Preface
Jonathan Swift: https://www.bartleby.com/209/633.html.
Notes for Chapter 1: Lies Kill
Covid death of talk show host: https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/21/us/conservative-talk-show-host-phil-valentine-dies-covid-19/index.html.
Heat wave: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/climate/climate-change-heat-wave.html.
Heat wave deaths: https://www.npr.org/2021/07/02/1012467409/hundreds-are-believed-to-have-died-during-the-pacific-northwest-heat-wave.
Lytton death: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/lytton-wildfire-sat-update-1.6089367.
Capitol deaths: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/us/who-died-in-capitol-building-attack.html.
Canada COVID: https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/inequalities-deaths/index.html.
US COVID: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/21/us/american-life-expectancy-report.html.
Neo-Nazis: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/world/europe/ukraine-putin-nazis.html?referringSource=articleShare.
Surgeon general: Vivek H. Murthy, “Confronting Health Misinformation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Building a Health Information Environment,” (2021). Accessed Oct 4, 2021. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-misinformation-advisory.pdf2.
Notes for Chapter 2: Information and Misinformation
Experiments: Allan Franklin, “Experiment in Physics.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, (2019), https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/physics-experiment/.
Misleading graphs: https://towardsdatascience.com/how-to-prevent-misinformation-in-data-visualization-1521a96e6431.
Photos: https://www.wired.com/2016/12/photos-fuel-spread-fake-news/.
Kaiser Wilhelm Society: https://www.mpg.de/history/kws-under-national-socialism.
Facebook anger: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/26/facebook-angry-emoji-algorithm/.
Cochrane: https://www.cochrane.org/about-us.
Debunking hand book: https://skepticalscience.com/docs/DebunkingHandbook2020.pdf
Fallacies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies. Biases: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases.
Trust: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/hot-thought/201810/what-is-trust.
Notes for Chapter 3: Believing What You Want
Motivated thinking examples: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/hot-thought/201108/climate-change-denial.
Arrian: Anabasis of Alexander, 17: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/46976/46976-h/46976-h.htm.
Manifesting: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/21524975/manifesting-does-it-really-work-meme; https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/manifesting-tik-tok; https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/mar/20/making-dreams-come-true-inside-the-new-age-world-of-manifesting?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other.
Lucky girl: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/01/20/lucky-girl-syndrome-tiktok/.
Cognitive-affective mapping: https://paulthagard.com/links/cognitive-affective-maps/.
Motivated ignorance: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/hot-thought/201301/motivated-ignorance/
Commercial motivated inventing: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/25/world/europe/disinformation-social-media.html?referringSource=articleShare.
Notes for Chapter 4: Plagues
Covid deaths: https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/covid19-and-other-leading-causes-of-death-in-the-us/.
Anecdotes: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/12/27/plural/.
Clinical trials: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-are-clinical-trials-and-studies.
WHO: https://covid19.who.int. NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-cases.html.
Worldometers: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries.
Evidence for masks: CDC. “Scientific Brief: Community Use of Cloth Masks to Controll the Spread of Sars-Cov-2.”Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Accessed Mar. 10, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html.
Simulations: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/jameel-institute/. Adam, David. “Special Report: The Simulations Driving the World’s Response to Covid-19.” Nature 580, no. 7802 (2020): 316-19.
WHO database: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019.
WHO mythbusters: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters.
CDC database: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
Merck on ivermectin: https://www.merck.com/news/merck-statement-on-ivermectin-use-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/.
Coronavirus image: Robert Roy Britt, “What the Coronavirus Image You’ve Seen a Million Times Really Shows,” Elemental. (2020). https://elemental.medium.com/what-the-coronavirus-image-youve-seen-a-million-times-really-shows-3d8de7e3eb1f.
Trump denial: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/10/trump-coronavirus-covid-denial-timeline/#feb.
Disinformation dozen: https://www.counterhate.com/disinformationdozen.
Substack: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/01/27/substack-misinformation-anti-vaccine/.
Facebook: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/28/facebook-covid-misinformation/.
YouTube blocking anti-vaccine videos: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/youtube-anti-vax-1.6193392.
Facebook: https://globalnews.ca/news/8325651/facebook-covid-19-vaccine-misinformation/.
Cancer treatments: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unproven_and_disproven_cancer_treatments.
Abortion: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/07/04/abortion-misinformation-herbal-remedies/. TikTok: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/well/live/tiktok-misinformation.html?referringSource=articleShare.
Fluoridation: https://www.thenationshealth.org/content/41/5/1.3.
