Information Wars - How we lost the Global Battle against Disinformation and what we can do about it

From the former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs comes a compulsively readable account of ho information warfare works and how difficult it is to fight

In February of 2013, Richard Stengel, the former editor-in-chief of Time, joined the Obama administration as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Within days, two shocking events made worldwide headlines: ISIS executed American journalist James Foley on a graphic video seen by tens of millions, and Vladimir Poetin's "little green men" - Russian special forces - invaded Crimea, amid a blizzard of Russian denials and false flags. What these events had in common besides their violent law -lessness is that they were the opening salvo's in a new era of global information war.  Where countries and non-state actors use social media and disinformation to create their narratives and undermine anyone who opposes them.

Stengel was thrust onto the front lines of this battle as he was tasked with responding the relentless weaponizing of information and grievance by ISIS, Russia, China, and others. He saw the scale of what he was up against and found himself hopelessly outgunned. Then, in 2016, the wars Stengel was fighting abroad came home during the presidential election, as fake news became a rallying cry and the Russians used the techniques they learned in Ukraine to influence the election here.

Rarely has an accomplished journalist been not only a close observer but also a principal participant in the debates and decisions of American foreign policy. Stengel takes you behind the scenes in the ritualized world of diplomacy, from the daily 8:30 morning huddle with a restless John Kerry, to a midnight sit-down in Saudi Arabia with the prince of darkness Mohammed bin Salman. The result is a rich account of a losing battle against trolls and bots - who are every bit as insidious as their names imply.