I just found out that one of my favourite books about online mass media has printed its 5th edition, billed as “revised and updated for the post-Trump, post-Gawker age.”

I read “Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator” when it was published in 2012. It opened my eyes to the world of blogs that create news that is then published by the mass media, regardless of accuracy. It explained clicks and views and online advertising. It was where I first understood the concept of “fake news”.

It appeared at the time (and has since been proven true) that the author, Ryan Holiday, had a massive change of heart (or ethics) and transformed himself from media manipulator to whistleblower.

Since then, he has written four books on Stoicism, as well as a number of books on marketing, online advertising, and online media. He has become a leading voice for modern Stoicism – a philosophy primarily concerned with ethics. This is a significant departure from his roots as a creator of fake advertising campaigns and fake news.

I wrote this book to explain how media manipulators work, how to spot their fingerprints, how to fight them, and how (if you must) to emulate their tactics. Why am I giving away these secrets? Because I’m tired of a world where trolls hijack debates, marketers help write the news, opinion masquerades as fact, algorithms drive everything to extremes, and no one is accountable for any of it. I’m pulling back the curtain because it’s time the public understands how things really work. What you choose to do with this information is up to you.

Ryan Holiday