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I don’t have to tell you that we live in an unprecedented time of disinformation, misinformation, and conspiracy theories. While lies, manipulation, and conspiracies have always been a part of the media, it’s frightening how quickly they can spread and how large their impact can be now. Elections can be decided based on votes based on misinformation. Conspiracy theories spread on Facebook contributed to the attack on the Capitol on January 6. Disinformation has seeped into every part of our online discourse – hijacked by those who seek to control political conversations through violence.
Just as no one believes they are influenced by advertising, yet it is a nearly trillion-dollar (!) industry, most people are confident in their ability to spot misinformation and disinformation in the media—and most are wrong. I believe you are an intelligent person; you read Book Riot, after all! But we are all subject to our own biases and cognitive shortcuts, which means we can easily miss misinformation and disinformation, especially when it is tailored to our existing beliefs.
Fortunately, we can “inoculate” ourselves against misinformation by learning more about these tactics. That’s why task #17 of the 2024 Read Harder Challenge is: “Read a book about media literacy.” These books can help you improve your media literacy skills so you’re better prepared to spot bias, misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories, fallacies, and more in our discourse—both online and in person.
Your first test will be choosing the books to read: what makes each author a credible source? Do they have expertise in the field? What are their biases? When reading, don’t take what you read at face value; question whether the claims are logical and whether the sources are reputable.
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The Age of Misinformation: How False Beliefs Spread by Cailin O’Connor and James Owen Weatherall
Let’s start with some general background on the topic of misinformation. In this 2020 book, two philosophers explore why people believe things that aren’t true, how misinformation spreads, and why the truth still matters – it’s a wild discussion, but that’s the era we live in! The age of misinformation also includes scientific case studies that show how results are misinterpreted when they make headlines. It is recommended by Scientific American, New York Times Book Review, and Kirkus Reviews. While it doesn’t include examples from recent years, since the focus is broader, that shouldn’t be a hindrance.
The Attention Traders: The Epic Race for Access to Our Minds by Tim Wu
Tim Wu served as Special Assistant to the President for Technology and Competition Policy from 2021 to 2023 and is currently a law professor at Columbia University. He also coined the term “net neutrality.” In this 2017 book, Wu provides historical context to our new attention economy, tracing its origins to newspaper sales and tracing its evolution to the present day. How The age of misinformationWhile this isn’t cutting edge in 2024, it provides context that’s still relevant – and reminds us why it’s important to be careful about where we focus our attention.
Foolproof: Why misinformation infects our brains and how we can build immunity by Sander van der Linden
Now that we’ve got that background out of the way, let’s look at some tips for fighting misinformation! This is the author I linked to in the introduction: van der Linden provides evidence that we can “pre-empt” misinformation to be better prepared to spot it in the wild. He’s a professor of social psychology at Cambridge University and also advises governments on how to fight misinformation. The paperback edition came out this year, so this is a great timely option.
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