Wrong, Dannagal Goldthwaite Young
Wrong, Dannagal Goldthwaite Young
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Wrong
How Media, Politics, and Identity Drive Our Appetite for Misinformation

Author: Dannagal Goldthwaite Young

Narrator: Rachel Perry

Unabridged: 8 hr 53 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Kalorama

Published: 10/24/2023


Synopsis

An engaging look at how American politics and media reinforce partisan identity and threaten democracy.

Why are so many of us wrong about so much? From COVID-19 to climate change to the results of elections, millions of Americans believe things that are simply not true—and act based on these misperceptions. In Wrong: How Media, Politics, and Identity Drive Our Appetite for Misinformation, expert in media and politics Dannagal Goldthwaite Young offers a comprehensive model that illustrates how political leaders and media organizations capitalize on our social and cultural identities to separate, enrage, and—ultimately—mobilize us. Through a process of identity distillation encouraged by public officials, journalists, political and social media, Americans' political identities—how we think of ourselves as members of our political team—drive our belief in and demand for misinformation. It turns out that if being wrong allows us to comprehend the world, have control over it, or connect with our community, all in ways that serve our political team, then we don't want to be right.

By understanding the dynamics that encourage identity distillation, Wrong explains how to reverse this dangerous trend and strengthen American democracy in the process.

About Dannagal Goldthwaite Young

Dannagal Goldthwaite Young is a professor of communication and political science at the University of Delaware. Young is an award-winning scholar and teacher, a TED speaker, an improvisational comedian, and the author of Irony and Outrage: The Polarized Landscape of Rage, Fear, and Laughter in the United States.


Reviews

Goodreads review by "Cyril' on February 01, 2024

This was an excellent discussion of right wing bias. Unfortunately it virtually ignored left wing bias. The author kept saying that the right wing distorts the news more often, but insists many times it occurs on both sides. A pity that with the exception of the Steele dossier the left is never real......more

Goodreads review by Gi on March 06, 2024

Good read, however can seem overly political. Come in with an open mind and understand the point the author is trying to convey. Don’t believe everything media/social media has to say and definitely not biased opinions shared and re-shared. Overall good book, I recommend.......more

Goodreads review by Adam on January 24, 2025

If you’re wondering how we got here, this book does a great job laying all the factors out in an effective manner.......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on January 15, 2024

Young gives a well sourced overview of research around the driving forces that have undergirded the growth of misinformation in our political spheres. Young’s theory of why asymmetrical polarization makes this problem worse on the American political right attempts to synthesize a diverse body of res......more

Goodreads review by Peter B Sperry on April 24, 2024

Bias is obvious and irritating She provides a few insights on how focusing on our in group identity can leave us vulnerable to misinformation. But does not really break new ground. And the continual harping on the supposed asymmetrical nature of the threat not only gets very old very quickly; it als......more