Messing with the Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians, and Fake News

Counterterrorism expert Watts writes a timely, occasionally chilling account of the use and misuse of social media by a variety of geopolitical players. He traces the rise of social media platforms—looking well beyond Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube—to illustrate how many have been used for a variety of nefarious ends, such as influencing potential voters or radicalizing potential terrorists. Watts uses examples—ranging from early social platforms such as Yahoo Groups, which were meeting places for like-minded extremists, to more recent dating apps, which have been used to gather personal or compromising information on users—to make the case that all platforms are vulnerable to misuse. He finishes with advice on coping with social media’s effects on contemporary life. He peppers his analysis with his personal experiences pulling communications-based pranks at West Point, interacting with a U.S.-born al-Qaeda operative on Twitter, identifying internet trolls, and falling victim to viral misinformation (aka fake news), demonstrating his expertise while showing just how easy it is to be affected by bad actors on social media. Watts combines a down-to-earth voice with an ability to recreate moments of social media troublemaking to discomfiting, informative effect. (May)