You Are Being Lied To: The Disinformation Guide to Media Distortion, Historical Whitewashes and Cultural Myths [Paperback]

Russ Kick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001

You Are Being Lied To is a massive collection of articles that ruthlessly destroy the distortions, myths, and outright lies that are fed to us by the government, the media, corporations, history books, organized religion, science and medicine, and society in general. No one is spared, and all sacred cows are candidates for the grinder.

Do you believe any of the following?

• Alcoholics Anonymous is effective.
• Hackers pose a grave threat to the nation.
• There's a hidden code in the Bible.
• The Big Bang is an airtight fact.
• Thousands of species have gone extinct because of deforestation.
• Licking certain toads will get you high.
• Most terrorists are Middle Eastern.

Wake up! You're being lied to.

This book acts as a battering ram against the distortions, myths, and outright lies that have been shoved down our throats by the government, the media, corporations, organized religion, the scientific establishment, and others who want to keep the truth from us. An unprecedented group of researchers--investigative reporters, political dissidents, academics, media watchdogs, scientist-philosophers, social critics, and rogue scholars--paints a picture of a world where crucial stories are ignored or actively suppressed and the official version of events has more holes in it than Swiss cheese. A world where real dangers are downplayed and nonexistent dangers are trumpeted. In short, a world where you are being lied to.

Among the revelations inside:

• Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Sydney Schanberg on John McCain's efforts to conceal information on POW/MIAs
• Howard Bloom on liars in the media
• Riane Eisler on the realities of human nature
• James Ridgeway on tainted blood and more
• Jim Marrs on missing evidence in important cases
• Greenpeace cofounder Peter Moore on environmental myths
• Michael Parenti on atrocities in Kosovo
• Douglas Rushkoff on the information arms race
• Gary Webb on the gutless corporate media
• Howard Zinn on Columbus

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Containing expos?s on topics ranging from Columbus to Columbine, this collection of stimulating articles Disinformation Books' inaugural title challenges popular beliefs on the Big Bang and the depredations of hackers. Kick, author of Psychotropedia and a columnist for the Village Voice, has collected an impressive array of articles by such contributors as Sydney Schanberg of the New York Times, in which he asks why John McCain persistently blocks public disclosure of MIA files, and the lesser-known Jim Marrs, a Kennedy conspiracy zealot and freelance journalist who discusses missing data from historical tragedies, including the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations and the Lockerbie bombing. Do gay teens really constitute a suicidal risk group? Was Jesus a myth? The best articles will surely compel readers to pursue further reading; none should be accepted as exhaustive. Public libraries ought to invest in a copy to keep alongside other sources of skepticism; academic libraries will find the scholarship uneven but provocative. [You may obtain a free e-book copy of this title if you purchase the paperback from http://store.disinfor.com; the e-book may also be purchased separately for $8.85. Ed.] Robert C. Moore, ITworld.com, Southboro, M.
- Robert C. Moore, ITworld.com, Southboro, MA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"... a bargain ... well worth owning" -- Counterpoise, Vol. 5, No. 3/4

A beautiful new coffee-table book has come out from Disinformation: a compendium of anarchic, crazed, and politically radical writing. -- San Francisco Bay Guardian, March 28, 2001

For some of the most fascinating reading you'll find this year - or even this millennium - ... order this gem. -- Impact Weekly (Dayton, OH), April 19-25, 2001

It's...less radical than some extremist conspiracy theory books, yet that's something that makes the pieces all the more believable. -- Dazed & Confused, September 2001

Taken as a whole, this anthology represents an instruction manual in how to "read" the news. -- PW (Publishers Weekly)Daily, Book of the Day, Oct. 31, 2001

The only way you're going to find out what's really going on is to open up this 400 page compilation -- Vice Magazine, Volume 8 Number 5, The Summer Kids Issue

The shocking truth is not something you see every day, but this book knows exactly where to look. -- A&F Quarterly, Back To School Issue 2001

The writing is penetrating, uncompromising and pretty convincing... -- Philadelphia Weekly, April 11, 2001

