Kathleen Hall Jamieson

Brooks Jackson

The founders of FactCheck.org teach you how to identify and debunk spin, hype, and fake news in this essential guide to informed citizenship in an age of misinformation. Americans are bombarded daily with mixed messages, half-truths, misleading statements, and out-and-out fabrications masquerading as facts. The news media is often too intimidated, too partisan, or too overworked to keep up with these deceptions. unSpun is the secret decoder ring for the twenty-first-century world of disinformation. Written by Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the founders of the acclaimed website FactCheck.org,unSpun reveals the secrets of separating facts from disinformation, such as: • the warning signs of spin • common tricks used to deceive the public • how to find trustworthy and objective sources of information Telling fact from fiction shouldn’t be a difficult task. With this book and a healthy dose of skepticism, anyone can cut through the haze of political deception and biased eportage to become a savvier, more responsible citizen. Praise for unSpun “Read this book and you will not go unarmed into the political wars ahead of us. Jackson and Jamieson equip us to be our own truth squad, and that just might be the salvation of democracy.” —Bill Moyers “The definitive B.S. detector—an absolutely invaluable guidebook.”—Mark Shields, syndicated columnist and political analyst, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer “unSpun is an essential guide to cutting through the political fog.”—Mara Liasson, NPR national political correspondent “The Internet may be a wildly effective means of communication and an invaluable source of knowledge, but it has also become a new virtual haven for scammers–financial, political, even personal. Better than anything written before, unSpun shows us how to recognize these scams and protect ourselves from them.”—Craig Newmark, founder and customer service representative, Craigslist

Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation

unSpun

"Imagine a strategy memo forecasting cyberattacks by Russian hackers, trolls, and bots designed to roil social discontent and damage the electoral prospects of a major party US presidential nominee, or, if she winds up winning, to sabotage her ability to govern by seeding allegations of Democratic voter fraud. Guaranteed payoff. No fingerprints. No keystroke record. No contrails in the cloud. To ensure that Americans would believe that disparaging messages about her were made in the US, use bitcoin to buy space and set up virtual private networks (VPNs) on American servers. Distribute hacked content stolen from the accounts of her staff and associates through an intermediary, WikiLeaks. Use identity theft, stolen Social Security numbers, and appropriated IDs to circumvent Facebook and PayPal's demand for actual names, birth dates, and addresses. On platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, register under assumed names. Diffuse and amplify your attack and advocacy through posts on Facebook, tweets and retweets on Twitter, videos on YouTube, reporting and commentary on RT, blogging on Tumblr, news sharing on Reddit, and viral memes and jokes on 9GAG. Add to the mix a video game called Hilltendo in which a missile-straddling Clinton figure vaporizes classified emails sought by the FBI. Employ "online agitators" and bots to upvote posts from imposter websites such as BlackMattersUS.com to the top of such subreddits as r/The_Donald and r/HillaryForPrison. Drive content to trend. To maximize the impact of your handiwork, use data analytics and search-engine maximization tools built into the social media platforms. To test and fuel doubts about the security of US voter information, hack the election systems of states. And, throughout the primary and general election season, insinuate the notion that if Hillary Clinton were to win, she would have done so by rigging the election, an outcome that would repay her assaults on the legitimacy of their leader's presidency with doubts about her own. Were she instead to lose, she would no longer be a thistle in the toned torso of the hackers and trolls' boss's likely boss. Every result but one produces desirable results for the Kremlin. Outcome one: Clinton is off the international stage. Outcome two: she wins but can't govern effectively. Outcome three: the former Secretary of State is elected and the country simply moves on, but the sabotage nonetheless has magnified cultural tensions and functioned as a pilot from which to birth later success - perhaps when she runs for a second term. The only eventuality that damages the Russian cybersoldiers and their commander-in-chief is the fourth in which, in real time, the cyberattackers are unmasked by a vigilant intelligence community, condemned by those in both major political parties and around the world, characterized by the media as spies and saboteurs, the Russian messaging is blocked or labeled as Russian propaganda, and, when included in media accounts, the stolen content is relentlessly tied to its Russian origins and sources. None of that happened. Instead, to the surprise of the Russian masterminds as well as both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, he won the Electoral College and with it a four-year claim on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Although countrywide she bested him by almost 2.9 million votes, he unexpectedly captured an Electoral College majority by running the table. By the end of the evening of November 8, Florida as well as Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania were in his column. The ways in which Russian hacking and social media messaging altered the content of the electoral dialogue and contributed to Donald Trump's victory are the subjects of this book. To begin my exploration, this overview chapter will highlight key findings of the US intelligence community; preview my focus on the hackers and trolls and the synergies between them; justify casting the Russian machinations as acts of cyberwar; outline ways in which susceptibilities in our system of government and media structures magnified their effects; and note five presuppositions that will shape my analysis of the Russian trolls' work and one that will guide my study of the effects of the hackers."--

