Decoding Propaganda: A Guide to Unraveling the Influence and Manipulation of Misinformation in the Digital Age

In June, I will be releasing a new book that explores the world of propaganda, misinformation, and the psychology behind how these tactics can influence our thoughts and actions. This project was inspired by a conversation I had with computational social scientist Meysam Alizadeh in the summer of 2020. At the time, Alizadeh and his team were working on an algorithm to predict waves of propaganda on Twitter and Reddit. Their goal was to create a “propaganda weather report” to help people prepare for incoming influence campaigns.

As we talked, I shared with Alizadeh my own experience with a complex psychological operations (psy ops) campaign on Twitter. The campaign was manipulating information to influence people’s opinions and behaviors, and it left me feeling disturbed and determined to do something about it. Alizadeh’s research opened my eyes to the challenges we face in the digital age, where misinformation and propaganda can easily spread and sway public opinion.

This sparked me to dive deeper into this topic and write a book that would educate readers on how to spot and combat propaganda in the digital age. Through extensive research and real-life examples, I hope to empower people to become more discerning consumers of information and critical thinkers when it comes to the content they encounter online. My upcoming book is set to release in June, so keep an eye out for it!