Audiobook6 hours
unSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation
Written by Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson
Narrated by David Marantz
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
The founders of FactCheck.org teach you how to identify and debunk spin, hype, and fake news in this essential guide to informed citizenship in an age of misinformation.
Americans are bombarded daily with mixed messages, half-truths, misleading statements, and out-and-out fabrications masquerading as facts. The news media is often too intimidated, too partisan, or too overworked to keep up with these deceptions.
unSpun is the secret decoder ring for the twenty-first-century world of disinformation. Written by Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the founders of the acclaimed website FactCheck.org, unSpun reveals the secrets of separating facts from disinformation, such as:
- the warning signs of spin
- common tricks used to deceive the public
- how to find trustworthy and objective sources of information
Telling fact from fiction shouldn't be a difficult task. With this book and a healthy dose of skepticism, anyone can cut through the haze of political deception and biased reportage to become a savvier, more responsible citizen.
Americans are bombarded daily with mixed messages, half-truths, misleading statements, and out-and-out fabrications masquerading as facts. The news media is often too intimidated, too partisan, or too overworked to keep up with these deceptions.
unSpun is the secret decoder ring for the twenty-first-century world of disinformation. Written by Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the founders of the acclaimed website FactCheck.org, unSpun reveals the secrets of separating facts from disinformation, such as:
- the warning signs of spin
- common tricks used to deceive the public
- how to find trustworthy and objective sources of information
Telling fact from fiction shouldn't be a difficult task. With this book and a healthy dose of skepticism, anyone can cut through the haze of political deception and biased reportage to become a savvier, more responsible citizen.
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Reviews for unSpun
Rating: 3.813953572093023 out of 5 stars
4/5
43 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent. This is what "fair and balanced" really means. At least two examples for nearly every trap (elephants and donkeys).
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Excellent tool for sorting disinformation from truth in the modern world
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The anecdotes and examples are fascinating but the hidden message of this book is that Americans, by and large, have stopped thinking. We've come to accept anything that comes out of the TV, internet and news media in all it's forms as the truth largely because we can't be bothered to take the time to think and search for the facts behind the spin, half-truths and out 'n' out lies. If nothing else, this books points out the need for a return to common sense and healthy skepticism without cynicism.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An excellent, concise introduction to the numerous ways we humans make thinking errors and the ways in which they are exploited in the worlds of commerce and politics, from the brains behind factcheck.org. The book has numerous examples to illustrate its principles, and explains how the folks at Annenberg Political Fact Check go about their work of verifying claims.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A must read for anyone who wants to protect themselves from scams and know how to find the truth. A great place to start if you want to base your understanding of the world on evidence rather than propaganda or ideology.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love factcheck.org, so when I found out some of the contributors were writing a book, I had to get it. Not only does it drive home the need to check sources and not believe everything you hear or read on the net right away, it explains why we're so willing to believe some things or disregard others so quickly.This book explain to the reader when spin typically happens, how to recognize it, how to be on the lookout for it, and how to verify what the facts really are. Reading it and the examples given, I was suprised by how much I do. I have quite a bit of experiance verifying sources, questioning numbers, and scouring reports to see how the numbers have been crunched (I'm one of those librarians they mention in chapter 7), but I get taken in too-I had one of those Ab belts and thought that the bin Lauden family was allowed to fly out soon after 9/11. Of course, I had to read this book with an equally critical eye-I still wonder how some of the questions were formed in all those studies they cited...Oh, and if you're like me and immediatly start looking for the bibliography-it's on their web page, not in the book.