The Chaos Machine

April 1, 2022

A Pulitzer Prize finalist, New York Times investigative reporter Fisher debuts with a critique of social networks, traveling worldwide to show that their rage for maximum engagement has radically restructured the world and led to extreme thought and, more crucially, extreme action. Homing in on pandemic, election, and insurrection; with a 75,000-copy first printing.

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May 23, 2022
New York Times reporter Fisher debuts with a scathing account of the manifold ills wrought by social media. He explores toxic misogyny, recounting the unsavory particulars of “GamerGate,” in which a woman video game developer was subjected to “collective harassment” after false allegations that she slept with a journalist in exchange for a positive review of her game. Other examples of the dark side of social media include anti-Muslim hate speech in Myanmar proliferating on Facebook, the spread of anti-vaccine rhetoric during the pandemic, and efforts by Russia to interfere with U.S. elections. Fisher also breaks down the tactics used by social media companies to get users to spend more time online, among them notifications that are meant to set off feel-good dopamine releases in the brain, a tactic similar to the “intermittent variable reinforcement” used by casinos. There’s no shortage of books lamenting the evils of social media, but what’s impressive here is how Fisher brings it all together: the breadth of information, covering everything from the intricacies of engagement-boosting algorithms to theories of sentimentalism, makes this a one-stop shop. It’s a well-researched, damning picture of just what happens online. Agent: Jenn Joel, ICM Partners.

June 15, 2022
A veteran journalist examines the rise of the social media giants and the dangers they have created for our society. Fisher, a columnist and international reporter for the New York Times, dives into the chaotic social media landscape, synthesizing dozens of interviews from a wide range of sources. Focusing primarily on Facebook, the author walks through the key steps in the progress of the technology, seeing the advent of algorithms as a turning point. By tracking the sites that consumers visit, algorithms allowed for precise targeting for future contact. The best-performing sites gave users a sense of belonging, usually by denigrating "outsiders." Over time, the result was increasing social and political polarization, with debate and discourse replaced by attacks that could easily spill into the offline world. Fisher is spot-on when he describes how the promotion and manufacture of moral outrage were not glitches in the system but inherent features. Senior leaders at Facebook received countless warnings about potential problem areas; claiming that they would address them, they never did. The company had rules to exclude certain posts, but they were inconsistent, vague, and overly complex (more than 1,400 pages). The author capably explains the many complex elements involved, but his liberal perspective is occasionally too evident. The mere mention of Donald Trump often makes him splutter with indignation. He has much to say about right-wing groups but little about those on the left. Nonetheless, Fisher is a diligent reporter, and when he maintains his focus on the mechanics of social media, he makes numerous important points. He even suggests that social media has become so counterproductive that we should consider shutting down the big firms--he aptly cites the murderous computer HAL in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey--or at least forcing a thorough restructuring process. It's a sensible idea worth discussing, but given the power of big tech, it's unlikely to happen. An often riveting, disturbing examination of the social media labyrinth and the companies that created it.

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Starred review from July 1, 2022
Journalist Fisher's first book is a well researched and thoroughly unnerving argument that social media is by its very nature designed to destabilize and polarize its users. Basing his judgments on his time reporting around the world in countries including Myanmar and Brazil as well as the U.S., Fisher makes a case that Facebook, Twitter, and what he considers the least governed form of social media, YouTube, are designed by computer algorithms to maximize user interaction, heighten moral outrage, and lead users systematically into extremist views and communities that pitch "us" against "them." Fisher places the blame for this not so much on the "ruthless, logical, misanthropic, white, male geeks" who created social media, or even on their refusal to meaningfully patrol their creations, but on the computer programs designed to keep users clicking. Fisher's conclusion is blunt: on an individual level, users should turn social media off--or, at the very least, social media companies should turn off the algorithms that lead users down dangerous rabbit holes, essentially restoring programs like Facebook to their original states. Fisher's lucid, clear explanations and convincing arguments are bound to leave readers questioning their own use of social media.

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Starred review from July 1, 2022

In his first book, New York Times journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist Fisher details how the radical free speech ethos of Silicon Valley, coupled with artificial intelligence algorithms designed to drive user engagement, combined to create a toxic stew of racist, misogynistic, and conspiracy-laden content across social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. These companies' founders and executives, loath to do anything that may affect their bottom line, turned a blind eye to the harm. Fisher details how YouTube and Facebook recommendations pushed users toward more extreme content, which tragically fed ethnic violence in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and India, places where users received the majority of their news from social media. Groups that originated online also played a role in the election-related U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Fisher's insightful and sometimes frightening look into social media companies is rooted in court records and hundreds of interviews with researchers and Silicon Valley employees and executives. VERDICT A deeply researched and well-written study for anybody interested in social media or technology and their effects on society and the transmission of news.--Chad E. Statler

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.