Book Review of Fake News by Mark Dice

A Book Review

The True Story of Fake News:

How Mainstream Media Manipulates Millions

Written by: Mark Dice

Reviewed by:  Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown January 23,2019

So you think the stations/networks you get your news from are above board and are NOT playing games with the truth.  Think again!

Some may choose NOT to read this book because they do not want to know what the real truth is about the news media and social media actually is.  They want what they believe to be true to actually be true.  To those folks, I am suggesting that you have your heads firmly buried in the sand.  Some will read the book and still criticize it as not being truthful about the news media and social media sights.  Still others and I am in this category, will find the book shocking beyond belief.

Let’s take the argument that only 25% of what Dice writes about is true.  Just 25% is enough to scare the Hell out of you!  What if 100% is true?  What then?  For me I just shook my head in total disgust and then began to check how I can better insulate myself from what I see, read and hear.  Is there a solution to the problems identified?  Read the book and you decide.

I knew there was bias amongst the major news and social media organizations but that was more of an opinion than a factual statement.  No amount of denials by the owners of these companies who have testified before Congress regarding published falsehoods (fancy word for lies) and organizational non-biases made any sense at least to me.

EVERYONE should read this book!  No exceptions!  If you read it and still deny that there are organized biases amongst the main stream media, you simply refuse to believe the obvious.  I was shocked to realize my ignorance of how severe the problem of “fake news” has actually gotten.  When you read the book you realize that the news media and even social media sites are being manipulated by “editors” behind the scenes of whom we do not know, who are putting forth on their programs and Internet sites ONLY the news and information THEY want US to know.  Even when you do a Google search the resulting suggested links have been scrubbed so that ONLY those links these “editors” want you to see appear on the first and second pages of your search.  They know that few if anyone ever goes beyond the second page of their search.

As a result, we are all being manipulated either by fake news stories, news stories carefully edited to eliminate important facts to advance someone’s agenda and/or even outright lies.  But since they appear on the Internet or on our news programs, we therefore believe they must be true and accurate and we all would be wrong if that is what we all believe. 

My advice would be to test it yourself.  Enter a search using Google on any subject you wish.  Then carefully review the list of suggested sites that Google generates.  Here is one I have repeatedly tried.  I entered “The First Family” and was shocked that photographs of President Obama’s family appeared and you have to search for any links to current President Trump’s family.  I also did a search using the words/phrases suggested by the author like “What if…” and “Christianity” and “Islam” to see what the suggested links would be. The one for Christianity was probably the worse when the first thing that appeared suggested that Christianity was a religion of racists and for Islam, a religion of peace.  Do you own search and watch what happens.

Who should read this book?  EVERYONE, NO EXCEPTIONS, at least know who, what, and how the news and social media posts are being manipulated to help you to develop your opinions and beliefs even though the information provided is probably tainted if not outright deceptions!

Would I recommend it to a friend?  ABSOLUTELY!

Will I read it again?  Not sure.  Some sections, definitely but you get the idea rather quickly just how corrupt the members and leaders of the various organizations have been and most likely continue to be.

Would I buy it as a gift?  ABSOLUTELY!