The Death of Truth: How Big Tech Gave Snake Oil Salesmen and Demagogues the Weapons To Destroy Trust and Polarize the World—And What We Can Do About It

With the rise of the internet, social media, and generative artificial intelligence, many people have been losing trust in traditional media and institutions. But they’re turning to insular sources rife with misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories. NewsGuard cofounder/co-CEO Brill (Tailspin) theorizes that technology and Silicon Valley execs are, in part, driving this division and overtaking the American political and cultural landscape by coding insidious algorithms that generate large amounts of information—often questionable, contentious, and just plain false—at a rapid pace. He argues that doing this garners more clicks and views, which, in turn, increases advertising revenue. There’s no government oversight to combat the false information found on many social media platforms either. Brill says the way the laws are currently written actually prevents companies from being held accountable. He calls for legislative and citizen-driven remedies. The book includes a chapter plugging the author’s paid service that rates online news and information sites, which may be off-putting to readers looking for standard vetting criteria.