? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

The internet is now the source of all the information we consume — can we trust it? As fake content with real-life consequences spreads like wildfire, the line between what is real and what is fake grows blurrier each day. A History of Fake Things on the Internet by Walter J. Scheirer traces how technology has brought us to the point where it’s almost impossible to distinguish between what’s true and what’s not.

Fake news. Trump may have claimed the term, but the phenomenon existed way before his presidency. Conspiracy theories and reports of the paranormal have existed for as long as we have, and image manipulation has been possible since nineteenth century darkrooms existed. But the internet is where it thrives. Scheirer investigates the origins of internet deception, from rumors that were born on Bulletin Board Systems and USENET (old school forums on the internet in its early days), and turned to legends through the then-new messaging technology called email.

Scheirer is an expert in machine learning and shares the intricacy of digital fakery and manipulation, how it works, and how it doesn’t. He poses an interesting question: Are these problems intrinsic to the internet, or to human behavior? Spoiler: Signs point to the latter. Scheirer meticulously demonstrates the boundless human capacity for creativity and for destruction through historical accounts and suggests that maybe it’s not as damning as we think it is.

You can find an ebook version of A History of Fake Things for USD 15.12 on Amazon, or in hardcover for USD 24.99.

Tags: