Politics & Government
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Battling the Big Lie: How Fox, Facebook, and the MAGA Media Are Destroying America
From #1 New York Times bestselling author and cohost of Pod Save America-how to combat political disinformation and dangerous lies of the right-wing propaganda machine.
In BATTLING THE BIG LIE, bestselling author Dan Pfeiffer dissects how the right-wing built a massive, billionaire-funded disinformation machine powerful enough to bend reality and nearly steal the 2020 election. From the perspective of someone who has spent decades on the front lines of politics and media, Pfeiffer lays out how the right-wing media apparatus works, where it came from, and what progressives can do to fight back against disinformation.
Over a period of decades, the right-wing has built a massive media apparatus that is weaponizing misinformation and spreading conspiracy theories for political purposes. This "MAGA Megaphone" that is personified by Fox News and fueled by Facebook is waging war on the very idea of objective truth-and they are winning. This disinformation campaign is how Donald Trump won in 2016, almost won in 2020, and why the United States is incapable of addressing problems from COVID-19 to climate change.
Pfeiffer explains how and why the Republicans have come to depend on culture war grievances, crackpot conspiracies, and truly sinister propaganda as their primary political strategies, including: Republican efforts from Roger Ailes to Steve Bannon and Donald Trump to sow distrust while exploiting the media's biases and the Democratic Party's blind spots.The optimization of Facebook as the ultimate carrier of Trumpist messaging.Educating the Left to stop clutching pearls and start "fighting fire with fire."How to fight back against the trolls spreading disinformation and hate on the Internet.A functioning democracy depends on a shared understanding of reality. America is teetering on the edge because one of the two parties in our two-party system views truth, facts, and science as their opponent. BATTLING THE BIG LIE is a call to arms for anyone and everyone who cares about truth and democracy. There are no easy answers or quick fixes, but something must be done.
In BATTLING THE BIG LIE, bestselling author Dan Pfeiffer dissects how the right-wing built a massive, billionaire-funded disinformation machine powerful enough to bend reality and nearly steal the 2020 election. From the perspective of someone who has spent decades on the front lines of politics and media, Pfeiffer lays out how the right-wing media apparatus works, where it came from, and what progressives can do to fight back against disinformation.
Over a period of decades, the right-wing has built a massive media apparatus that is weaponizing misinformation and spreading conspiracy theories for political purposes. This "MAGA Megaphone" that is personified by Fox News and fueled by Facebook is waging war on the very idea of objective truth-and they are winning. This disinformation campaign is how Donald Trump won in 2016, almost won in 2020, and why the United States is incapable of addressing problems from COVID-19 to climate change.
Pfeiffer explains how and why the Republicans have come to depend on culture war grievances, crackpot conspiracies, and truly sinister propaganda as their primary political strategies, including: Republican efforts from Roger Ailes to Steve Bannon and Donald Trump to sow distrust while exploiting the media's biases and the Democratic Party's blind spots.The optimization of Facebook as the ultimate carrier of Trumpist messaging.Educating the Left to stop clutching pearls and start "fighting fire with fire."How to fight back against the trolls spreading disinformation and hate on the Internet.A functioning democracy depends on a shared understanding of reality. America is teetering on the edge because one of the two parties in our two-party system views truth, facts, and science as their opponent. BATTLING THE BIG LIE is a call to arms for anyone and everyone who cares about truth and democracy. There are no easy answers or quick fixes, but something must be done.
Editorial Reviews
"The United States is in the throes of a disinformation epidemic that is being fueled by right-wing media personalities, unchecked social media companies, and extremist politicians – posing a clear and present threat to our democracy. In his book, BATTLING THE BIG LIE, Dan has demonstrated a sharp understanding of how we got here, while lifting up some of the most promising efforts leading in this fight and offering a roadmap for how we can all play a role in countering disinformation where it spreads – to quite literally save our democracy. Anyone who is concerned about the impact disinformation is having on society today should read this book."―Tara McGowan, Founder of Good Information Inc. and Courier Newsroom
"Our real lives and online lives are so confusing and frankly at times depressing that we want to just tune out but we know we can't! Too much is at stake. In BATTLING THE BIG LIE which is part guide, part battle plan and a little bit of therapy, Pfeiffer helps breakdown how and why we got here, and gives us the tools to fight back against disinformation, talk to people we disagree with and help create an environment where progressive media can thrive. A vital read going into our upcoming elections."―Alyssa Mastromonaco, New York Times bestselling author and co-host of Crooked Media's Hysteria podcast
"Democracy will not survive if truth continues to be a casualty of propaganda and disinformation. Battling the Big Lie is an enlightening, at times enraging, and always entertaining guide through the recent history of our politics and media, drawing on Dan Pfeiffer's unparalleled experience. Read this book if you want to understand what is happening in American politics, why it is happening, and what you can do about it."―Ben Rhodes, former Deputy National Security Advisor and author of After the Fall
"This is the book that progressives and Americans generally need to better understand the rise and resilience of Donald Trump and the Trump Republican Party. It's not about him, as much as Trump wants everything to be about him, but about the right-wing media ecosystem of disinformation that's sustained Trumpism. Dan Pfeiffer understands that and narrates it here as only a longtime practitioner of political communications can, and he delivers some yucks along with the hard and often depressing truths."―Jackie Calmes, Los Angeles Times columnist and author of Dissent
"Dan's most important book to date, BATTLING THE BIG LIE offers concrete solutions to one of the greatest challenges of our time - combatting disinformation a...
