Stories Are Weapons

In Stories Are Weapons, Annalee Newitz traces the way disinformation, propaganda and violent threatsthe essential tool kit for psychological warfarehave evolved from military weapons deployed against foreign adversaries into tools in culture wars. Newitz delves into Americas deep-rooted history with psychological operations, beginning with Benjamin Franklins Revolutionary Warera fake newspaper and nineteenth-century wars on Indigenous nations, and reaching its apotheosis with the Cold War and twenty-first-century influence campaigns online. Americas secret weapon has long been coercive storytelling. And theres a reason for that: operatives who shaped modern psychological warfare drew on their experiences as science fiction writers and in the advertising industry. Now, through a weapons-transfer programme long unacknowledged, psyops have found their way into the hands of culture warriors, transforming democratic debates into toxic wars over American identity. Newitz zeroes in on conflicts over race and intelligence, school board fights over LGBT students and campaigns against feminist viewpoints, revealing how, in each case, specific groups of Americans are singled out and treated as enemies of the state. Crucially, Newitz delivers a powerful counter-narrative, speaking with the researchers and activists who are outlining a pathway to achieving psychological disarmament and cultural peace. Incisive and essential, Stories are Weapons reveals how our minds have been turned into blood-soaked battlegroundsand how we can put down our weapons to build something better.