A01=Rebecca Lemov
ai
Author_Rebecca Lemov
Category=JBSL
Category=JM
Category=JMH
charles manson
coercion
conspiracy theories
cults
disinformation
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
facebook
korean war
manipulation
media literacy
mind control
misinformation
patty hearst
pow
propaganda
social engineering
social media
trauma
Product details
- ISBN 9781324075264
- Weight: 661g
- Dimensions: 163 x 239mm
- Publication Date: 25 Mar 2025
- Publisher: WW Norton & Co
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
Because brainwashing affects both the world and our observation of the world, we often cannot recognise it while it’s happening—unless we know where to look. In The Instability of Truth, Rebecca Lemov exposes the myriad ways our minds can be controlled against our will, exploring the history of brainwashing techniques from those employed against POWs in North Korea to the “soft” brainwashing of social media doomscrolling and behaviour-shaping.
Lemov reveals that anyone can fall victim to mind control, especially in our increasingly data-driven world and identifies invasive forms of emotional engineering that exploit trauma and addiction to create coercion and persuasion in everyday life. Offering lessons learned from mind-control episodes past and present, Lemov equips us for the increasing challenges we face from social media, AI and an unprecedented, global form of surveillance capitalism.
Rebecca Lemov is a historian of science at Harvard University and has been a visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute. Her research explores data, technology, and the history of human and behavioral sciences. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
