HarperCollins India presents India Misinformed: A True Story by Pratik Sinha, Sumaiya Shaikh and Arjun Sidharth

HarperCollins India is proud to announce that it will publish

India Misinformed: A True Story

Pratik Sinha, Sumaiya Shaikh and Arjun Sidharth

In stores end of March

 

“Here facts strike back in the era of fake news. This book doesn’t just expose lies, it exposes the pattern of lies. In surveillance-speak it gives us the meta-data of the propaganda regime so that we may know what is being done to us and by whom. Everyone ought to read it.”

– Arundhati Roy

“No one in India is doing anything that even remotely approaches the splendid work that Pratik Sinha and his tiny team at Alt News are doing to nail the menace of falsehood. Their research is as fearless and fair as it is meticulous. Here is a book that is a must for every citizen—to understand the scale of this menace, to realize the evil it portends, to see, and thereby to insulate themselves against those who are the propagators of falsehood.”

– Arun Shourie

“There is undoubtedly greater awareness now about fake news, but where did this all begin? Through the efforts of individuals like Pratik Sinha. He has given this fight an organizational form … Please read this book, so that you realize what has been done to you, and what may happen further.”

– Ravish Kumar

India Misinformed: The True Story, edited by Pratik Sinha, Sumaiya Shaikh and Arjun Sidharth, is a riveting volume of essays written by the team of popular fact-checking website Alt News.

Social networking sites have been reduced to the status of conduits for unscrupulous minds and unabashed manipulation. According to Pratik Sinha, “Misinformation has been weaponized in recent times with the objective of sowing the seeds of division, prejudice and hate among citizens. The intention is quite clearly, political gain.”

Ananya Borgohain, Commissioning Editor at HarperCollins, added, “There has not been such a book in India; fake news has led to multiple cases of lynching and communal violence. Society is disintegrating upon a simple tap on a smartphone. This book has several photos to underline its arguments; one will be shocked by the amount of fake news we consume each day. The false claims revealed in the book cater to the fields of politics, history, science, media, healthcare, society, et al. It also has a powerful foreword by journalist Ravish Kumar and Pratik Sinha’s own narrative of why he does what he does. We aim to reach out to the young minds and help discerning voters make better decisions while casting their votes this year.”

Krishan Chopra, Publisher at HarperCollins, added, “While social media enhances the boundaries of knowledge and brings people together, it can also be a weapon of self-destruction and profound ignorance. India Misinformed is a brilliant guide on how to weigh all sides of the facts and make better judgement.”

About the book:

The propaganda of misinformation and hoaxes disseminated through print, graphics, and social media have altered the social landscape of this nation. Not only has it led to multiple cases of lynching, mob violence, defamation, and riots, but fake news also poses a serious threat to Indian democracy and its electoral policies.

This book written by the team of Alt News, a fact-checking website that debunks fake information – and edited by Pratik Sinha, Dr Sumaiya Shaikh and Arjun Sidharth – identifies the purveyors of fabricated news, exposes the propaganda machinery and familiarizes readers with techniques to detect these menacing sources.

Was Jawaharlal Nehru an anti-Hindu? Was Narendra Modi declared one of the most corrupt prime ministers in the world? Is Sonia Gandhi the fourth richest woman in the world? Did Rahul Gandhi register as a non-Hindu at the Somnath Temple? With photographs to emphasize its claims, India Misinformed: The True Story presents the real picture.

About the editors:

Pratik Sinha is the co-founder of Alt News, where Dr Sumaiya Shaikh, a neuroscientist, is the science editor. Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry.

For interviews, reviews and excerpts, please call or email

+91 8826946430 Percy.bharucha@harpercollins-india.com