Samuel Woolley won a book award from the Association of Internet Researchers

Samuel Woolley, Endowed Chair of Disinformation Studies in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, won the Association of Internet Researchers’ (AoIR) Nancy Baym Book Annual Award.

According to the AoIR committee, “Manufacturing Consensus: Understanding Propaganda in the Era of Automation and Anonymity” (Yale University Press) addresses one of the most important issues in contemporary internet research — the rise of computational and algorithmic propaganda that affects social media users globally.

“Moreover, the book stands out in the crowded field of dis/misinformation studies through its inclusive optic that scans and assesses cases from around the globe and, in so doing, actually gives voice to a heterogenous array of people, experiences, and ideas,” the committee wrote of Woolley’s work. “The book is based on solid scholarship but is accessible to citizens and decision-makers. In today’s political environment, it could be transformative.”