Barbara McQuade Books
Barbara McQuade is a law professor at the University of Michigan and a former U. S.
Known for: Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
Books by Barbara McQuade
Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
Disinformation is no longer a fringe problem confined to anonymous internet forums. In Attack from Within, former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade argues that falsehoods deliberately spread to manipulate public opinion now threaten the foundations of American democracy. The book examines how lies travel faster than facts, why citizens are so vulnerable to deceptive narratives, and how bad-faith actors exploit media systems, politics, and technology to divide the public. McQuade shows that disinformation is not just about people being wrong. It is about power: shaping what citizens believe, whom they trust, and whether democratic institutions can function at all. What makes this book especially valuable is McQuade’s perspective. As a legal scholar, CNN legal analyst, and former federal prosecutor, she brings together constitutional law, criminal justice, media literacy, and civic ethics. She does not treat disinformation as an abstract cultural complaint, but as a concrete threat with real-world consequences, from election denial and political extremism to public health failures and violence. This is a timely and accessible guide for anyone trying to understand why truth feels so fragile today and what citizens, institutions, and leaders can do to defend it.
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Disinformation Is a Weapon, Not Noise
A democracy can survive disagreement, but it struggles to survive organized deceit. One of Barbara McQuade’s central insights is that disinformation should not be dismissed as random confusion or mere bad information circulating online. It is often strategic, intentional, and designed to manipulate ...
From Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
Free Speech Has Real Limits
The strongest defense of free expression is not a license for every harmful lie. McQuade carefully addresses a difficult question at the heart of modern politics: how can society fight disinformation without destroying the First Amendment? Her answer is nuanced. The Constitution strongly protects sp...
From Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
Why Falsehoods Spread So Easily
People rarely fall for disinformation because they are stupid. More often, they fall for it because they are human. McQuade explores the psychological and social conditions that make falsehoods so persuasive. Confirmation bias leads people to embrace information that supports what they already belie...
From Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
Technology Amplifies Division and Deception
The internet did not create lying, but it industrialized its reach. McQuade argues that digital platforms have transformed disinformation from a local problem into a scalable political force. Social media allows false claims to spread instantly across networks of like-minded users. Recommendation sy...
From Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
Democracy Depends on Shared Reality
Elections, courts, and public policy can function only if citizens accept some common facts. McQuade emphasizes that disinformation is uniquely dangerous because it attacks this shared reality. In a polarized society, people can disagree strongly about what should be done. But when they cannot agree...
From Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
Law Alone Cannot Solve the Crisis
When society faces a serious harm, the instinct is often to ask for a legal fix. McQuade cautions that disinformation does not yield easily to that approach. Law matters, but the problem is too diffuse, too fast-moving, and too deeply embedded in culture and technology to be solved by legislation al...
From Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
About Barbara McQuade
Barbara McQuade is a law professor at the University of Michigan and a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. She is also a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, known for her expertise in national security, criminal law, and public integrity.
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Barbara McQuade is a law professor at the University of Michigan and a former U. S.
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