Disinformation is the deliberate use of lies to manipulate people, whether to extract profit or to advance a political agenda. Its unwitting accomplice, misinformation, is spread by unknowing dupes who repeat lies they believe to be true. In America today, both forms of falsehood are distorting our perception of reality. In a democracy, the people need a shared set of facts as a basis to debate and make decisions that advance and secure their collective interests. Differences of opinion, and even propaganda, have always existed in the United States, but now, enemies of democracy are using disinformation to attack our sovereign right to truthful information, intellectual integrity, and the exercise of the will of the people.

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Throughout history, authoritarians have used disinformation to seize power from the people. As a former national security prosecutor, I see self-serving forces sabotaging our country. Manipulators are using disinformation to poison discourse and stoke divisions in society…. Our country’s constantly changing demographics naturally bring differences of opinion, but the bitter divides are not the inevitable result of a pluralistic society with diverse ethnic, racial, religious, and social groups. They are the product of a deliberate attack through disinformation. Lies are becoming increasingly normalized, and our democracy is in peril. The conversation I propose is not a debate about Democratic and Republican politics. It is about the essential need for truth in self-governance.

Excerpts from the Updated Paperback Edition of Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America by Barbara McQuade, published by Seven Stories Press, New York, USA, 2025, pp. 5-6 & 13.  

Topics covered in the ten chapters of Attack from Within by Barbara McQuade:

1. The Authoritarian Playbook: How Disinformers Gain Power
2. From Gaslighting to the Liar’s Dividend: Disinformation Tactics
3. Hearts Are Bigger Than Minds: Why Disinformation Works
4. The New Engines of Disinformation: The Danger of Emerging Technology
5. The Land of the Free: Why America Is Particularly Vulnerable to Disinformation
6. “Stop the Steal”: Disinformation Is Destroying Democracy
7. “Somebody Is Going to Get Killed”: Disinformation Is Endangering Public Safety and National Security
8. Trial by Combat: Disinformation Is Eroding the Rule of Law
9. We Alone Can Fix It: Proposed Solutions
10. We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident: A Way Forward
    
    

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Barbara McQuade is a University of Michigan law professor, with interests in criminal law, criminal procedure, national security, data privacy, and civil rights. She is also a legal analyst for NBC News and MS Now (formerly MSNBC), as well as co-host of the podcast #SistersInLaw. McQuade was appointed by President Barack Obama as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, the first woman to be so appointed, serving in that position from 2010 to 2017. She has received many awards and honors, including The Detroit News’ Michiganian of the Year Award and the Arab American Civil Rights League’s Tribute to Justice Award. Her most recent publication The Fix: Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government was released on June 2, 2026. McQuade lives with her husband and four children in Ann Arbor, Michigan.