How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President: What We Don't, Can't, and Do Know

Cyberwar

Polarization, Pandemic, Protests, and Persuasion

Democracy amid Crises

"The question of how Donald Trump won the 2016 election looms over his presidency. In particular, were the 78,000 voters who gave him an Electoral College victory affected by the Russian trolls and hackers? Trump has denied it. So too has Vladimir Putin. Others cast the answer as unknowable. Drawing on path-breaking work in which she and her colleagues isolated significant communication effects in the 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns, the eminent political communication scholar Kathleen Hall Jamieson marshals the troll posts, unique polling data, analyses of how the press used the hacked content, and a synthesis of half a century of media effects research to argue that, although not certain, it is probable that the Russians helped elect the 45th president of the United States.In the process, Cyberwar tackles questions that include: How extensive was the troll messaging? What characteristics of the social media platforms did the Russians exploit? Why did the mainstream press rush the hacked content into the citizenry's newsfeeds? Was Clinton telling the truth when she alleged that the debate moderators distorted what she said in the leaked speeches? Did the Russian influence extend beyond social media and news to alter the behavior of FBI director James Comey?"--Dust jacket flap.

how Russian hackers and trolls helped elect a president : what we don't, can't, and do know

Joseph N. Cappella

Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Joseph Cappella-two of the nation's foremost experts on politics and media-offers a searching analysis of the conservative media establishment, from talk radio to Fox News to the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal. Echo Chamber is the first serious account of how the conservative media arose, what it consists of, and how it operates. Jamieson and Cappella find that Limbaugh, Fox News, and The Wall Street Journal opinion pages create a self-protective enclave for conservatives, shielding them from other information sources and promoting highly negative views toward conservatism's political opponents. A thoughtful and incisive study, Echo Chamber offers the most authoritative and insightful account of this revolutionary phenomenon and its indelible effect on the American political landscape.

Rush Limbaugh and the Conservative Media Establishment

Echo Chamber

Professor of Communication and Director Annenberg Public Policy Center Kathleen Hall Jamieson

Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication Joseph N Cappella

Joseph N. (Professor at the Annenberg School of Communication Cappella, University of Pennsylvania)

Kathleen Hall (Dean of the Annenberg School of Communication Jamieson, University of Pennsylvania)

Argues that the media's preoccupation with the game of politics has made American voters cynical and dissatisfied

The Press and the Public Good

Spiral of Cynicism

In recent years, Americans have become thoroughly disenchanted with political campaigns, especially with ads and speeches that bombard them with sensational images while avoiding significant issues. Now campaign analyst Kathleen Hall Jamieson provides an eye-opening look at the tactics used by political advertisers. Photos and line drawings.

Deception, Distraction, and Democracy

Dirty Politics

Kathleen H. Jamieson

Traces the history of negative campaigning from the 1950s to the present, discussing advertising techniques and arguing for fair and substantive campaigns

Paul Waldman

Media Research Coordinator of the National Annenberg Election Survey Paul Waldman, PH.D.

The key Gore and Bush strategists from the 2000 election contribute their insights to this unique bi-partisan exploration of the most contentious election in U.S. history. Original.

The Insiders' View

Electing the President, 2000

Kathleen Hall Jamieson brings together prominent members of the campaign staffs for Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, debriefing their strategies, poll data, and perceptions of the 2012 election cycle.

Electing the President, 2012

Karlyn Kohrs Campbell

"Deeds Done in Words is an impressive piece of work. It is the first attempt to identify and assess the principal genres of rhetoric, and to interpret the panoply of those genres in terms of the needs of, and the needs for, ritual in American politics."—Jeffrey Tulis, author of The Rhetorical Presidency "Deeds Done in Words is a thoughtful survey of how a democracy uses language to transact its business. Based on an enlivened understanding of genre theory and on numerous pieces of original criticism, Campbell and Jamieson vividly show how central public discourse has become the lifeblood of the American polity."—Roderick Hart, author of The Sound of Leadership "The rhetoric that issues from the White House is becoming an ever more salient part of what the presidency means and does. This acute inquiry provides a great many insights into the forms, meanings, and functions of presidential discourse. It is an enlightening contribution to our understanding of American politics."—Murray Edelman, author of Constructing the Political Spectacle

Presidential Rhetoric and the Genres of Governance

Deeds Done in Words

The question of how Donald Trump won the 2016 election looms over his presidency. In particular, were the 78,000 voters who gave him an Electoral College victory affected by the Russian trolls and hackers? Trump has denied it. So has Vladimir Putin. Others cast the answer as unknowable. In Cyberwar, Kathleen Hall Jamieson marshals the troll posts, unique polling data, analyses of how the press used hacked content, and a synthesis of half a century of media effects literature to argue that, although not certain, it is probable that the Russians helped elect the 45th president of the United States. In the process, she asks: How extensive was the troll messaging? What characteristics of social media did the Russians exploit? Why did the mainstream press rush the hacked content into the citizenry's newsfeeds? Was Clinton telling the truth when she alleged that the debate moderators distorted what she said in the leaked speeches? Did the Russian influence extend beyond social media and news to alter the behavior of FBI director James Comey? After detailing the ways in which Russian efforts were abetted by the press, social media, candidates, party leaders, and a polarized public, Cyberwar closes with a warning: the country is ill-prepared to prevent a sequel. In this updated paperback edition, Jamieson covers the many new developments that have come to light since the original publication.

