional authority W. Lance Bennett and Steven Livingston; Part II. The Current Situation: 2. A political economy of the origins of asymmetric propaganda in American media Yochai Benkler; 3. The flooded zone: how we became more vulnerable to disinformation in the digital era Paul Starr; Part III. Historical Roots of Disinformation: 4. How American businessmen made us believe that free enterprise was indivisible from American democracy: the National association of manufacturers' propaganda campaign 1935–1940 Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway and Charlie Tyson; 5. 'Since we are greatly outnumbered': why and how the Koch network uses disinformation to thwart democracy Nancy MacLean; Part IV. The Policy Problem: 6. How digital disinformation turned dangerous Dave Karpf; 7. Policy lessons from five historical patterns in information manipulation Heidi Tworek; 8. Why it is so difficult to regulate disinformation online Ben Epstein; Part V. The Role of Public Broadcasting: 9. US public broadcasting: a bulwark against disinformation? Patricia Aufderheide; 10. The public media option: confronting policy failure in an age of misinformation Victor Pickard; Part VI. Conclusion: Defending Democracy in the Disinformation Age: 11. The coordinated attack on authoritative institutions: defending democracy in the disinformation age Steven Livingston and W. Lance Bennett.

W. Lance Bennett is Professor of Political Science and Ruddick C. Lawrence Professor of Communication at the University of Washington. The focus of his work is how communication affects democratic life. He has held visiting professorships at Harvard, Uppsala, Stockholm, and Free University Berlin. In addition to honorary doctorates from Uppsala and Bern, he has received career achievement awards from the American Political Science Association, the International Communication Association, and the US National Communication Association. His publications include The Logic of Connective Action: Digital Media and the Personalization of Contentious Politics (with Alexandra Segerberg, Cambridge, 2013).
Steven Livingston is Professor of Media and Public Affairs and International Affairs with appointments in the School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA) and the Elliott School of International Affairs (ESIA) at George Washington University. He is also the founding director of the Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics (IDDP). He has held visiting professorships and fellowships at Harvard University, the University of Cambridge, the Free University in Berlin, Canterbury University in New Zealand, St. Galen University in Switzerland, and the Brookings Institution.