Town Hall Seattle Science Series

Disinformation has been used throughout history as a tool to intentionally deceive or manipulate the enemy. In our present age of information, where fabricated news stories, photos, or posts of any kind can be spread in an instant, we find ourselves especially vulnerable to the potentially devasting effects of weaponized disinformation. Lee McIntyre is an author and Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. McIntyre has penned multiple publications exploring the science behind strategic deception. In On Disinformation, the author guides readers through a seventy-year history of strategic political denials, dating back to Soviet intelligence operations in the 1920’s. With the added support of interviews from leading experts on information warfare, counterterrorism, and political extremism, McIntyre lays out the path that has led to our current moment of polarization. In response to the crisis McIntyre presents, he outlines steps that political leaders can take to