This amazing, candid, and documented compilation of essays ... is enthusiastically recommended reading. -- Midwest Book Review - May 2001

To cut through the lies and manipulation of daily life, this is the place to start ... very highly recommended. -- Midwest Book Review's Internet Bookwatch, July 2001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Disinformation Books (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966410076
• ISBN-13: 978-0966410075
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #209,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Specific Topics > Censorship

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

137 of 154 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Of Course, These Essays Have Agendas, Too May 20, 2002

By Jason N. Mical

Format:Paperback

"You Are Being Lied To" is a conspiracy theorists dream come true, and an interesting cross-section of modern American progressive thought. Featuring essays by Noam Chomsky, David McGowan, and others, YABLT offers a mix of the intellectual and the borderline loony, and although most essays are well-cited, some of them rely on the same kinds of information manipulation this book is supposed to debunk.

There are several essays on how the media is and has been used as a tool to control information. There isn't much here new for anyone with a passing knowledge of Brave New World, and most of what is here is a repeat of Neal Postman's "Amusing Ourselves to Death." There is an essay on the Bush family's connection to the Nazis (although it should be noted that there is a much better essay on the connection of American BUSINESS to fascist Europe) and Gore's awful environmental record. Drugs are demystified, the Drug Wars bemoaned, the OKC bombing analyzed, Jesus questioned, and Columbus bashed. All in all, a good helping of far leftist thought.

The book's fault is that many of the essays, as previously mentioned, ignore large logical holes and other pertinent information to make their point. The Jesus essay is insipid, more the stuff of a whiner than a real Biblical or religious scholar; the OKC essay blatantly ignores several facts in favor of hyperbole; and the Columbus essay has been done before. Of note are the "Apt Pupils" article, an excellent piece on the alienation of those who do not conform to antiquated ideas of normalcy in the American school system. Also of note is "Who's Who in Hell," an excellent list of the different humanists/atheists/agnostics/Unitarians and non-Christians who have made an impact in both European and American history....

There's enough good stuff here to justify a purchase, but it's a buyer-beware scenario. One must not let his or her research end with this book - it's a starting point, not a finishing point for many of the issues discussed here. Don't think that just because some of these conspiracy theorists are bucking the mainstream ideas of events and concepts means that they are automatically correct; some of the bibliographies couldn't stand up to serious scientific or scholarly scrutiny, although many can. Also watch for logical flaws, because they abound. If you are interested in this book, by all means check out "From the Smoking Gun" and Postman's great "Amusing Ourselves to Death."

Grade: C+ Read more ›

70 of 84 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read May 28, 2001

By Blahblahblah

Format:Paperback

This book is an excellent primer for teaching readers or viewers of any media the tools of critical thinking and is filled with contributions by such distinguished writers as Noam Chomsky and Richard Metzger.

Although the book is filled with much interesting factual data, Russ Kick (the editor) in his introduction notes that it is much easier to tear down the sacred cows of society than it is to replace them with the absolute truth. For example, Howard Bloom in his second article falls into the very same trap regarding media reporting that he is trying to warn people against with a rather biased, misleading and one-sided presentation of the situation in the Middle-East. Despite the fact that what Bloom does choose to convey is truthful, what he omits is damning, and he is in complete error in suggesting that the overall perception created of Arabs by the media is that of the victim when in reality, with the exception of works by such writers as Chomsky and Fisk that have been the subject of negative campaigns, Arabs have been represented throughout media history as terrorists. And sometimes the authors admittedly only raise questions about beliefs without really disputing them (as in the article Is Jesus A Myth? which fails to really refute evidence of the historical figure). However, the vast majority of this book is well researched and supported, and serves a useful purpose even when it is only raising questions instead of presenting answers by fighting against the supression of truth.... Thus while the article on evolution does not present a new and more accurate theory, it does show scientists as the frauds they are in supressing findings that raise questions about our current understanding of evolution instead of trying to reconcile the apparently harmful data in order to come up with a better understanding of the process as per proper scientific method.

