Stories are weapons : psychological warfare and the American mind Cover Image

Book

Stories are weapons : psychological warfare and the American mind / Annalee Newitz.

Newitz, Annalee, 1969- (author.).

Summary:

Annalee Newitz traces the way disinformation, propaganda, and violent threats--the essential tool kit for psychological warfare--have evolved from military weapons used against foreign adversaries into tools used in domestic culture wars. Newitz delves into America's deep-rooted history with psychological operations, beginning with Benjamin Franklin's Revolutionary War-era fake newspaper and reaching its apotheosis with disinformation during twenty-first-century elections. The nation's secret weapon has long been coercive storytelling, fashioned by operatives who drew on their experiences in the ad industry and as science-fiction writers. Now, through a weapons-transfer program long unacknowledged, it has found its way into the hands of culture warriors, in conflicts from school-board fights over LGBTQ+ students to campaigns against feminist viewpoints. Stories Are Weapons delivers a counter-narrative, as Newitz highlights the process of psychological disarmament, speaking with Indigenous archivists preserving their histories in new ways, activist storytellers, and technology experts transforming social media.

Record details

ISBN: 0393881512
ISBN: 9780393881516
Physical Description: xxv, 246 pages ; 24 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York, NY : W. W. Norton and Company, [2024]
Copyright: ©2024

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-227) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	The brain fog of war -- The mind bomb -- A fake frontier -- Advertisements for disenfranchisement -- Bad brains -- School rules -- Dirty comics -- History is a gift -- Deprogramming for democracy -- Public spheres of the future.