The world is full of genuine fakes--the objects that fall into the space between things that are real and those that are not. Whether or not we think things are authentic is a matter of perspective. From stories of audacious forgeries to feats of technological innovation, historian Lydia Pyne explors how the authenticity of eight genuine fakes--art forgeries, fake fossils, nature documentaries, synthetic flavors, museum exhibits, Maya codices and...

"A look at culture's relationship with journalism, and an effort to teach kids what is "real" versus "fake" news"--

Big lies are told by governments, politicians, and corporations to avoid responsibility, cast blame on the innocent, win elections, disguise intent, create chaos, and gain power and wealth. Big lies are as old as civilization; they corrupt public understanding and discourse, turn science upside down, and reinvent history. The future stewards of our world require a how-to manual for seeing through big lies and thinking critically, because big lies...

"Award-winning poet and critic Kevin Young traces the history of the hoax as a peculiarly American phenomenon--the legacy of P.T. Barnum's 'humbug' culminating with the currency of Donald J. Trump's 'fake news'. Disturbingly, Young finds that fakery is woven from stereotype and suspicion, with race being the most insidious American hoax of all. He chronicles how Barnum came to fame by displaying figures like Joice Heth, a black woman whom he pretended...

Fake News, Propaganda, and Plain Old Lies explains how to identify deceptive information and seek out the most trustworthy information to inform decision making in your personal, academic, professional, and civic lives. Barclay takes an objective, non-partisan approach to the topic of sorting deceptive information from trustworthy information.

"Americans already see the nature of our current struggle. Countdown to Socialism is a roadmap to ready us for what lies ahead. This book documents the destructive events of the last four years and the dark forces driving them, leading to this defining moment in our history. The book looks at the political arena as well as the media and social media environments where much of our fight is unfolding. The book pays special attention to the Russia collusion...

After the election of Donald Trump as president, people in the United States and across large swaths of Europe, Latin America, and Asia engaged in the most intensive discussion in modern times about falsehoods pronounced by public officials. Fake facts in their various forms have long been present in American life, particularly in its politics, public discourse, and business activities - going back to the time when the country was formed. This book...

Satire and parody existed long before modern times. Readers will get an invaluable overview of how to identify satire and parody and how to think critically about current events.

What is fake news? How can the news be wrong? How do we know if what we're reading is true or not? The concept of fake news and the media as a whole is discussed as part of the What's the Issue series. What's the Issue asks 'what's all the fuss about?' It reviews what is at stake when we think about fake news, with the aim of helping young people to understand this difficult subject and provide them with the tools to inform their own opinions on the...

"Since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, debates about fake news have appeared regularly in entertainment, politics, and news media. While many agree on the dangers associated with fake news, there is no consensus around the definition of the phenomenon, and its origins are loosely attributed to a variety of practices and technologies. Much of the discourse has focused on proposing solutions, with media literacy being one of the most frequently...