Messengers

Messengers

In the age of fake news, what we understand to be true or not can be driven by the source and the type of messenger that imparts that information.

In a world where proven facts and verifiable data are freely and widely available it is a challenge to come to terms with how the uninformed can have as much sway as established and repudiable organizations and news outlets.

In many ways, irrelevant details such as a person's appearance or financial status influence whether or not we trust what they are saying, regardless of their wisdom or foolishness.

It seems the power to influence is in the eyes of the beholder.

Stephen Martin and Joseph Marks compellingly explain how in our uncertain and ambiguous world, the messenger is increasingly the message. We frequently fail, they argue, to separate the idea being communicated from the person conveying it, explaining why the status or connectedness of the messenger has become more important than the message itself.

Messengers influence business, politics, local communities, and our broader society. Martin and Marks reveal the forces behind the most infuriating phenomena of our modern era, such as belief in fake news and how presidents can hawk misinformation and flagrant lies yet remain.