Notes for Chapter 5: Storms
Climate change deaths: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health.
IPCC: https://www.ipcc.ch.
2021 report: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/.
Interactive atlas: https://interactive-atlas.ipcc.ch.
Changes have occurred: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/
Human influence: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/
Modeling prediction: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1
Values: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/IPCC.
Heartland Institute: https://heartland.org/topics/environment-energy/
Republicans: https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-and-republicans-congress-global-warming-2019-2. 2021: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/climate-deniers-117th-congress/.
Trump on climate change: https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/12/trump-climate-timeline/.
Willie Soon: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/us/ties-to-corporate-cash-for-climate-change-researcher-Wei-Hock-Soon.html.
Oil companies fund Republicans: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/28102020/oil-campaign-contributions-republicans-trump/.
Motivated ignorance: https://www.vox.com/2015/3/10/8182513/florida-ban-climate-change.
Fear and climate change: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/08/anxiety-climate-crisis-trauma-paralysing-effect-psychologists?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other.
Climate change and pandemics: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/29/protecting-nature-vital-pandemics-report-outbreaks-wild?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other.
Social media: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2022/01/21/climate-change-misinformation-facebook-youtube-twitter/6594691001/.
Twitter: https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/23/tech/twitter-climate-change-policy/index.htm.
Facebook posts: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/nov/04/climate-misinformation-on-facebook-increasing-substantially-study-says.
Main denier sites: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/nov/02/super-polluters-the-top-10-publishers-denying-the-climate-crisis-on-facebook?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Trump’s falsehoods: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/24/trumps-false-or-misleading-claims-total-30573-over-four-years/.
Exxon: https://insideclimatenews.org/project/exxon-the-road-not-taken/; https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/climate/exxon-mobil-global-warming-climate-change.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare.
Climate conspiracy: Stephan Lewandowsky, and John Cook. “The Conspiracy Theory Handbook.” (2020). http://sks.to/conspiracy.
School strike: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_Strike_for_Climate.
Twitter coronavirus: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/29/twitter-covid-misinformation-policy/.
Creationism: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/creationism/.
Psychics: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/hot-thought/201904/should-you-believe-in-psychics.
Flat earth: McIntyre, How to Talk. https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/flat-earthers-what-they-believe-and-why/.
Agricultural industry: https://investigatemidwest.org/2021/04/01/once-climate-change-deniers-the-agriculture-industry-positions-itself-as-part-of-the-solution/.
Oil companies: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/19/big-oil-climate-crisis-lobby-group-api?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other.
Notes for Chapter 6: Plots
Conspiracy theories: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conspiracy_theories. More examples: https://conspiracychart.com.
Plead guilty: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-north-carolina-chapter-oath-keepers-pleads-guilty-seditious-conspiracy-and-obstruction.
More convicted: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/15/aims-software-avatars-team-jorge-disinformation-fake-profiles.
Proud Boys: https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/06/politics/tarrio-proud-boys-charged-seditious-conspiracy-january-6/index.html.
January 6 committee: https://www.govinfo.gov/committee/house-january6th?path=/browsecommittee/chamber/house/committee/january6th/collection/CRPT
Special counsel: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/18/trump-special-counsel-investigation-mueller-00069578.
QAnon: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/aug/21/the-storm-is-upon-us-review-qanon-history-updated-trump-january-6?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other. https://www.bellingcat.com/news/americas/2021/01/29/the-qanon-timeline/.
QAnon Facebook followers: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/qanon-groups-have-millions-members-facebook-documents-show-n1236317
QAnon Republicans: https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/after-the-ballots-are-counted-conspiracies-political-violence-and-american-exceptionalism/
QAnon merges with COVID: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-53997203.
Residential schools: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/one-in-five-students-suffered-sexual-abuse-at-residential-schools-figures-indicate/article20440061/.
Religious: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-qanon-has-attracted-so-many-white-evangelicals/
InfoWars wellness: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/11/opinion/alex-jones-wellness-conspiracy.html?referringSource=articleShare.
Trump on repetition: https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/05/politics/trump-disinformation-strategy/index.html.
Bannon: https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/16/media/steve-bannon-reliable-sources/index.html.
Canada immigration: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1171597/new-immigrants-canada-country/.
Canada survey: https://abacusdata.ca/conspiracy-theories-canada/.
Republicans on replacement: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/09/nearly-half-republicans-agree-with-great-replacement-theory/.
Handbook: Stephan Lewandowsky, and John Cook. “The Conspiracy Theory Handbook.” (2020). http://sks.to/conspiracy.
