{"title":"Political Science--Censorship","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"the-information-state-politics-in-the-age-of-total-control","title":"The Information State: Politics in the Age of Total Control","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWe're often told that disinformation \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eis everywhere and that it's endangering \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eour democracy. But what if the war \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eon disinformation itself is really just \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ea weapon to squash any and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eall legitimate dissent?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Information State\u003c\/i\u003e is an incisive examination of how we reached the point where anything that contradicts the dominant narrative can be labeled dangerous disinformation. \u003ci\u003eTablet \u003c\/i\u003econtributor Jacob Siegel charts how the technological infrastructure built to make society safer and more rational has steadily replaced democratic freedoms with systems of digital control. Commercial Internet applications now double as military-grade surveillance and influence tools. Government tech partnerships established after 2001 in response to the global war on terror took on a life of their own and now target Americans. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eInstead of competing for voters' support, the information state uses censorship, mass surveillance, and\u003cbr\u003ealgorithmic manipulation to shape public perceptions as it tries to engineer reality. Government officials requested that social media companies boost stories about Donald Trump's alleged connections to Russia, while censoring those about Hunter Biden's laptops, the origins of the COVID-19 virus, and the war in Ukraine. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAn alliance between government and tech companies formed to wage the war on terror has evolved into an unholy new kind of technocratic state and turned against America's own citizens. Laws signed by President Obama as he left office fused together the media, NGOs, the national security complex, and big tech companies into an unelected ruling party. In short, the information war came home and completely overtook American politics during the hyperpolarization of the Trump era and the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. \u003ci\u003eThe Information \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eState\u003c\/i\u003e is an urgent, necessary book that sounds the alarm on where society is headed in the age of AI if we don't relearn how to think for ourselves and ask searching questions about whether information can ever be a substitute for truth.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1250363128\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781250363121\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Siegel, Jacob, N\/A, N\/A\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Henry Holt \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Henry Holt \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"HardCover (Mar 2026)","offer_id":45657404768453,"sku":"9781250363121","price":28.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781250363121.jpg?v=1768891388"},{"product_id":"little-red-barns-hiding-the-truth-from-farm-to-fable","title":"Little Red Barns: Hiding the Truth, from Farm to Fable","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"We are in a fight for our lives against a rising authoritarian tide, and this clear-eyed, compelling, clarion call of a book has a message everyone needs to hear.\"\u003c\/b\u003e--\u003cstrong\u003eAstra Taylor, author of \u003cem\u003eDemocracy May Not Exist, but We'll Miss It When It's Gone\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBehind the little red barns dotting the landscape and decorating so many of the products we consume is a dangerous threat. This groundbreaking investigation exposes the powerful forces at work to hide the harms of industrial agriculture, its outsize role in the climate crisis, and its links to the global rise of fascism.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLittle Red Barns\u003c\/em\u003e is the record of a harrowing journey that took investigative journalist Will Potter from factory farms to international climate summits, from Congressional hearings to neo-Nazi fascist groups. As Potter uncovers the frightening truth about animal agriculture's role in accelerating climate collapse, he shows how the authoritarian measures being taken to maintain control over this key aspect of the global food supply chain are directly linked to the proliferation and empowerment of far-right militias. 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The Handbook is designed for the potential activist who may only have a few hours to spare each month. It identifies the causes, actors, motivations, and strategies of groups attempting to ban books across the country. It offers step-by-step guides for voting in a school board election, understanding a school board's policies, contacting elected officials, and more. It features interviews with free expression advocates and state-by-state profiles of local advocacy organizations. 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Although progressives are correct to be focused on right-wing attempts at legislative censorship, Szetela argues for attention to the ways that left-wing censorship controls speech within the publishing industry itself. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe author draws on interviews with presidents and vice presidents at the Big Five publishers, literary agents at the most prestigious agencies, award-winning authors, editors, marketers, sensitivity readers, and other industry professionals to examine the new publishing landscape. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhat he finds is unsettling: mandatory sensitivity reads; morality clauses in author contracts; even censorship of \"dangerous\" books in the name of antiracism, feminism, and other forms of social justice. These changes to acquisition practices, editing policies, and other aspects of literary culture are a direct outgrowth of the culture of public outcries on X, Goodreads, Change.org, and other online platforms, where users accuse authors--justifiably or not--of racism, sexism, homophobia, and other transgressions. 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The director of the world-famous Bodleian Libraries, Richard Ovenden, captures the political, religious, and cultural motivations behind these acts. He also shines a light on the librarians and archivists preserving history and memory, often risking their lives in the process. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMore than simply repositories for knowledge, libraries support the rule of law and inspire and inform citizens. 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