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Reviews
Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity by Sander van der Linden
williamtwbrown's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Great book on misinformation and how it spreads. More importantly, it lays a foundation for how we can start to inoculate ourselves against it, both individually and as a greater society.
whitecat5000's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.0
This wasn't as helpful as I hoped it would be.
askedthezebra's review
fast-paced
2.0
Good to know. Coulda been a better article rather than a full book.
hollanddavis's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely a fascinating read as someone who grew up during the rise of the computer and consumption of online media. Most of us have been taught to make sure our sources are reliable when reading news or research, but this book takes it up a notch helping you identify the "mode of transmission" for disinformation and how it's amplified on social media platforms.
The theory and research behind phycological inoculation along with the execution and implementation of different "vaccines" was explained was compelling, and I truly enjoyed getting to read about the process from someone at the top of the field. van der Linden made the information in his book easy to follow and digest regardless of your background in psychology, and I highly recommend.
The theory and research behind phycological inoculation along with the execution and implementation of different "vaccines" was explained was compelling, and I truly enjoyed getting to read about the process from someone at the top of the field. van der Linden made the information in his book easy to follow and digest regardless of your background in psychology, and I highly recommend.
bootman's review
5.0
Hot damn did I love this book. I read so many books on this topic, and I always get concerned that each book is going to be exactly the same (because a lot of them are when they’re on a popular topic), but Sander blew my brain up with how good this book is. Sander actually sent me an early copy of the book, but as an audio listener, I just now got a chance to read it and I binged it in a day (I was sitting through a day-long tattoo session, so I had some time).
What separates this book from the others is that researching misinformation is Sander’s life work and are of expertise when it comes to research. Many books on the topic discuss research that others have conducted, and while Sander does discuss a lot of studies in this book, he also has conducted a ton of his own research and experiments. Not only do you learn about why people fall for misinformation, but a primary focus of the book is all of the work Sander and his colleagues have done to help “innoculate” people from misinformation.
The experiments and findings are extremely interesting, and it gives me a ton of hope for the future. They’re doing really interesting and innovative things like running YouTube ads to try and help people scrutinize potentially false information on their own rather than potentially getting into the tribalism of it all, which often doesn’t work.
It was also super interesting reading about how Sander disagrees with some other researchers like Dan Kahan on certain subjects. But I could write about this book all day. Just go grab a copy and start trying to help people avoid getting duped by bad information.
What separates this book from the others is that researching misinformation is Sander’s life work and are of expertise when it comes to research. Many books on the topic discuss research that others have conducted, and while Sander does discuss a lot of studies in this book, he also has conducted a ton of his own research and experiments. Not only do you learn about why people fall for misinformation, but a primary focus of the book is all of the work Sander and his colleagues have done to help “innoculate” people from misinformation.
The experiments and findings are extremely interesting, and it gives me a ton of hope for the future. They’re doing really interesting and innovative things like running YouTube ads to try and help people scrutinize potentially false information on their own rather than potentially getting into the tribalism of it all, which often doesn’t work.
It was also super interesting reading about how Sander disagrees with some other researchers like Dan Kahan on certain subjects. But I could write about this book all day. Just go grab a copy and start trying to help people avoid getting duped by bad information.