unSpun, Brooks Jackson
unSpun, Brooks Jackson
List: $15.99 | Sale: $11.20
Club: $7.99

unSpun
Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation

Author: Brooks Jackson, Kathleen Hall Jamieson

Narrator: David Marantz

Unabridged: 6 hr 15 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/12/2019


Synopsis

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.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Tom on June 12, 2013

I read this book because it was on the "recommended reading" list of the old syllabus of a Media Literacy class I'm going to be teaching in the fall. The authors start off by purporting to have written a book that will save us hapless consumers from falling prey to the hype that we're subjected to b......more

Goodreads review by Tom on March 13, 2008

I got this book because I'd seen the author as a regular on Bill Moyers' show and I really liked what she had to say about politics and spin. Unfortunately, this book wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. The book catalogs the ways that "spin" works in advertising and politics, and although I can't fa......more

Goodreads review by Annie on November 15, 2023

easy to read and not the worst book i’ve ever been assigned to read for a class......more

Goodreads review by Peacegal on July 26, 2016

Huckster marketing and spin has been around since the days of snake oil—which was a real product that didn’t actually contain snake oil and didn’t actually cure anything. That didn’t stop its creator Clark Stanley, from making a mint on the stuff before finally being shut down. The author tells us:......more

Goodreads review by Kathy on March 15, 2018

The book offers a look at logical fallacies that are used in public discourse and particularly by popular media, such as cable news outlets, advertisements, and even academic studies. The time span is during the George W. Bush presidency, which then gives a very particular tone to the way the author......more