The Infodemic

“At a moment when censorship and its close sibling, weaponized misinformation, are shaking the foundations of democracies around the world, Joel Simon and Robert Mahoney bring us an important dissection of that crisis—and gripping stories from its frontlines. The Infodemic is an essential record.” —Ronan Farrow, author of War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence“Timely. Urgent. Necessary.” —Dan Rather“Two advocates for journalists’ rights reveal the severe blows to free expression and democracy inflicted by world leaders’ repressive actions during the pandemic…. A sobering account of how governments have used Covid-19 as a pretext for limiting freedom.” —Kirkus Reviews“Vaccines save lives, but the damage to democracy, human rights and press freedom exacted by politicians who shamelessly exploit a global health emergency may outlive COVID itself. In this gripping and impressively reported book, two great champions of press freedom vividly recount that under-reported side of the pandemic. The Infodemic circles the globe narrating the lies, misinformation and shameless exploitation to advance their own careers by populists and autocrats. In these pages, Simon and Mahoney challenge us to begin the work of reversing the damage from extreme surveillance and restrictions to freedom once the greatest danger has passed.” —Kati Marton, author of The Chancellor: The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkel“The Infodemic is essential reading for anyone who worries about the way authoritarian leaders are using the COVID pandemic to erode further democracy around the world. Joel Simon and Robert Mahoney have been on the frontlines of the war for free press for years. This book shows us how autocrats are trying to silence independent voices when they are most needed, in the middle of an epidemic of a deadly disease and lethal disinformation.” —Patricia Campos Mello, columnist for Folha de S. Paulo and author of A Maquina do Ódio (The Hate Machine)“Joel Simon and Rob Mahoney show how authoritarians and ‘populists’ in every region of the world have taken advantage of the pandemic to poison our politics, our access to accurate information, our health and our rights. The Infodemic should be read by everyone with an interest in confronting the global threats to democracy, human rights and public health.” —David Kaye, clinical professor of law at the University of California, Irvine, author of Speech Police: The Global Struggle to Govern the Internet

Joel Simon is a fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School and formerly the Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Before joining CPJ, he worked as a journalist in Latin America and California. He is the author of three books, including We Want to Negotiate: The Secret World of Hostages, Kidnapping, and Ransom. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Robert Mahoney is Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. He was a Reuters correspondent with postings in Southeast Asia, West Africa, India, Israel, France and Germany. This is Robert’s first book. He lives in New York City.