Robert
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The Misinformation Age
- How False Beliefs Spread
- By: Cailin O’Connor, James Owen Weatherall
- Narrated by: Chelsea Stephens
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 111
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 90
In an age riven by "fake news," "alternative facts," and disputes over the validity of everything from climate change to the size of inauguration crowds, the authors argue that social factors, not individual psychology, are what's essential to understanding the persistence of false belief and that we must know how those social forces work in order to fight misinformation effectively.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Veritas!
- By Charles Henderson on 08-11-20
- The Misinformation Age
- How False Beliefs Spread
- By: Cailin O’Connor, James Owen Weatherall
- Narrated by: Chelsea Stephens
Contradictory - at best
Reviewed: 10-04-23
Setting the authors' obvious agenda aside, their arguments are circular at best. They claim that the truth is hard to come by and people who want to, can manipulate it easily. Then they claim to know many truths. They claim and give examples that the majority can be wrong, but then advocate for rules protecting the majority and silencing dissent. They claim to not want to limit free speech, but then advocate for rules that do exactly that (they conveniently change the definition of what they don't like to be not-speech, therefore speech isn't limited). What they mean by is that THEY know the truth and want to censor opposing views. Because any view not in agreement with them is obviously propaganda and a danger to the public good. For people who rail against Russian influence, their dream society has a real similarity to it.
Having said all that, the information is good. I have a much better understanding of how outside actors (including the authors) try to manipulate me.
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