Stories Are Weapons - Psychological Warfare and the American Mind

In Stories Are Weapons, best-selling author Annalee Newitz traces the way disinformation, propaganda and violent threats-the essential tool kit for psychological warfare-have evolved from military weapons deployed against foreign adversaries into tools in domestic culture wars. Newitz delves into America's deep-rooted history with psychological operations, beginning with Benjamin Franklin's Revolutionary War-era fake newspaper and reaching its apotheosis with misinformation during twenty-first-century elections. The nation's secret weapon has long been coercive storytelling, fashioned by operatives who drew on their experiences in the ad industry and as science fiction writers. Now, through a weapons-transfer programme long unacknowledged, it has found its way into the hands of culture warriors, in conflicts from school board fights over LGBT students to campaigns against feminist viewpoints. Stories Are Weapons delivers a powerful counter-narrative, as Newitz highlights the process of psychological disarmament, speaking with Indigenous archivists preserving their histories in new ways, activist storytellers and technology experts transforming social media.

About the author

Annalee Newitz is a journalist and author of the national bestseller Four Lost Cities. They write for the New York Times and New Scientist and co-host the Hugo Award–winning podcast Our Opinions Are Correct. They live in San Francisco.

Summary

From the best-selling author of Four Lost Cities comes a sharp and timely book about the dark art of manipulation through weaponised storytelling

Product details

• Authors: Annalee Newitz, Newitz Annalee
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 24.07.2024
• EAN: 9780393881516
• ISBN: 978-0-393-88151-6
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 236 mm x 25 mm
• Weight: 493 g
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; Media Studies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Media & Internet, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Propaganda, International Relations, Digital lifestyle, United States of America, USA, Disinformation and misinformation, Media studies: internet, digital media and society