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Fake News
Book

Fake News

Understanding Media and Misinformation in the Digital Age (Information Policy)

Melissa Zimdars and Kembrew McLeod
MIT Press, 2020

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Controversial
  • Analytical
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

Communications and media professors Melissa Zimdars and Kembrew McLeod offer a well-edited, well-curated collection of academic essays addressing false news stories in politics, the erosion of serious journalism, and the failure of technology and social media self-regulation to control lies and hateful propaganda. The 30 authors of these wide-ranging pieces do not shy away from controversy as they analyze the issues and pose relevant, thought-provoking questions.

Take-Aways

  • As long as people have communicated, “fake news” has circulated with real news.
  • Limitless information overwhelms consumers, allowing manipulators to take advantage of people’s impulses and subconscious instincts.
  • Politicians use fake news, photos, video and audio to discredit all news, especially legitimate news they don’t like.

About the Authors

Communications and media professors Melissa Zimdars (author of Watching Our Weights) and Kembrew McLeod (author of Cutting Across Media, Creative License and other titles) compiled and contributed to this collection for the Information Policy Series. Contributors: Mark Andrejevic, Benjamin Burroughs, Nicholas Bowman, Mark Brewin, Elizabeth Cohen, Colin Doty, Dan Faltesek, Johan Farkas, Cherian George, Tarleton Gillespie, Dawn R. Gilpin, Gina Giotta, Theodore Glasser, Amanda Ann Klein, Paul Levinson, Adrienne Massanari, Sophia A. McClennen, Kembrew McLeod, Panagiotis Takis Metaxas, Paul Mihailidis, Benjamin Peters, Whitney Phillips, Victor Pickard, Danielle Polage, Stephanie Ricker Schulte, Leslie-Jean Thornton, Anita Varma, Claire Wardle, Melissa Zimdars and Sheng Zou.

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