Multilingual: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/12/business/media/midterms-foreign-language-misinformation.html.
Alex Jones lawsuits: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/alex-jones-verdict-damages-hoax-1.6647707
Digital safety: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/23/new-roadmap-reining-social-media-companies-is-gaining-steam/.
Child pornography: https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/02/05/telegram-was-pulled-because-of-child-pornography-says-apples-phil-schiller.
New platforms: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/20/technology/disinformation-spread.html.
QAnon on Truth Social: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/29/technology/qanon-truth-social-trump.html.
Russian trolls on QAnon: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/russian-troll-accounts-purged-twitter-pushed-qanon-other-conspiracy-theories-n966091.
Media against Russian influence: https://www.npr.org/2022/03/01/1083824030/techs-crackdown-on-russian-propaganda-is-a-geopolitical-high-wire-act.
AIMS: My AIMS theory is the opposite of the “Aims” disinformation software that controls 30,000 fake social media profiles; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/15/aims-software-avatars-team-jorge-disinformation-fake-profiles.
Notes for Chapter 7: Evils
Canadian Income Survey: https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=5200
Consumer surveys US: https://www.bls.gov/cex/.
Eight richest: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/jan/16/worlds-eight-richest-people-have-same-wealth-as-poorest-50
World inequality: https://wir2022.wid.world
World Inequality Database: https://wid.world/
Peterson:https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/hot-thought/201802/jordan-peterson-s-flimsy-philosophy-life; https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/hot-thought/201803/jordan-petersons-murky-maps-meaning.
Rohingya: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59558090.
Facebook white supremacy: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/08/10/facebook-white-supremacy-ads/.
Cato Institute: https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/five-myths-about-economic-inequality-america
COVID-19 and women: https://www.disinfo.eu/publications/misogyny-and-misinformation:-an-analysis-of-gendered-disinformation-tactics-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/.
Lies about women: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/malign-creativity-how-gender-sex-and-lies-are-weaponized-against-women-online; https://www.disinfo.eu/publications/gender-based-disinformation-advancing-our-understanding-and-response/.
Systemic racism: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/hot-thought/202301/what-systemic-racism-is-and-how-to-overcome-it. See also Supplemental Material.
Race: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/07/02/why-are-states-banning-critical-race-theory/.
Relationship myths: https://www.gottman.com/blog/debunking-12-myths-about-relationships/. Gottmann 2015. Relationship metaphor: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/hot-thought/202108/relationship-metaphors-helpful-or-toxic
Residential schools: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=aeu.ark:/13960/t7np2g21f&view=1up&seq=6.
Notes for Chapter 8: Self-Defense
Russian misinformation: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/03/russia-ukraine-conflict-top-10-war-myths-newsguard?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other.
Neo-nazis: https://www.rt.com/russia/552585-ukraine-nazi-germany-post/; https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/world/europe/ukraine-putin-nazis.html?referringSource=articleShare.
Ukrainian refuges: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/08/russian-disinfo-ukrainian-refugees-germany/.
Zelensky quote: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/06/zelenskys-famous-quote-need-ammo-not-ride-not-easily-confirmed/.
Ghost of Kyiv: https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-ukraines-ghost-of-kyiv-fighter-pilot/a-60951825; https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/technology/ukraine-war-misinfo.html?referringSource=articleShare;https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/01/ghost-of-kyiv-propaganda/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F36bae68%2F626ffc00956121755a5efec7%2F5ea59c5bae7e8a4360e5c7e9%2F25%2F72%2F626ffc00956121755a5efec7.
Fake pictures: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateoflahertyuk/2022/02/25/russia-ukraine-crisis-how-to-tell-if-pictures-and-videos-are-fake/?sh=2e657f9734ad.
TikTok: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/mar/19/tiktok-ukraine-russia-war-disinformation; https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/mar/05/tiktok-ukraine-russia-invasion-clips-get-views-whether-true-or-not?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/01/russia-trolling-ukraine-traction-tiktok.
Deepfake: https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/25/tech/deepfakes-disinformation-war/index.html.
Identify fakes: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/19/how-spot-fake-video/?itid=lk_inline_manual_26; https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/fact-checkers-ukraine-1.6365682; https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2022/02/23/documenting-and-debunking-dubious-footage-from-ukraines-frontlines/.
Russian censorship: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/world/europe/russia-censorship-media-crackdown.html
Conspiracies: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/25/opinion/putin-russia-conspiracy-theories.html?referringSource=articleShare.
