ABSTRACT
On 15 February 2020, Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), spoke on the dangers of the “infodemic,” a virus of information spreading “faster and more easily” than the COVID-19 pandemic. By doing so, he channeled an increasingly dominant narrative in contemporary political debates: namely that information is being corrupted at a never-before-seen scale and that, unless politicians and tech companies act fast, human civilization as we know it is at risk of demise. This book presents a critical examination of these ideas, arguing that not only are they inaccurate, they also risk leading to anti-democratic solutions in the name of democracy. This first chapter sets the scene for the rest of the book. It outlines the book’s core structure, main arguments, and approach. In doing so, it not only situates this book in the wider field of academic literature, but also emphasizes the distinct contribution of mapping the contemporary politics of falsehood.
