The Propagandists' Playbook : How Conservative Elites Manipulate Search and Threaten Democracy

An examination of what algorithmic polarization means for society and how conservative elites use media literacy tactics to spread propaganda The Propagandists’ Playbook peels back the layers of the right-wing media manipulation machine to reveal why its strategies are so effective and pervasive, while also humanizing the people whose worldviews and media practices conservatism embodies. Based on interviews and ethnographic observations of two Republican groups over the course of the 2017 Virginia gubernatorial race—including the author’s firsthand experience of the 2017 Unite the Right rally—the book considers how Google algorithms, YouTube playlists, pundits, and politicians can manipulate audiences, reaffirm beliefs, and expose audiences to more extremist ideas, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. Francesca Tripodi argues that conservatives who embody the Christian worldview give authoritative weight to original texts and interrogate the media using the same tools taught to them in Bible study—for example, using Google to “fact check” the news. The result of this practice, tied to conservative marketing tactics, is more than a reaffirmation of existing beliefs: it is a radicalization of content and a changing of narratives adopted by the media. Tripodi also demonstrates the pervasiveness of white supremacy in the conservative media ecosystem, as well as its mainstream appeal, scope, and spread. "A sociotechnical society must consider how data-driven and algorithmic systems impact decision-making at both the macro-level, such as policy and culture, and the micro-level, such as voting and purchasing. Tripodi applies social theory to her empirical research on how communities make meaning and engage with data-driven and algorithmic systems in everyday life. Her data reveal that conservative elites use media platforms in unintended or unanticipated ways, threatening the democratic process. The Propagandists' Playbook peels back the layers of the media manipulation machine and reveals why conservative elites are so effective at exploiting their constituents' worldviews and media practices. Tripodi gives examples of keywords, frames, and co-optive tactics to give readers an idea of what this information ecosystem looks like. Ultimately, her findings are much broader. They represent a more nuanced understanding of the keywords and processes conservative pundits and politicians rely on to amplify, validate, and normalize white supremacist logic. This book is also a call to action for how we can break the disinformation loop. Most efforts reactively target misinformation, but to treat "information disorder" proactively, we need more ethnographic research on how cultural logics and contextual media literacy are exploited. After finishing this book, some might ask how search engines like Google can fix an increasingly bifurcated internet. But Tripodi believes that's the wrong question. What she observed is an ever-evolving sociotechnical issue and the vulnerability is democracy. Remaining obsessed with a fix, misses the root of the dynamic at play-conservative elites are leveraging cultural frames, and without an ethnographic lens, their tactics remain invisible. Disinformation is not a bug in the code, it's a feature wielded for political gain. The seven steps she outlines form the Propagandists' Playbook. Knowing the concerns of their audiences, leveraging a media network, drawing on conservative forms of media literacy, understanding how information flows, seeding the internet with information, connecting old ideas to new thinkers, and then encouraging audiences to engage in a curated form of self-discovery create a powerful disinformation circuit. By revealing these tactics and methods for manipulating information, Tripodi hopes that this book will help break this decades-old disinformation cycle"-- Provided by publisher An examination of what algorithmic polarization means for society and how conservative elites use media literacy tactics to spread propaganda

The Propagandists’ Playbook peels back the layers of the right-wing media manipulation machine to reveal why its strategies are so effective and pervasive, while also humanizing the people whose worldviews and media practices conservatism embodies. Based on interviews and ethnographic observations of two Republican groups over the course of the 2018 Virginia gubernatorial race—including the author’s firsthand experience of the 2017 Unite the Right rally—the book considers how Google algorithms, YouTube playlists, pundits, and politicians can manipulate audiences, reaffirm beliefs, and expose audiences to more extremist ideas, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. Francesca Tripodi argues that conservatives who embody the Christian worldview give authoritative weight to original texts and interrogate the media using the same tools taught to them in Bible study—for example, using Google to “fact check” the news. The result of this practice, tied to conservative marketing tactics, is more than a reaffirmation of existing beliefs: it is a radicalization of content and a changing of narratives adopted by the media. Tripodi also demonstrates the pervasiveness of white supremacy in the conservative media ecosystem, as well as its mainstream appeal, scope, and spread. An examination of what algorithmic polarization means forsociety and how conservative elites use media literacy tactics tospread propaganda The Propagandists' Playbookpeels back the layers of the right-wing media manipulation machineto reveal why its strategies are so effective and pervasive, whilealso humanizing the people whose worldviews and media practicesconservatism embodies. Based on interviews and ethnographicobservations of two Republican groups over the course of the 2018Virginia gubernatorial race-including the author's firsthandexperience of the 2017 Unite the Right rally-the book considers howGoogle algorithms, YouTube playlists, pundits, and politicians canmanipulate audiences, reaffirm beliefs, and expose audiences tomore extremist ideas, blurring the lines between reality andfiction. Francesca Tripodi argues that conservatives who embody theChristian worldview give authoritative weight to original texts andinterrogate the media using the same tools taught to them in Biblestudy-for example, using Google to "fact check" the news. Theresult of this practice, tied to conservative marketing tactics, ismore than a reaffirmation of existing beliefs: it is aradicalization of content and a changing of narratives adopted bythe media. Tripodi also demonstrates the pervasiveness of whitesupremacy in the conservative media ecosystem, as well as itsmainstream appeal, scope, and spread Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Preface Acknowledgments Prologue: Extremism on Main Street Introduction Step One: Know Your Audience Step Two: Build a Network Step Three: Engage in Their Form of Media Literacy Step Four: Understand How Information Flows Step Five: Set the Traps Step Six: Make Old Ideas Seem New Step Seven: Close the Loop Epilogue: Radicalism Is Not Extremism Notes Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z