This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality

This Is Not Propaganda examines the global landscape of information warfare and political manipulation through personal stories and investigative reporting. Pomerantsev travels across multiple continents to document how governments, political operatives, and technology platforms shape public perception and engineer social reality. The author interweaves his family history as Soviet dissidents with present-day accounts from activists, trolls, and disinformation experts. His interviews include conversations with Filipino social media operators, Russian information warriors, and Mexican activists working to combat fake news. The book tracks the evolution from Soviet-era propaganda to modern digital influence campaigns and psychological operations. Through on-the-ground reporting in the Philippines, Mexico, Ukraine and other hotspots, Pomerantsev maps the networks and methods used to distort truth and manipulate mass behavior. The narrative reveals how the democratization of information technology has paradoxically enabled new forms of authoritarian control and social division. At its core, the book raises fundamental questions about truth, reality, and the future of democracy in an age of weaponized information.

Readers describe the book as an informative but sometimes scattered examination of modern disinformation. Many note it reads more like a collection of case studies and personal stories than a cohesive narrative. Positives: - Rich first-hand accounts from disinformation practitioners - Clear examples of propaganda techniques from multiple countries - Personal family history adds depth to the analysis - Strong reporting and research Negatives: - Loose structure makes key points hard to follow - Some readers found it repetitive - Limited solutions or ways to combat disinformation - Writing style can be dense and academic As one reader noted: "Great reporting but needed tighter editing to bring the threads together." Ratings: Goodreads: 4.0/5 (2,900+ ratings) Amazon: 4.3/5 (280+ ratings) Book Marks: Positive (8 reviews) Most critical reviews focus on organization rather than content, with readers wanting clearer connections between the various cases presented.

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🔍 Peter Pomerantsev grew up in a family of Soviet dissidents who were forced into exile, shaping his unique perspective on information warfare and propaganda 📱 The book reveals how Filipino social media operators invented many of the digital manipulation tactics later used worldwide in political campaigns 🗣️ While researching the book, Pomerantsev interviewed both creators and targets of disinformation campaigns across multiple continents, including Russian trolls and Mexican activists 📚 The title "This Is Not Propaganda" is an ironic reference to René Magritte's famous painting "The Treachery of Images" ("This is not a pipe") 🏆 The book won the 2020 Gordon Burn Prize, which recognizes literature that dares to enter history and interrogate the past