Attack from Within

December 11, 2023
MSNBC legal analyst McQuade debuts with a concise introduction to the threat to American democracy posed by “the deliberate use of lies to manipulate people, whether to extract profit or to advance a political agenda.” She covers all aspects of disinformation, including its historical antecedents, the ways in which the human mind is susceptible to it, and the possibility that technological advances such as AI will exacerbate an already serious problem. McQuade makes clear that the phenomenon predated Donald Trump’s candidacy and presidency, quoting the Federalist Papers to show that the Founding Fathers were concerned about disinformation. Still, while McQuade notes examples from both sides of the political divide, the bulk of her critique is aimed at Trumpists, in particular for the 2020 election denialism that led to the January 6 insurrection. She remains cautiously optimistic about the future of American democracy and proposes logical if familiar actions to mitigate the harm of disinformation, such as holding social media more accountable for content on their platforms, strengthening local journalism, teaching media literacy, and restoring civics education to school curricula. Though there’s not much new here, it’s still a useful guide for those curious about the past and future of political disinformation.

January 1, 2024
A legal scholar examines disinformation as a go-to in the authoritarian toolbox. Disinformation is ubiquitous and often laughably transparent, as when Trump brays about the 2020 election, but it works. As McQuade notes, two-thirds of Republicans believe that "the essential workings of democracy are corrupt, that made-up claims of fraud are true...and that violence is a legitimate response." The Jan. 6 insurrection may just have been a practice run, but meanwhile the disinformation flows, abetted by election deniers who have been busily taking over state and local GOP branches and becoming overseers of future elections. McQuade examines several aspects of the playbook. One longtime Trump ploy is to paint his opponents with idiotic epithets such as "Sleepy Joe" and "Ron DeSanctimonious," which "seem juvenile, but they serve the same manipulative purpose as other forms of disinformation." The author doesn't spare the media, which, she argues, has exaggerated its watchdog role to assume that government malfeasance and corruption are more widespread than the facts warrant, constantly hunting for the next scandal. Disinformation is a Clausewitzian war by other means, a way of dominating and diminishing opponents without violence, and it relies on constant lying. The current GOP dogma, for example, is not just that Trump won in 2020, but also that we live in a republic and not a democracy that demands that our leaders should make decisions for us, "providing cover for far-right values that are not shared by the majority of Americans." McQuade's handbook doesn't add much to the literature on disinformation, but as a national security prosecutor, she's well placed to liken what's going on now to al-Qaeda's mastery of digital media "to recruit and radicalize members with propaganda"--a thought guaranteed to trouble one's sleep. The book has little news for anyone who's been paying attention, but it's a useful overview all the same.

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January 1, 2024
When the phrase "alternative facts" was first uttered on the White House lawn, it became the explanation and justification for virtually every Trump administration policy and political statement that followed. From the inauguration to the insurrection, Trump conducted a concerted campaign of dis- and misinformation designed, as Trump adviser Steve Bannon so memorably boasted, to "deconstruct the administrative state." Aided by targeted social media posts, partisan press outlets, loyal government officials, and grassroots acolytes, Trump's self-serving messages permeated the mainstream media ecosystem, changing the way knowledge is processed. In a scholarly yet accessible approach as befits her status as a respected former U.S. attorney, current professor of law at the University of Michigan, and MSNBC/NBC legal analyst McQuade presents an overwhelming litany of examples of falsehoods that are threatening American democracy through their undermining of foundational institutions. Buttressed by contributions from acclaimed political and legal experts too numerous to name here, McQuade's argument for the need to recognize and correct this pernicious assault on the nation's norms is airtight.

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