You Are Being Lied To: The Disinformation Guide to Media Distortion, Historical Whitewashes and Cultural Myths

List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $10.27
You Save: $14.68 (59%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.39 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Book Reviews of You Are Being Lied To: The Disinformation Guide to Media Distortion, Historical Whitewashes and Cultural Myths

Book Review: A Must Read
Summary: 5 Stars

Although the book is filled with much interesting factual data, Russ Kick (the editor) in his introduction notes that it is much easier to tear down the sacred cows of society than it is to replace them with the absolute truth. For example, Howard Bloom in his second article falls into the very same trap regarding media reporting that he is trying to warn people against with a rather biased, misleading and one-sided presentation of the situation in the Middle-East. Despite the fact that what Bloom does choose to convey is truthful, what he omits is damning, and he is in complete error in suggesting that the overall perception created of Arabs by the media is that of the victim when in reality, with the exception of works by such writers as Chomsky and Fisk that have been the subject of negative campaigns, Arabs have been represented throughout media history as terrorists. And sometimes the authors admittedly only raise questions about beliefs without really disputing them (as in the article Is Jesus A Myth? which fails to really refute evidence of the historical figure). However, the vast majority of this book is well researched and supported, and serves a useful purpose even when it is only raising questions instead of presenting answers by fighting against the supression of truth. Thus while the article on evolution does not present a new and more accurate theory, it does show scientists as the frauds they are in supressing findings that raise questions about our current understanding of evolution instead of trying to reconcile the apparently harmful data in order to come up with a better understanding of the process as per proper scientific method.

The first article, by Howard Bloom, is an excellent summary of social psychology studies regarding the forces of conformity and how they can blind people from even obvious, indisputable truths (I got to personally witness recreations of some of these experiments as a psychology student). The second section of articles then shows how the media can and does, both deliberately (through purposeful disinformation) and through error (usually from laziness, incomplete reporting or lack of knowledge by the reporter on the subject matter), misreport the truth. One example is the FBI citing a humour article warning of a number of made-up computer viruses (e.g. the Clinton virus, which destroys itself when it can't decide which of two files to infect) as if it were about real viruses, and said FBI report then being used as source material in newspaper and university articles exaggerating the threat of computer viruses, and by computer security companies with a financial interest in exaggerating the problem.

Following this series of articles illustrating how common misconceptions can arise both innocently and more insidiously, are chapters dealing with more specific instances of disinformation and misinformation and attacks on common misconceptions.

This is one of the best books of this nature I have ever read. Must reading.

Summary of You Are Being Lied To: The Disinformation Guide to Media Distortion, Historical Whitewashes and Cultural Myths

You Are Being Lied To is a massive collection of articles that ruthlessly destroy the distortions, myths, and outright lies that are fed to us by the government, the media, corporations, history books, organized religion, science and medicine, and society in general. No one is spared, and all sacred cows are candidates for the grinder.

Do you believe any of the following?

* Alcoholics Anonymous is effective.
* Hackers pose a grave threat to the nation.
* There's a hidden code in the Bible.
* The Big Bang is an airtight fact.
* Thousands of species have gone extinct because of deforestation.
* Licking certain toads will get you high.
* Most terrorists are Middle Eastern.

Wake up! You're being lied to.

This book acts as a battering ram against the distortions, myths, and outright lies that have been shoved down our throats by the government, the media, corporations, organized religion, the scientific establishment, and others who want to keep the truth from us. An unprecedented group of researchers--investigative reporters, political dissidents, academics, media watchdogs, scientist-philosophers, social critics, and rogue scholars--paints a picture of a world where crucial stories are ignored or actively suppressed and the official version of events has more holes in it than Swiss cheese. A world where real dangers are downplayed and nonexistent dangers are trumpeted. In short, a world where you are being lied to.

Among the revelations inside:

* Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Sydney Schanberg on John McCain's efforts to conceal information on POW/MIAs
* Howard Bloom on liars in the media
* Riane Eisler on the realities of human nature
* James Ridgeway on tainted blood and more
* Jim Marrs on missing evidence in important cases
* Greenpeace cofounder Peter Moore on environmental myths
* Michael Parenti on atrocities in Kosovo
* Douglas Rushkoff on the information arms race
* Gary Webb on the gutless corporate media
* Howard Zinn on Columbus

You'll also discover that a human being has already been cloned, Joseph McCarthy was not paranoid, museums refuse to display artifacts that conflict wi

Writing Books

• Books > Subjects > Education & Reference
• Education
• Philosophy
• Politics
• Social Sciences