The Death of Truth

I jumped into Steven Brill’s The Death of Truth with excitement, but found myself largely underwhelmed and disappointed. As someone who has been following the issues of misinformation, media polarization, and political upheaval since 2020, the book offered little new insights or compelling analysis. Most of the content revisits well-trodden ground—vaccine misinformation, the events of January 6, and the increasing detachment of politics from objective truth. If you have been engaged online, the narratives and examples Brill gives will feel familiar.

By the time I reached the halfway mark, I hoped the book would pivot to introduce fresh perspectives or delve deeper into uncharted aspects. Unfortunately, that shift never happened. Instead, the author’s proposed solutions struck me as shallow and an afterthought. Suggestions like abolishing online anonymity and adopting ranked-choice voting seemed disconnected from the core problems of misinformation and lacked a convincing explanation of how they would fix what the first half of the book discussed.

A recurring impression throughout the book is that it serves as a vessel for Brill’s personal frustrations as an owner of a factual analysis organization, NewsGuard. It often feels like he is airing grievances about the challenges he has faced in promoting his company’s product and his experiences of being misunderstood. His attempts to appear neutral seem forced and insincere.

One of the worst attempts to appear as politically unaligned was his insistence that “the center is missing” in American politics. This just…isn’t true. We have witnessed the Democratic Party pursuing centrist policies, only to face significant losses and a lack of enthusiasm from the electorate. Brill’s perspective seems out of touch with the current political climate and oversimplifies to the extreme.

The Death of Truth does not offer the depth or originality that I wanted on such a critical topic. For those already engaged with these issues, the book provides little beyond what is already known. For newcomers, it lacks the persuasive power or insightful analysis needed to change anyone’s mind.

Final Verdict: I’d rate this book as a skip. There are more nuanced and thoroughly researched works available that tackle the challenges of misinformation and the erosion of truth without resorting to underdeveloped solutions. Check out Very Fine People by A.R. Moxon for a better overview of the same time people with better connections to reality.