Buckle up because this bold piece of nonfiction does not hold back. Dr. Seema Yasmin brings her experiences as a journalist, medical doctor, poet, and professor to the page in this vivid and enlightening discussion about facts, truth, and the business of information sharing. From the first page, Dr. Yasmin invites readers to challenge their thoughts about being a freethinker and to examine how content and ideas are manipulated by human behavior and big business. Using memorable examples from history, visual sidebars, and highlighted vocabulary, the author carefully walks through concepts such as contagious information, bias and beliefs, the evolution of journalism, the role of social media, and how to debunk and disagree. For example, an explanation of the inverted pyramid of news reporting (the lede, the body, and the tail) emphasizes how the instability of telegraph wire led to the shortening of news content in order to emphasize the most critical piece first. With a story’s chronology and facts less important than the headline, it’s easy to see the evolution of today’s hashtags and character counts. The positive tone of the text encourages readers to operate with a curious and critical mind and concludes with suggestions for how to find conversational middle-ground with others.   (Age 12 and older)

From acclaimed writer, journalist, and physician Dr. Seema Yasmin comes a “savvy, accessible, and critical” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) book about the importance of media literacy, fact-based reporting, and the ability to discern truth from lies.

What is a fact? What are reliable sources? What is news? What is fake news? How can anyone make sense of it anymore? Well, we have to. As conspiracy theories and online hoaxes increasingly become a part of our national discourse and “truth” itself is being questioned, it has never been more vital to build the discernment necessary to tell fact from fiction, and media literacy has never been more important.

In this accessible guide, Dr. Seema Yasmin, an award-winning journalist, scientist, medical professional, and professor, traces the spread of misinformation and disinformation through our fast-moving media landscape and teaches young readers the skills that will help them identify and counter poorly-sourced clickbait and misleading headlines.