The first article, by Howard Bloom, is an excellent summary of social psychology studies regarding the forces of conformity and how they can blind people from even obvious, indisputable truths (I got to personally witness recreations of some of these experiments as a psychology student). The second section of articles then shows how the media can and does, both deliberately (through purposeful disinformation) and through error (usually from laziness, incomplete reporting or lack of knowledge by the reporter on the subject matter), misreport the truth. One example is the FBI citing a humour article warning of a number of made-up computer viruses (e.g. the Clinton virus, which destroys itself when it can't decide which of two files to infect) as if it were about real viruses, and said FBI report then being used as source material in newspaper and university articles exaggerating the threat of computer viruses, and by computer security companies with a financial interest in exaggerating the problem.

Following this series of articles illustrating how common misconceptions can arise both innocently and more insidiously, are chapters dealing with more specific instances of disinformation and misinformation and attacks on common misconceptions.

This is one of the best books of this nature I have ever read. Must reading. Read more ›

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A real eye-opener August 24, 2001

By majestic

Format:Paperback

Probably the most vital distinction to make between this book and anything that has preceded it is the sheer breadth of topics covered. That alone makes it hard to categorize the book - part media criticism, part political science, part activist rhetoric, and on and on. There are articles, such as Howard Bloom's attack on Islam, that infuriated me. But there's always a balancing piece (in this case one by Ali Abunimah), often leaving one confused as to who to believe. Perhaps that's the point - even within this book there are conflicting views, requiring the reader to make choices and actually think about what he or she is reading. All in all, this is the best book I've come across for debunking accepted wisdoms and making you think for yourself. Oh, one more thing - it's HUGE and an amazing value!

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A mixed bag ... but that's to be expected March 15, 2002

By William E. Fleischmann

Format:Paperback

If you agree with everything in this tome (362 pages plus appendices), then you must truly believe that "consistencey is the hobgoblin of small minds." You must also be schizophrenic.

Russ Kick has collected a wide range of authors on a varied selection of topics who are willing to question the "official story" - from media, textbooks, governments and religions - and (at least from their perspective) set the record straight. He includes such authors as Noam Chomsky, Sydney Shanberg and Patrick Moore on such topics as media bias, drug policy, religion, social issues and scientific heresy. The one serious drawback (admitted by Kick at the outset) is an overabundance of views from the left side of the political spectrum.

Of particular interest is the proposed methodology of examining the media presented by Chomsky (though I draw a different conclusion) and Howard Zinn's admonition that you must always consider the point of view of the author of any account before accepting it at face value. [Ironically, it is ESSENTIAL that you apply the same standard to Zinn's work. And his failure to apply that standard to de las Casas' text (the Dominicans had every reason to make the Spanish look as bad as possible) borders on irresponsible.] Everyone (!) has an agenda (including the authors represented here and, yeah, even me) and you are less likely to be deceived if you remember that.

Solid pieces that are well defended (often with extensive source material), such as "Toad Licking Blues", "The Bible Code", and "Sometimes Lying Means Only Telling a Small Part of the Truth" share space with "magical thinking" (buttressed by more "magical thinking") such as "Will the Real Human Being Please Stand Up?"....

Articles that really do force you to reasses what you've heard such as "Environmentalism for the Twenty-First Century", "Reassessing OKC" and "NutraFear and NutraLoathing in Augusta, Georgia" share space with vitriolic attack pieces such as "AA Lies" and "The Truth About Jesus".

And interesting and informative articles such as "Poppycock", "Humans Have Already Been Cloned" and "What I Didn't Know About the Communist Conspiracy" can be found alongside those that are merely provocative ("The Female Hard-on") or present a great deal of info that doesn't support the stated premise ("The Unconscious Roots of the Drug War").

Some positions will make you laugh; some will make you shake your head in disbelief; but some will truly make you think - which is what ultimately makes this at least a worthwhile read.

If you are predisposed to buy the "corporate media" argument, then you might well give this work a fourth star. Read more ›