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Information Wars: How We Lost the Global Battle Against Disinformation and What We Can Do About It by [Richard Stengel]

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Richard Stengel

Information Wars: How We Lost the Global Battle Against Disinformation and What We Can Do About It Kindle Edition

by Richard Stengel (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Disinformation is as old as humanity. When Satan told Eve nothing would happen if she bit the apple, that was disinformation. But the rise of social media has made disinformation even more pervasive and pernicious in our current era. In a disturbing turn of events, governments are increasingly using disinformation to create their own false narratives, and democracies are proving not to be very good at fighting it.

During the final three years of the Obama administration, Richard Stengel, the former editor of Time and an Under Secretary of State, was on the front lines of this new global information war. At the time, he was the single person in government tasked with unpacking, disproving, and combating both ISIS’s messaging and Russian disinformation. Then, in 2016, as the presidential election unfolded, Stengel watched as Donald Trump used disinformation himself, weaponizing the grievances of Americans who felt left out by modernism. In fact, Stengel quickly came to see how all three players had used the same playbook: ISIS sought to make Islam great again; Putin tried to make Russia great again; and we all know about Trump.

In a narrative that is by turns dramatic and eye-opening, Information Wars walks readers through of this often frustrating battle. Stengel moves through Russia and Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and introduces characters from Putin to Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Mohamed bin Salman to show how disinformation is impacting our global society. He illustrates how ISIS terrorized the world using social media, and how the Russians launched a tsunami of disinformation around the annexation of Crimea – a scheme that became the model for their interference with the 2016 presidential election. An urgent book for our times, Information Wars stresses that we must find a way to combat this ever growing threat to democracy.

Length: 458 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Information Wars:

“With the eye of a historian and the passion of a man in the arena, Richard Stengel has given us a compelling and illuminating memoir of his time at the highest levels in the fight against disinformation and for American values. Richly observed and thoughtfully rendered, Stengel’s book is essential reading.” ―Jon Meacham

“Information Wars is a gripping insider account of the U.S. government’s struggle to understand and fight back against a new generation of online threats from extremist messaging and Russian disinformation. As a celebrated journalist who moved into the frontlines of this fight, Richard Stengel sheds new light on how bad actors leverage technology to undermine trust, and helps us better understand what must be done to protect our democracy.” ― Madeleine K. Albright

“With colorful behind-the-scenes stories and razor-sharp insights, Stengel provides the first insider report from the front lines of the disinformation wars waged by Russia and ISIS. At the heart of the struggle was the way the internet allowed people to weaponize grievances, as Donald Trump did in his campaign. Countering this trend is the most crucial challenge for our democracy and free society. Stengel shows how we’ve failed and what we can do in the future.” ―Walter Isaacson

Praise for Richard Stengel and Mandela's Way:

“There is no man I admire more than Nelson Mandela. Rick Stengel’s wise and moving book captures the Nelson Mandela I have been privileged to know. But reading Mandela’s Way gave me new insights and inspiration. I am confident it will give the same gifts to others. I was inspired anew, and I know others will be too.”
―President Bill Clinton

“This delightfully inspiring book is a philosophical guide to how we can aspire to achieve Mandela’s grace and how we can draw upon his greatness as a model for the comportment of our lives each day.”
―Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Harvard University

“Nelson Mandela has lived every word of his teaching, whatever the cost. His abiding lesson is about forgiveness. Mandela’s Way takes us into the inner life of one of the most of important heroes of the century. There are lessons here that could radically change the way you live your life.”
―Deepak Chopra, author of The Ultimate Happiness Prescription

“Mandela’s Way is a timely and welcome reminder of this great man’s political genius, personal integrity, and peerless instinct for survival and triumph. Every world leader should keep Mandela’s Way within easy reach.”
―Tom Brokaw

“Here is the wisdom of the world’s greatest moral leader brilliantly distilled by a wonderful writer. From the time they spent working closely together on Mandela’s memoirs, Rick Stengel draws fifteen big life lessons plus hundreds of smaller insights, while also giving us an intimate and astonishingly honest look at this inspiring human being.”
―Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs and Einstein

“Mandela’s Way is an electrically exciting, direct, and vivid way of making greatness tangible, human and complex. Richard Stengel has honed all the elegance and lucidity of thirty years of brilliant cultural and political writing into a book to illuminate, to inspire―and to endure.”
―Pico Iyer, author of The Open Road and The Lady and the Monk

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

Richard Stengel was the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs from 2013-2016. Before working at the State Department, he was the Editor of TIME for seven years, from 2006-2013. From 1992 to 1994, he collaborated with Nelson Mandela on the South African leader's autobiography Long Walk to Freedom. Stengel later wrote Mandela's Way, a New York Times best-seller, on his experience working with Mandela. He is the author of several other books, including January Sun, a book about life in a small South African town as well as You're Too Kind: A Brief History of Flattery. He is an NBC/MSNBC analyst and lives in New York. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

File size : 1758 KB
Print length : 458 pages
Word Wise : Enabled
Publication date : October 8, 2019
Publisher : Atlantic Monthly Press (October 8, 2019)
Language: : English
ASIN : B07R6TSX9Z
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Lending : Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #151,312 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #43 in Non-US Legal Systems (Kindle Store)
- #49 in Media & Internet in Politics (Kindle Store)
- #53 in Terrorism (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
92 ratings

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SArmst2547

An amusing journalistic account into the State Department and info-wars...

