Summary of Attack from Within by Barbara McQuade: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America E-Book
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Summary of Attack from Within by Barbara McQuade: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
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Summary of Attack from Within
A
Summary of Barbara McQuade’s book
How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
GP SUMMARY
Summary of Attack from Within by Barbara McQuade: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
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This is an unofficial summary & analysis of Barbara McQuade’s “Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America” designed to enrich your reading experience.
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INTRODUCTION
DISINFORMED TO DEATH
On January 5, 2021, Rosanne Boyland, a Georgia native, joined a mob in Washington, DC, believing that the 2020 election was fraudulent. Despite numerous courts and Trump's Justice Department rejecting claims of fraud, the 2020 election was declared the most secure in US history. Boyland joined the mob and stormed the US Capitol, where she was trampled to death by the crowd. The attack was fueled by false claims that Biden had used fraud to steal the election, known as "the Big Lie." Eight others also lost their lives, including Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter and US Air Force veteran, and US Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick. The attack left unseen emotional scars and four officers committed suicide. Over a year later, 68% of Republicans were still deceived by lies that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen.
The threat persists even after Trump was indicted for his efforts to steal the election. Former federal judge J. Michael Luttig warned that 2020 was merely a dry run to steal future elections, and that Trump and his allies were a "clear and present danger" to US democracy. The question remains whether American democracy is destined for the same fate as Boyland, Babbitt, and Sicknick, or if it is undergoing a slower erosion, invisible in real time but as devastating as a metastasizing cancer.
Disinformation is the deliberate use of lies to manipulate people, either for profit or to advance a political agenda. In America, both forms of falsehood are distorting our perception of reality, and enemies of democracy are using disinformation to attack our sovereign right to truthful information, intellectual integrity, and the exercise of the will of the people. Online disinformation is particularly insidious due to its immediacy, capacity to deceive, and ability to reach its target.
Disinformers deliberately inflame passions and demonize their political opponents to artificially limit options to only two perspectives on an issue. This tactic is known as the "either-or fallacy." As technology continues to advance, the threat of disinformation looms even larger.
A significant number of Americans don't seem to care anymore whether a statement is true, but rather whether any given message is consistent with their worldview. This leads to a weakened democracy, diminished national security, and a threat to the rule of law.
The rise of disinformation in America is partly due to recent technological advances. Before the information age, geographic regions in the United States set their own community standards, with immigration patterns and local history shaping the culture of various regions. This has led to varying experiences and viewpoints, shaping our individual vision of America.
The internet has brought various versions of America to our faces, making it difficult for some people to accept or confront truths that make them uncomfortable. This book documents the ways political opportunists and profiteers use disinformation as a weapon, and how this tool can be used by any political party or faction. The far-right members of the Republican Party are the most egregious purveyors of disinformation in US politics.
In 2023, a lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems exposed the duplicity of executives and hosts at Fox News, which pushed election conspiracy theories on air. The false claim of mass fraud was the most brazen disinformation campaign in American history, and Fox paid a $787.5 million settlement for defaming Dominion.
Trump's movement to "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) lives on, focusing on cultural divides to distract middle- and lower-income voters from economic policies that enrich the wealthy. Since the end of World War II, Americans have been less likely to earn more money than their parents, and wealth disparities have grown dramatically since the Reagan administration. If people of color, immigrants, "woke" leftists, and a "deep state" of elite bureaucrats can be blamed for their problems, then some voters will tolerate or even embrace policies that go against their own financial interests.
Disinformation researchers at the University of Texas have discovered that since 2010, online influence campaigns have used communities of color as pawns and targets of disinformation. The attack on the Boston Marathon was driven by race, with Confederate flags, insignias of white supremacist groups, and a lynching noose on display. The attack was an expression of white nationalist identity and an attempt to seize power. Long after Trump's claims of a stolen election were debunked, the assault on truth continues. States have passed laws making voting more difficult, and election deniers have become GOP party chairs in three states.
Congressman George Santos was elected to Congress after fabricating his education, employment history, ethnicity, volunteer work, and claims that his mother had died in the September 11 attacks. Florida governor Ron DeSantis continues to stoke the culture wars, leading a ban in schools on books and discussions about race, gender, and sexuality.
The assault on truth is far from over, with the National Institutes of Health paused its $150 million program devoted to improving the communication of accurate medical information, including vaccines, based on threats of legal actions. The conversation is not about Democratic and Republican politics, but about the essential need for truth in self-governance.
Throughout history, America has been targeted with disinformation from foreign adversaries like Russia and the Soviet Union. The fundamental value of free speech makes Americans susceptible to disinformation, as it has been used to spread mythology and propaganda since the days of George Washington's fable. The United States also engages in information warfare, using psychological operations (psyops) to manipulate foreign populations for strategic advantage.
The current strain of falsehoods is relentlessly used by a shrinking American political party to maintain a popular base. Legislation in several states is harming democracy by making it increasingly difficult to cast a ballot, creating obstacles to voting, and endangering the integrity of the electoral process. Political violence has become a reality, with public officials facing threats, harassment, and attacks. Lies scapegoating people of color, immigrants, Asian Americans, Jewish people, and the LGBTQ+ community coincide with increases in hate crimes. Claims that the FBI is a "disgrace" and that the government has "weaponized" criminal investigations are eroding public faith in law enforcement. A diminishing ability to enforce the law reduces public safety and cultivates corruption.
A lack of trust in the criminal justice system also fosters vigilante violence, leading to the destruction of teen gunman Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020 and more than one thousand insurrectionists in the US capital on January 6, 2021. Much of the American right glamorizes assault weapons, based on the absurd claim that the Second Amendment protects not only the right to bear arms but also the right to overthrow the government.
The threat to national security extends to the United States' dysfunction, as its foreign policy has centered on spreading democracy, promoting human rights, and political stability. The attack on the peaceful transfer of presidential power is stark evidence that disinformation threatens our form of government.
American democracy is facing a similar attack from within, with disinformation being the weapon of choice. If the attack succeeds, elections will be decided by manipulators, unjust laws will be enacted by the puppets those manipulators install, and political violence, corruption, militia activity, and vigilante violence will likely become widespread and routine. Disinformation operations turn us on ourselves, leading to outrage, fear, cynicism, and numbness.
