ABOUT THE BOOK

THEATER OF LIES
​​Misinformation Divides Us – With Purpose. How to Protect Ourselves, & Why We Must.
​
​By Ted Griffith

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Why does a man pack his car with guns, knives, and explosives and drive 3 hours to storm into a Washington DC pizza parlor looking for pedophiles? 

Why does another man in London, Ontario, drive his pickup truck onto a sidewalk and aim his charging vehicle at a Muslim family of four, leaving only a six-month-old baby alive? 

Why did thousands of truckers takeover downtown Ottawa for three-weeks, demanding that Canada’s government be overthrown? 

And, why, does the Governor of a US State declare the way he managed the COVID19 pandemic to be a model for the country, when it ranks among the highest death rates per capita?

All of these people rose from their seats in Theater of Lies and decided to get on global stage that produces lies and misinformation. 

Ted Griffith, with four decades of experience in public affairs and the practice of persuasion, takes a deep dive into why we believe these lies, repeat them to others, and the harm this has done to our society. 

The result, Theater of Lies, details the techniques propagandists use to influence our opinions are much the same used by producers of films, television, and novels to entertain us. Only in the Theater of Lies – their purpose is not to entertain but to manipulate and divide.

Theater of Lies shows us why lies are so effective and what we can do to protect ourselves. Because the producers of lies and misinformation won’t stop – it is up to us as the audience to change how we consume them.

NOW AVAILABLE


Buy Your Copy

​You can buy your copy of ​Theater of Lies now from major retailers online.  ​
Specifications:
Published through FriesenPress (March 11, 2024)
6.0 x 9.0 inches
480 pages
ISBNs:
Paperback 978-1-03-919208-9
Hardcover 978-1-03-919209-6
eBook 978-1-03-919210-2


REVIEWS

"Ted Griffith is a truth warrior. In Theater of Lies,  he raises important ideas about how all of us, everywhere, have been drawn into a world where, more and more, facts take a back seat to falsehoods. Relying on his deep and wide experience as a professional communicator, he traces how we have descended into this mirror-world, offering insights into how we can learn to escape and recover. His book is a significant milestone in the slow struggle to rebuild a society where truth still matters."
- David Israelson, Writer and Journalist

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"Griffith artfully untangles the strings of deception and lies which are twisting media, society, and democracy into a macabre dance of manufactured division. Trust me. You won’t believe your eyes."
- Eric Meerkamper, Co-Founder, Centre for Social Innovation

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"Author Ted Griffith expertly portrays the world as a literal Theater of Lies populated by villains who not only arise from the stage as producers of lies and misinformation, but also from the audience. These audience members  believe the propagandists’ lies and repeat them to others. Worse, some members of the audience possess an irresistible need to become part of the actual play’s production, which can have deadly results as it did on January 6th, 2021. But fortunately, Griffith perceives a fourth group, the heroes who also emerge from the audience. The heroes are the ones brave enough to not only question the beliefs of the other three groups of actors but also their own beliefs. The real strength of the book is that Griffith explains how we can nurture these heroes, grow their numbers and provide them the tools necessary to defeat these lies and misinformation that threaten society’s very existence."
- Tom Johnson, Amon G. Carter Centennial Professor, School of Journalism and Media, University of Texas at Austin

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"The author aims to expose the mechanics of propaganda—the manner in which it plays upon the emotional needs of its audience and uses sophistry that superficially mimics the truth—and to examine the susceptibility of those who fall prey to it. The true danger is not so much the propagandists themselves, Griffith asserts, but rather those who repeat and spread their untruths, which launders the falsehoods and reclothes them in the garb of respectability. This astute insight is the principal strength..."
-Kirkus Reviews

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"The book’s compelling discussion is divided into three 'acts,' covering the historical context and tactical strategies underpinning modern propaganda and lies; the consequences of allowing lies to spread unchecked; and methods people can use to counteract the lies that dominate multiple aspects of daily life, like learning to recognize and “park” one’s own biases... Contending that it is impossible to avoid lies, the book says that it is possible to learn how to discern what is true, to recognize what a liar’s real agenda is, and to respond in an effective manner to false information. For all of the time that the book spends on the depressing variety of misinformation available, it also ends with the reassurance that a better, more thoughtful tomorrow is within humanity’s power to build. Ted Griffith’s social science book Theater of Lies issues an urgent call to action, asking its audience to combat malicious propaganda and prevent its sometimes fatal consequences."
-Foreword Clarion Review
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