Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Goss, Brian Michael, author.

      Title: The rise of weaponized flak in the new media era: beyond the propaganda model / Brian Michael Goss.

      Description: New York: Peter Lang, 2019.

      Series: Intersections in communications and culture: global approaches and transdisciplinary perspectives; vol. 35 | ISSN 1528-610X

      Includes bibliographical references and index.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2019024946 | ISBN 978-1-4331-4259-8 (hardback: alk. paper)

      ISBN 978-1-4331-4258-1 (paperback: alk. paper) | ISBN 978-1-4331-4260-4 (ebook pdf)

      ISBN 978-1-4331-4261-1 (epub) | ISBN 978-1-4331-4262-8 (mobi)

      Subjects: LCSH: Mass media and propaganda—United States. | Mass media—Political aspects—United States. | Press and propaganda—United States. | Press and politics—United States. | Communication in politics—United States.

      Classification: LCC P96.P722 U64 2019 | DDC 303.3/75—dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019024946

      DOI 10.3726/b15978

      Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.

      Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

      © 2019 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York

      29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006

       www.peterlang.com

      All rights reserved.

      Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm, xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.

      About the author

      BRIAN MICHAEL GOSS earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois’ Institute of Communications Research in 2000. A specialist in mass media and its sociopolitical concomitants, he has authored three books, co-edited two more, penned dozens of journal articles, and is a zealously dedicated teacher.

      About the book

      The Rise of Weaponized Flak in the New Media Era presents the first book-length examination of flak as a form of political harassment, authored by a seasoned researcher on political discourse and mass media. Flak against news media was a component of the Edward Herman-Noam Chomsky seminal “Propaganda Model.” However, in the thirty years since the model was introduced, flak has become an increasingly significant and prevalent sociopolitical force in its own right, in large part for the proliferation of new media platforms. Flak is not simply good faith or tough criticism. Rather, flak discourses and actions go on attack for the purpose of delegitimizing, disabling, and even criminalizing political foes, however tendentiously. The book presents cross-disciplinary appeal for students and scholars of mass media, new media, political science, and sociology—as well as for anyone concerned with today’s sociopolitical environment.

      Given the book’s seminal examination of the topic, the introductory chapters in Part I extensively map out flak’s current forms and delineate similarities and distinctions from scandal and activism. Newly-minted terminology is introduced to flesh-out contemporary flak (for example, flak-in-discourse, boutique flak, phantom flak).

      The balance of the book is organized around case studies of flak mills (Part II) and flak issues (Part III). In particular, Part II drills down into the flak discourses and techniques of dedicated flak mills that characterize themselves as, respectively, journalistic and think tank organizations. Part III of the book features case studies of flak around elections and universities in the United States.

      This eBook can be cited

      This edition of the eBook can be cited. To enable this we have marked the start and end of a page. In cases where a word straddles a page break, the marker is placed inside the word at exactly the same position as in the physical book. This means that occasionally a word might be bifurcated by this marker.

      Contents

List of Tables

Acknowledgments

Part I: Introducing Flak

Chapter 1: 1988/2016: From PAC and Flak to Hack and Flak

Chapter 2: “Bow the Knee to This New Dictatorship”: The Many Faces of Flak

       Part II: Flak Mills

       Chapter 3: “We Are Those Experts”: Heartland Institute and the Think Tank as Flak Mill

       Chapter 4: “Transcendent Truth” in Disguise: Project Veritas’ Flak Traps

       Part III: Flak Issues and Conclusions

       Chapter 5: Voters as “Thieves and Fraudsters”: Flak against Elections

       Chapter 6: “Indoctrination,” “Persecution,” “Control”: Flak Goes to College

       Chapter 7: Conclusion: Play to Win

       Index

Tables

       Table 5.1: Less is more—or packing and cracking to transform a minority of voters into a majority of seats

       Table 6.1: Content analysis of CR (15 April–May