Stories are Weapons

Psychological Warfare and the American Mind

By: Annalee Newitz

Narrated by: Alexandra Cohler

In Stories Are Weapons, Annalee Newitz traces the way disinformation, propaganda, and violent threats have evolved from military weapons deployed against foreign adversaries into tools in domestic culture wars. Newitz delves into America's deep-rooted history with psychological operations, beginning with Benjamin Franklin's Revolutionary War-era fake newspaper and nineteenth-century wars on Indigenous nations, and reaching its apotheosis with the Cold War and twenty-first-century influence campaigns online. America's secret weapon has long been coercive storytelling. And there's 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 program 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 counternarrative, speaking with the researchers and activists who are outlining a pathway to achieving psychological disarmament and cultural peace.

©2024 Annalee Newitz (P)2024 Kalorama

Overcoming psyops

Detailed analysis of the culture wars today and in the past and how understanding psyops can lead to a more rational future

A solid read.

It was a decent enough entry point to understanding the use of propaganda to create culture war. Pairs nicely with Manufacturing Consent and The Big Lie for understanding the history of propaganda and how capitalism pushed ideology.

A must read

Stories are Weapons is a must read with an important call for action. The historical overview of the development of propaganda theory and doctrine will be especially valuable for disinformation researchers, with the relationship to science fiction being especially fascinating.

Stories are powerful

I enjoyed the history of propaganda and the ties to science. The book would have been better without the political opinion, but I still recommend for anyone that wants to better understand how to recognize through the propaganda thrown at us every day from multiple sources.

Great read for managers, employees, politicians, change makers and artists. These fundamentals will help all to navigate the world more effectively.

The Forever Wars

Arm yourself for the ongoing misinformation campaigns and influence operations that citizens of the 21 century must endure. This book which examines the history and tactics of Psychology operations is a good start.