Truthteller

There is a war on truth. And the liars are winning. There is an increasingly large number of weapons in the arsenal of the rich, the powerful and the elected to prevent the truth from coming out — to bury it, warp it, twist it to suit their purposes. Truthteller reveals how governments and corporations have covered-up mass murder, corruption and catastrophe. In a world where Putin and Trump have successfully branded journalists as traffickers in fake news, while promoting the actual creators of fake news, an investigative reporter shows the tools that are used to deceive us and explains why they work. Using exclusive documents and interviews drawn from three decades as an award-winning reporter, editor, foreign correspondent, television producer, documentary filmmaker, and journalism educator, Stephen Davis reveals shocking details of deception in the United States, the UK, Russia, Sweden, the Baltic republics, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, the Arctic and Antarctic.

Truthteller is an essential guide for understanding the modern media world — for teachers, students and concerned citizens who want to know the facts, not fake news and conspiracy theories.

It takes you inside the world of investigative reporting in an intimate history of a reporter’s battles, won and lost, the personal and professional costs and the lives damaged along the way.

“"Very well written. It is compelling. A sort of travelogue into the heart of darkness known as spin, conspiracy theories, misinformation and truth prevention".”

“Investigative journalist, Stephen Davis, raises new questions about the disappearance of Sydney man Richard Sajko, one of the city’s toughest cold cases.” Daily Telegraph
“Davis…is the only journalist I know who has paid significant attention to BA149 [British Airways flight from Heathrow to Kuala Lumpar, that, on 1 August 1990, via Kuwait City and Madras had 367 passengers and 18 crew held hostage]. Governments become ever more proficient in covering up inconvenient truths.” -- Peter Wilby NewStatesman America
“Every page is quite extraordinary” The Matthew Wright Show
“Stephen Davis uses his skills as an investigative journalist to expose the tools at play in the propagation of falsehoods by governments, organisations and the media”. Good Reading Magazine
“If we end up in a society where nobody can tell the difference between truth and fiction that will be devastating for us all” Good Reading Podcast
“Truthteller author Stephen Davis’s investigation into the death of an Australian scientist in the Antarctic uncovers a culture far removed from the pristine image of life on the ice” Maxim Magazine
“Very well written. It is compelling. A sort of travelogue into the heart of darkness known as spin, conspiracy theories, misinformation and truth prevention”. The Fourth Estate Podcast
“deep fakes are going to make it even harder to tell the difference between fact and fiction” ABC Radio National – Sunday Extra with Hugh Riminton
“Drawing on author Stephen Davis’ three decades experience as an investigative journalist, Truthteller uses real-world stories to illustrate the tools that governments and corporations use to deceive the media and the public.” Hype Magazine
“an entertaining and unsettling compilation of some of the world’s most elaborate official conspiracies. It serves as an acute reminder of just how mendacious – and gullible – we can be.” The Australian Financial Review
“Truthteller reinforces the value of journalism and the need for rigorous investigative reporting in a democracy.” Santa Barbara Independent

Stephen Davis has been on the frontlines of journalism for three decades as an investigative reporter in TV, magazines and newspapers. He has reported from the rainforests of Brazil to the icy wastes of Antarctica, from London to Los Angeles, from the Middle East to Russia.

There is a war on truth. And the liars are winning. There is an increasingly large number of weapons in the arsenal of the rich, the powerful and the elected to prevent the truth from coming out -- to bury it, warp it, twist it to suit their purposes. Truthteller reveals how governments and corporations have covered-up mass murder, corruption and catastrophe. In a world where Putin and Trump have successfully branded journalists as traffickers in fake news, while promoting the actual creators of fake news, an investigative reporter shows the tools that are used to deceive us and explains why they work. Using exclusive documents and interviews drawn from three decades as an award-winning reporter, editor, foreign correspondent, television producer, documentary filmmaker, and journalism educator, Stephen Davis reveals shocking details of deception in the United States, the UK, Russia, Sweden, the Baltic republics, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, the Arctic and Antarctic. Truthteller is an essential guide for understanding the modern media world -- for teachers, students and concerned citizens who want to know the facts, not fake news and conspiracy theories. It takes you inside the world of investigative reporting in an intimate history of a reporter's battles, won and lost, the personal and professional costs and the lives damaged along the way.

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