" ... A provocative analysis of the conservative media establishment, from talk radio to Fox News to the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal."--Inside jacket.

Dolores Albarracin

Julia Albarracin

Man-pui Sally Chan

Drawing on psychology, political science, communication, and information sciences, this book explores the birth of conspiracy theories.

How Our Thoughts Are Shaped

Creating Conspiracy Beliefs

Geneva Overholser

Examines the role of the press in a democracy, investigating alternative models used throughout world history to understand how the American press has evolved. This work also examines the history, identity, roles, and future of the American press, with an emphasis on topics of concern to both practitioners and consumers of American media.

The Press

The Institutions of American Democracy

Kate Kenski

As a field of rich theoretical development and practical application, political communication has expanded over the past fifty years. Since its development shaped by the turmoil of the World Wars and suspicion of new technologies such as film and radio, the discipline has become a hybrid fieldlargely devoted to connecting the dots between political rhetoric, politicians and leaders, voters' opinions, and media exposure to better understand how any one aspect can affects the others. The Oxford Handbook of Political Communication provides contexts for viewing the field of political communication, examines political discourse, media, and considers political communication's evolution inside the altered political communication landscape. Kate Kenski and Kathleen Hall Jamieson bringtogether some of the most groundbreaking scholars in the field to reflect upon their areas of expertise to address the importance of their areas of study to the field, the major findings to date, including areas of scholarly disagreement, on the topics, the authors' perspectives, and unansweredquestions for future research to address. Their answers reveal that political communication is a hybrid with complex ancestry, permeable boundaries and interests that overlap with those of related fields such as political sociology, public opinion, rhetoric, neuroscience and the new hybrid on thequad, media psychology. This comprehensive review of the political communication literature is designed to become the first reference for scholars and students interested in the study of how, why, when, and with what effect humans make sense of symbolic exchanges about sharing and shared power. The sixty-two chapters in The Oxford Handbook of Political Communication contain an overview of past scholarship while providing critical reflection of its relevance in a changing media landscape and offering agendas for future research and innovation.

The Oxford Handbook of Political Communication

THE INTERPLAY OF INFLUENCE gives students an understanding of how the mass media operate in our society and the profound ramifications of media messages in the areas of politics, news, and advertising. In this edition, noted communication scholars Jamieson and Campbell offer thoroughly updated coverage throughout including the Internet's role in media, politics, and advertising.

News, Advertising, Politics, and the Internet

The Interplay of Influence

Kathleen Hall (Dean Jamieson, Professor of Communications Annenberg School for Communication University of Pennsylvania)

Examining the social constraints and "Catch-22s" that block the success of women no matter what roles they play, the author offers guidelines for dealing with the obstacles set up by society and condemns the victim feminism of many current writers. 35,000 first printing. UP.

Women and Leadership

Beyond the Double Bind

Kathleen Jamieson

A media expert and network commentator examines the welter of misinformation--generated by politicians and the media alike--that surrounds political campaigns.

Everything You Think You Know About Politics...and Why You're Wrong

The 2004 presidential election was closely watched from all corners of the world and dominated the media for nearly a year. From the opening announcements of campaigns through the primaries and debates to the first Tuesday in November, the presidential election was ubiquitous, filling our email inboxes and directing our dinner conversation, turning us all into amateur political analysts. Electing the President, 2004 offers the views of the professional political operatives who ran the campaigns. In this volume, the consultants who brought the country the Bush-Cheney and Kerry-Edwards contest of 2004 explain the strategies behind the ads and debates, discuss what they did and failed to do to elect their candidates, and reveal their differing perspectives on the issues that mattered. Electing the President, 2004 focuses on events from September 11 to the release of the Osama Bin Laden tape that affected the outcome of the elections. The debates, the advertising, the work of 527 groups, the campaign organizations—all these components contributed to an eventful election season, with the two campaigns continually vying for the attention of the American public. Through this analysis of strategy—their own and their opponents'—these insiders offer a ringside seat to a hotly contested democratic process. Contributors: Mary Beth Cahill, Alex Castellanos, Elizabeth L. Cheney, Nicolle Devenish, Mike Donilon, Matthew Dowd, Tucker Eskew, David Jones, Bill Knapp, Chris LaCivita , Joe Lockhart, Brian McCabe, Mark McKinnon, Mark Mellman, Stephen Moore, Robert M. Shrum, Erik Smith, and Bill Zimmerman.

Kathleen Hall Jamieson

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