"Our real lives and online lives are so confusing and frankly at times depressing that we want to just tune out but we know we can't! Too much is at stake. In BATTLING THE BIG LIE which is part guide, part battle plan and a little bit of therapy, Pfeiffer helps breakdown how and why we got here, and gives us the tools to fight back against disinformation, talk to people we disagree with and help create an environment where progressive media can thrive. A vital read going into our upcoming elections."―Alyssa Mastromonaco, New York Times bestselling author and co-host of Crooked Media's Hysteria podcast
"Democracy will not survive if truth continues to be a casualty of propaganda and disinformation. Battling the Big Lie is an enlightening, at times enraging, and always entertaining guide through the recent history of our politics and media, drawing on Dan Pfeiffer's unparalleled experience. Read this book if you want to understand what is happening in American politics, why it is happening, and what you can do about it."―Ben Rhodes, former Deputy National Security Advisor and author of After the Fall
"This is the book that progressives and Americans generally need to better understand the rise and resilience of Donald Trump and the Trump Republican Party. It's not about him, as much as Trump wants everything to be about him, but about the right-wing media ecosystem of disinformation that's sustained Trumpism. Dan Pfeiffer understands that and narrates it here as only a longtime practitioner of political communications can, and he delivers some yucks along with the hard and often depressing truths."―Jackie Calmes, Los Angeles Times columnist and author of Dissent
"Dan's most important book to date, BATTLING THE BIG LIE offers concrete solutions to one of the greatest challenges of our time - combatting disinformation a...
Readers Top Reviews
Ryan Boissonneault
One of the most intellectually lazy comments or observations you could possibly make is the following: “The Republican Party is biased, but so is the Democratic Party. They both occupy their own independent realities.” Let’s call this the neutrality bias, which is one of the most annoying forms of relativism you can find. Not everything is by default equivalent; sometimes, one group is more biased or manipulative or delusional than another. But since we love to overcorrect problems, we’ve replaced extreme ideological bias with a pathological need to appear objective even when doing so sacrifices accuracy and honesty. Obviously, there is plenty of bias with the Democrats (and plenty to complain about regarding their overall strategy). But only one party is the party of disinformation, conspiracy theories, religious fundamentalism, anti-science, and voter suppression. Only one party uses disinformation as a clear political strategy, and has admitted as much to those paying any attention. And it’s clear why. Here’s everything you need to know about the Republican Party in one paragraph. As Pfeiffer wrote: “One of the primary purposes of this disinformation strategy is to paper over a potentially fatal contradiction. The Republicans depend on a populist working-class base, but their policy agenda asks those very same working-class voters to pay for tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. This tension is simply irreconcilable. If elections were centered on the contrasting economic positions of the party, the Republicans would get clobbered. So, they obfuscate and distract. They move the conversation to the cultural issues that unite their base and divide ours.” Pfeiffer continues: “If there is a fair hearing on the issues, Republicans will lose. They must defame Democrats, hide their own positions, and keep their shrinking white base fired up with a steady dose of racist agitprop.” We need to remember that objectivity and civility only apply to interlocutors of good faith. If someone honestly and genuinely disagrees with you, they deserve to be heard. Conservative media plays off this good faith from reasonable people. But bad faith actors, who are intentionally lying or manipulating the truth for their own benefit, do not deserve such niceties. And we don’t need to bend over backwards to create the impression that we’re covering “all sides of an issue” when one side is not intellectually respectable. It would be like a history professor devoting equal time to holocaust denial or a biology professor spending half the semester on creationism in her evolutionary biology course. I sincerely hope that this book shakes people out of their need to prioritize appearing objective when doing so forces them to spend equal time considering BS ideas. The left has allowed the right to dictate the conv...
