Information Wars

How We Lost the Global Battle Against Disinformation and What We Can Do About It

By: Richard Stengel

Narrated by: Christopher Grove

During the final three years of the Obama administration, Richard Stengel, the former editor of Time magazine and an Under Secretary of State, was on the front lines of the new global information war. At the time, he was the single person in government tasked with unpacking, disproving, and combating both ISIS's messaging and Russian disinformation. Then, in 2016, as the presidential election unfolded, Stengel watched as Donald Trump used disinformation himself, weaponizing the grievances of Americans who felt overlooked. In fact, Stengel quickly came to see how all three players had used the same playbook: ISIS sought to make Islam great again; Putin tried to make Russia great again; and we all know about Trump.

In a narrative that is by turns dramatic and eye-opening, Information Wars walks listeners through this often frustrating battle. Stengel moves through Russia and Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, and introduces characters from Putin to Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and Mohamed bin Salman to show how disinformation is impacting our global society. He illustrates how ISIS terrorized the world using social media, and how the Russians launched a tsunami of disinformation around the annexation of Crimea - a scheme that became the model for their interference with the 2016 presidential election.

©2019 Richard Stengel (P)2019 Kalorama

A Great Dissection of Misinformtion

This book was great look at the real world consequences of misinformation. It explores the evolution of misinformation, going back as far as the fall USSR and explains in great detail how the U.S. lost the information wars. Toward the end, the author provides ideas on how we can move forward and dull the effects misinformation can have on us. It is an idea worth fighting for.

Good info but stilted narrator

The narrator spoke in a halting manner making it a less enjoyable listening experience. This is my view.

defining disinformation and how to fight it

thoughtful view of information, disinformation and US government role, describing success against ISIS, and Russia's continuing dominance.

Embodiment of everything that is wrong with America’s communication

This is not a bad book. It’s an interesting memoir about the author’s years as undersecretary for public diplomacy. Yet, as a Ukrainian communications specialist, I can’t help but notice the misguided approach towards fighting disinformation the author was undertaking.

The underlying reason is obvious: the unmistakable disdain towards all non-Americans. Mr Stengel is constantly surprised that non-Americans are capable of success. At the same time, he blindly celebrates his own accomplishments as remarkable achievements, even those that are clearly misguided, ineffective or just plain wrong.

He celebrates his and his team’s cowardice and unprofessionalism. He undermines anyone who speaks with an accent, be in a Lithuanian government official (who couldn’t have been speaking with a Slavic accent because Lithuanian isn’t a Slavic language) or a Ukrainian government minister.

That latest case is particularly laughable: Mr Stengel described his Ukrainian interlocutor, the “minister of information” as a media-illiterate dummy who didn’t know what a press conference was. He didn’t provide a name (all his American colleagues have names but very few of his international interlocutors seem to do), but the minister of information policy at that time was a former CEO of a notable television company, an experienced journalist and a savvy political expert with many a campaign under his belt.

The fact that the performer consistently mispronounced foreign names only highlighted the author’s condescension and ineptitude.

Public diplomacy is about establishing and managing a dialogue. It is impossible without respecting and understanding the other party. No wonder Mr Stengel’s efforts failed so dismally. This book sheds the light on the arrogance Americans possess towards other nations.
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a real eye-opener

I will recommend to this to all of my friends and colleagues. good clear simple writing, and an excellent reading.