In Stories Are Weapons, best-selling author Annalee Newitz traces the way disinformation, propaganda and violent threats-the essential tool kit for psychological warfare-have evolved from military weapons deployed against foreign adversaries into tools 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 misinformation 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 programme long unacknowledged, it has found its way into the hands of culture warriors, in conflicts from school board fights over LGBT students to campaigns against feminist viewpoints. Stories Are Weapons delivers a powerful 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.

About the Author
Annalee Newitz is a journalist and author of science fiction and nonfiction, including the national best-seller Four Lost Cities. They write for the New York Times and New Scientist and co-host the Hugo Award-winning podcast Our Opinions Are Correct. They live in San Francisco.

Reviews
"Newitz is so skillful at elucidating such a tangled, morally contentious history that I never felt lost. " -- Jennifer Szalai - The New York Times
"Fascinating, well-researched, addictive... Newitz has written what should be essential reading for our current world and years to come. " -- Urban Waite - The San Francisco Chronicle



Book Information
ISBN 9780393881516
Author Annalee Newitz
Format Hardback
Page Count 272
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 493g
Dimensions(mm) 236mm * 160mm * 25mm