04055cam a2200469 i 4500 23491340 BJBSDDR 20250611161054.0 ta 240106s2024 nyuaf b 000 0 eng 2023054427 9780525658313 (hardcover) 0525658319 (hardcover) 9780525658320 (ebook) LBSOR eng rda LBSOR DLC eng pcc n-us--- HM 851 B857d 2024 302.23/10973 Brill, Steven, 1950- 42535 The death of truth : how social media and the internet gave snake oil salesmen and demagogues the weapons to destroy trust and polarize the world - and what we can do about it / Steven Brill. First edition. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2024. viii, 317 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits, facsimiles ; 25 cm. text txt rdacontent unmediated n rdamedia volume nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references. Seven times seven is not forty-one -- The liberation of the good samaritans -- "What's up with your recommendation engine" -- "We're sorry" -- Millions of papers flying around -- ER doctors or tobacco company shills? -- Buying blind -- A vaster wasteland -- Attacking the referees -- Infodemic -- Down the rabbit hole -- America's shameful export -- We are going to burn you down" -- When you can't believe your own eyes -- Resurrecting truth-what you can do. "As the cofounder of NewsGuard, a company that tracks online misinformation, Steven Brill has observed the rise of fake news from a front-row seat. In The Death of Truth, with startling, often terrifying clarity, he explains how we got here--and how we can get back to a world where truth matters. None of this--conspiracy theories embraced, expertise ridiculed, empirical evidence ignored--has happened by accident. Brill takes us inside the decisions made by executives in Silicon Valley to code the algorithms embedded in their social media platforms to maximize profits by pushing divisive content. He unravels the ingenious creation of automated advertising buying systems that reward that click-baiting content and penalize reliable news publishers, and describes how the use of these ad-financed, misinformation platforms by politicians, hucksters, and conspiracy theorists deceives ordinary citizens. He documents how the most powerful adversaries of America have used American-made social media and advertising tools against us with massive disinformation campaigns--and how, with the development of generative artificial intelligence, everything could get exponentially worse unless we act. The stakes are high for all of us, including Brill himself, whose company's role in exposing Russian disinformation operations resulted in a Russian agent targeting him and his family. Crucially, Brill lays out a series of provocative but realistic prescriptions for what we can do now to reverse course--proposals certain to stir debate and even action that could curb the power of big tech to profit from division and chaos, tamp down polarization, and restore the trust necessary to bring us together"-- Provided by publisher. Misinformation Social aspects United States. Truthfulness and falsehood Social aspects United States. Social media and society United States. Desinformación Aspectos sociales Estados Unidos 42652 Falsedad y veracidad 4404 Redes sociales Aspectos sociales 16331 Online version: Brill, Steven, 1950- Death of truth. First edition New York : Knopf, 2024 9780525658320 (DLC) 2023054428 7 cbc orignew 1 ecip 20 y-gencatlg lcc BK 123747 123747 0 0 lcc 0 0 CS BJB BJB CS 2025-06-04 0 HM 851 B857d 2024 00000192882 2025-06-04 00:00:00 1 2025-06-04 BK