History of Disinformation and Fake News

Books on the use of disinformation throughout history.

Updated March 10, 2026
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Propaganda girls : the secret war of the women in the OSS
Rogak, Lisa
Paper Book
The incredible untold story of four women who spun the web of deception that helped win World War II. Betty MacDonald was a 28-year-old reporter from Hawaii. Zuzka Lauwers grew up in a tiny Czechoslovakian village and knew five languages by the time she was 21. Jane...
How to win an information war : the propagandist who outwitted Hitler
Pomerantsev, Peter
Paper Book
The riveting story of a World War II broadcaster's campaign to counter Nazi propaganda, told alongside the author's own quest to confront the disinformation fueling Russia's war on Ukraine "[An] addictive page-turner." --Lawfare A ...
Active measures : the secret history of disinformation and political warfare /
Rid, Thomas, 1975-
Paper Book
This revelatory and dramatic history of disinformation traces the rise of secret organized deception operations from the interwar period to contemporary internet troll farms We live in the age of disinformation--of organized deception. Spy agencies pour vast resources...
Attack from within : how disinformation is sabotaging America
McQuade, Barbara
Paper Book
MSNBC's legal expert breaks down the ways disinformation has become a tool to drive voters to extremes, disempower our legal structures, and consolidate power in the hands of the few. In Attack from Within, legal scholar and analyst Barbara McQuade, shows us how to identify the ways disinformation...
Information wars : how we lost the global battle against disinformation and what
Stengel, Richard
Paper Book
Disinformation is as old as humanity. When Satan told Eve nothing would happen if she bit the apple, that was disinformation. But the rise of social media has made disinformation even more pervasive and pernicious in our current era. In a disturbing turn of events, governments are increasingly...
The encyclopedia of misinformation : a compendium of imitations, spoofs, delusions, simulations, counterfeits, impostors, illusions, confabulations, skullduggery, frauds, pseudoscience, propaganda, hoaxes, flimflam, pranks, hornswoggle, conspiracies & mis
Sorgatz, Rex
Paper Book
"In an era of 'alternative facts,' Rex Sorgatz's The Encyclopedia of Misinformation helps put things in perspective." --Fast Company This compendium of misinformation, deception, and self-delusion throughout history examines fakery in the context of science and...
Trust me, I'm lying : confessions of a media manipulator /
Holiday, Ryan.
Paper Book
The cult classic that predicted the rise of fake news--revised and updated for the post-Trump, post-Gawker age.   Hailed as "astonishing and disturbing" by the Financial Times and "essential reading" by TechCrunch at its original publication, former American Apparel...
Rationality : what it is, why it seems scarce, why it matters /
Pinker, Steven, 1954-
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "In our uncertain age, which can so often feel so dark and disturbing, Steven Pinker has distinguished himself as a voice of positivity." - New York Times Can reading a book make you more rational? Can it help us understand why...
The smear : how shady political operatives and fake news control what you see, what you think, and how you vote
Attkisson, Sharyl
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Ever wonder how politics turned into a take-no-prisoners blood sport? The New York Times bestselling author of Stonewalled pulls back the curtain on the shady world of opposition research and reveals the dirty tricks those in power use to influence your opinions....
An ugly truth : inside Facebook's battle for domination /
Frenkel, Sheera.
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER // WINNER OF THE SABEW BEST IN BUSINESS AWARD A Book of the Year: Fortune, Foreign Affairs, The Times (London), Cosmopolitan, TechCrunch, WIRED "The ultimate takedown." - New York Times Book Review Award-winning New York Times ...
Double cross : the true story of the D-day spies /
Macintyre, Ben, 1963-
Paper Book
In Double Cross, New York Times bestselling author Ben Macintyre returns with the untold story of one of the greatest deceptions of World War II, and of the extraordinary spies who achieved it. On June 6, 1944, 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of...

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