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2019

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I enjoyed this book, written by a journalist (former editor of Time magazine) about his venture into the State Department's public information department. This book was not the usual statistics-and-policy accounting, but, instead, it is his personal description of how the State Department, perhaps one of the slowest-changing and most encrusted cabinet departments, came to understand how the Russians and ISIS were waging information war against the United States.

As a 70 year-old who does not own any of today's "platforms" (except, perhaps, this computer), I was astounded at how Russia and ISIS had overwhelmed the "information space" of the Middle East and the Ukraine. Honestly, it was eye-opening for me.

I came away from this book appreciating the author's labors in Foggy Bottom, his ability to build teams which came to grips with the problem (at least partially), and his humble, amusing recounting of events. An easy three-hour read, but it made clear to me exactly what disinformation is, and how radioactive and corroding it can be.

12 people found this helpful

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Comment

Not a mainstream take on current affairs

Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2019

Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )

The author gives readers a firsthand account into what it was like being in the white house at about the same time that Trump entered the presidential race. He talks about the communication problems they had in the white house. He draws a connection between the communication strategies of ISIS, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. He gives real examples for how they use the media, scare tactics and disinformation to get what they want.

The book is interesting in that the author tells the story in real time and only using the information that was available to him at the time. The book is chronological and the story rotates back and forth between Russia and ISIS. The author says some pretty insightful things and tries to make this as unbiased as possible within the very narrow focus of the story. The author has had some pretty impressive experiences and I appreciate having had the opportunity to read about those experiences even if some of what he said was farfetched to me. There have been many times that I have overheard people talking about theories similar to the one the author is presenting. My best advice is to keep an open mind when you read it.

31 people found this helpful

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James Hofheimer

Compelling first hand narrative

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2019

Verified Purchase

This book is a critical insider look at how our government attempted to understand and deal with disinformation. Stengel is quick to point out that government is not the best at competing with either ISIS or Russia due to inefficiencies in our federal government and our inability to work as fast as them.
The conclusion of the book ties our current president to the propaganda that allowed him to change the narrative during the 2016 election without showing political bias.
This is an excellent read and I’ve bought three copies for people I knew would find insightful.

7 people found this helpful

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AnAmazonCustomer

The details set this apart

Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2019

Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )

I almost didn't select this book but so glad I did. First, it's exceptionally well written. Not only for the main topic which was good...but for the attention to detail in describing the inner workings, quirks and downright dysfunction of government. From hot and muggy rooms to dismal interior decorating, basic protocol to problematic public displays the insights of daily life rounded this book out in a way that few others manage. It's fascinating and informative. Not only does this relate the real life examples of power, authority and information wars but the behind the scene workings that make it all fall in place...or perhaps more accurately...fall apart. Top notch writing!

27 people found this helpful

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Charlotte A. Hu

Excellent Discussion About a Critical Issue in Global Democracy

Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2020

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Disinformation: The deliberate creation and distribution of information that is false and deceptive in order to mislead an audience.
Misinformation: Information that is false, though not deliberately; that is created inadvertently or by mistake.
Propaganda: Information that may or may not be true that is designed to engender support for a political view or ideology.

Read this book with the Mueller Report and EU report on state sponsored disinformation. This is a critical problem in the 21st century that the EU believes threatens democracy globally.

One person found this helpful

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ARezaZ

Brilliant

Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

Funny, informative, ominous. It is an eye-opening journey into the dark world of disinformation as only told by someone by someone who lived and breathed it for years.

3 people found this helpful

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mark grabe

Worth the time

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

This book is definitely worth your time if you are interested in what we now describe collectively as news and how it interests and motivates us. The book is complete so it may drag in parts depending on personal interests. I found the final chapter on what can be done about fake news more helpful than recommendations I have read elsewhere.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer

Information War - the next new weapon we must all be aware and wary about

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2020

Verified Purchase

This is a must read book the democratic government, strategist and most importantly people-at- large who believe they have right to chose their government and also care about the world they will ultimately leave behind children and grandchildren.

Amazon Customer

Reads like a thriller

Reviewed in Australia on April 30, 2020

Verified Purchase

Superb book. Reads like a thriller.

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