Terry Pratchett, in his Discworld novel The truth [1], wrote the famous epigram, “A lie can run around the world before the truth has got its boots on.” This quote very succinctly describes the struggle against propaganda and disinformation, described superbly in this book by Gregor, Mlejnkova, and their colleagues at Masaryk University, in Brno, Czech Republic. Disinformation moves like fire through a desiccated grassland. It is impossible to extinguish and very difficult to control.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part (four chapters) is a general description of the nature and dynamics of propaganda and disinformation. Part 2 (five chapters) emphasizes technological and organizational measures in combatting disinformation.

The first chapter in Part 1 describes powerful propaganda and disinformation as social, political, and psychological problems. In the post-truth culture of “ alternative facts,” the dissemination of disinformation is intentional. It is not intended to persuade, but to influence and manipulate susceptible people to the harm of opponents. The Internet and the commanding presence of social media as the sole source of news for a large majority of adults support the pervasiveness of disinformation. Disinformation feeds on the emotional content of belief. Some people are eager to believe lies and conspiracy theories because they want to believe them. The political players who are purveyors of falsehoods depend on the human tendency to accept repeated lies that confirm their prejudices and opinions.

The second chapter follows with a description of the primary purveyors of disinformation and the technologies used to disseminate disinformation. Russia, China, white nationalists, and jihadists are specifically identified as bad actors. The chapter surveys the tools employed: trolls and bots; the use of big data and deep machine learning for microtargeting social media users; and the use of deep fakes to discredit audio and visual recordings. The focus of the third chapter is on propaganda and disinformation as a security threat. Disinformation is weaponized to control the information environment, destabilize society, promote special interests, and establish a new political order.Part 1’s chapter 4 discusses the legal aspects of controlling untruthful speech. Since the authors are in an European Union (EU) country, the presentation is based on the European Convention on Human Rights. Nonetheless, American readers will see close similarities with bounds on the First Amendment rights of free speech and free press.

Part 2’s emphasis is on the technological aspects of countering propaganda and disinformation in democratic societies. Chapter 5 looks at the detection of propaganda and disinformation. The tools range from human fact checkers to computerized fact-checking, source credibility analysis, tracking the flow of the disinformation, and style analysis. Computerized analysis is essential since the amount of false texts, images, videos, and source attributions overwhelms human analysts. Chapter 6 describes the forensics of disinformation and manipulation, and advocates the training and certification of digital forensic practitioners to effectively interpret the evidence in courts of law.

Chapter 7 presents three case studies on Denmark, Czech Republic, and Bulgaria, which demonstrate the measures taken to combat propaganda and disinformation in Europe. Each country was evaluated using a seven-point rubric that could be applied to any nation. The eighth chapter examines measures taken by civil (non-governmental) organizations in combatting disinformation. Civil organizations include private businesses and non-profits, media, individuals, and academic institutions. Four countries in central Europe were studied: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary. The strength of engagement from civil groups seems to be in proportion to the country’s democratic character, with the Czech Republic and Slovakia the highest and with Poland and Hungary as the lowest.

Chapter 9 concludes the book. Several major problems are identified here: the role of algorithms, used to manipulate users in echo chambers of radicalization; the increased employment of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep machine learning; and the use of deep fakes and fake virtual identities as sources. Living in a “post-truth” era will be difficult, with lower trust in expert opinions and significant belief in alternative facts. Who are the real experts who speak the truth? This chapter calls for human and societal resilience, the most important aspect of which is cognitive resilience. Cognitive resilience will be the most difficult to achieve since it depends on the individual to think critically and learn the genuine truth. A cognitively resilient person will not let disinformation take root.

This is a timely volume. It is thoroughly researched and very well written. The chapters, though written by different contributors, fit together nicely. It is an excellent team effort. In reading it, I found a clear articulation of what I had been observing, living, and reflecting upon in post-truth America.