Troll farm: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/01/troll-factory-spreading-russian-pro-war-lies-online-says-uk.
Russian TV: https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/12/media/russian-tv-propaganda-reliable-sources/index.html.
Firehose of falsehood: https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html.
Putin’s misinformation: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/world/europe/putin-advisers-ukraine.html.
Ukraine misinformation: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/02/24/tips-avoid-misinformation-ukraine/.
US right: https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/03/06/putin-information-war-trump/ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/23/technology/russia-american-far-right-ukraine.html?referringSource=articleShare; https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/09/media/biolab-ukraine-russia-qanon-false-conspiracy-theory/index.html?iid=cnn-mobile-app.
Russian censorship: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/opinion/russia-ukraine-fake-news.html?referringSource=articleShare.
Greyzone: https://thegrayzone.com/2022/03/04/nazis-ukrainian-war-russia/.
Putin’s motives: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/opinion/ukraine-war-putin.html?referringSource=articleShare.
Snyder on Putin: https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/03/16/ivan-ilyin-putins-philosopher-of-russian-fascism/; https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/26/world/europe/vladimir-putin-russia.html?referringSource=articleShare.
Putin on Ukraine: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_the_Historical_Unity_of_Russians_and_Ukrainians.
Putin as fascist: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/25/vladimir-putin-ukraine-attack-antisemitism-denazify?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other.
American spreaders of Russian propaganda: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/17/layer-cake-misinformation-dishonesty-pro-russia-apologism/.
Instruments: https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/06/europe/ukraine-russia-war-technology-intl-cmd/index.html.
Azov regiment: https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/29/europe/ukraine-azov-movement-far-right-intl-cmd/index.html; https://www.vice.com/en/article/3ab7dw/azov-battalion-ukraine-far-right.
Right wing vs Ukraine: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/06/us-conservatives-pushing-russian-spin-ukraine-war.
CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/news/editorsblog/editor-s-blog-russia-ukraine-journalism-1.6382891.
NATO response: https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2022/03/13/justin-trudeau-says-he-has-a-plan-to-fight-russian-disinformation.html.
Social media: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/mar/15/russia-disinformation-social-media-ukraine?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other; https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/feb/28/facebook-twitter-ukraine-russia-misinformation?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other.
Facebook outside USA: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/oct/24/frances-haugen-i-never-wanted-to-be-a-whistleblower-but-lives-were-in-danger?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other; https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/24/india-facebook-misinformation-hate-speech/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3514e8a%2F61757f579d2fda9d4121ca8d%2F5ea59c5bae7e8a4360e5c7e9%2F8%2F72%2F61757f579d2fda9d4121ca8d; https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/10/28/misinformation-spanish-facebook-social-media/.
Twitter: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/03/twitter-birdwatch-fact-check-misinfo-test/.
Critical thinking: http://cogsci.uwaterloo.ca/courses/phil145.html.
Join in: https://theconversation.com/7-ways-to-avoid-becoming-a-misinformation-superspreader-157099.
Roots of Empathy: https://rootsofempathy.org.
Ukraine prebunking: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/02/opinion/putin-disinformation-social-media.html?referringSource=articleShare; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/19/russia-ukraine-infowar-deepfakes.
Gatekeeping on Russia: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/technology/ukraine-russia-facebook-instagram.html?referringSource=articleShare
Misinformation tolerance: https://www.consumerreports.org/social-media/social-media-misinformation-policies/?EXTKEY=EE093DAAC&utm_source=acxiom&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200922_cromc_engagewkly.
Wikipedia: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/15/wikipedia-20-year-anniversary/.
European Union: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/code-practice-disinformation; https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-services-act-package.
VR Chat: https://counterhate.com/research/facebooks-metaverse/.
Notes for Chapter 9: Reality
Giuliani: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/19/giuliani-truth-todd-trump-788161.
Truth as correspondence: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/truth-correspondence/.
Idealism: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/idealism/.
Empiricism: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rationalism-empiricism.
Reality is mathematical: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pythagoreanism/.
Opinions/facts: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2020/03/17/own-facts/.
Wastewater: https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/surveillance/wastewater-surveillance/wastewater-surveillance.html.
Replication crisis: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-reproducibility.
Moral realism: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-realism/.
Simulation hypothesis: https://www.space.com/41749-elon-musk-living-in-simulation-rogan-podcast.html.
Simulate universe: https://futurism.com/sorry-elon-physicists-say-we-definitely-arent-living-in-a-computer-simulation.
This page updated February 20, 2024.
Paul Thagard 