Description: The social dynamics of "alternative facts" why what you believe depends on who you know
Review Quotes: "Methodical and earnest."--Jennifer Szalai, New York Times
"The Misinformation Age covers big subjects like truth and the fate of the species" --Jennifer Szalai, International New York Times "Empowering and thoroughly researched, this book offers useful contemporary analysis and possible solutions to one of the greatest threats to democracy."--Kirkus Reviews "[The authors] deftly apply sociological models to examine how misinformation spreads among people and how scientific results get misrepresented in the public sphere. They offer scientific case studies--the discovery that CFCs were responsible for the ozone hole in the 1980s, for example--to explore the question of what constitutes truth and to consider the role that information plays in a healthy democracy."--Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American "A notable new volume . . .The Misinformation Age explains systematically how facts are determined and changed--whether it is concerning the effects of vaccination on children or the Russian attack on the integrity of the electoral process."--Roger I. Abrams, New York Journal of Books "It's a good read on a very important subject, definitely worth exploring."--Hugh Taylor, Journal of Cyberpolicy "Engaging and sophisticated. . . . The Misinformation Age captures the threat posed by misinformation in the current political moment."--Steven Slomin, American Scientist "An important book for an era of weaponized information."--George Musser, contributing editor, Scientific American and Nautilus"Fake news has revealed a dark side of networks: an almost unstoppable ability to spread false and misleading information, changing people's perception of reality and shaking the political establishment. The Misinformation Age is a timely, engaging narrative of how this happened and how the mix of fake news and networks is changing our world."--Albert-László Barabási, author of Linked: The New Science of Networks
"In this perilous moment--when knowledge is powerfully eroded by new and effective campaigns of misinformation--O'Connor and Weatherall offer a critically important philosophical defense of evidence, facts, and above all, the truth."--Allan M. Brandt, Harvard University "The Misinformation Age is the best book I've read on why the fake-news epidemic is afflicting us and what we can do about it. It offers in-depth reporting and provocative analysis delivered in lively prose, a rare combination."--John Horgan, director of the Center for Science Writings, Stevens Institute of Technology