What to make of the Tea Party? To some, it is a grassroots movement aiming to reclaim an out-of-touch government for the people. To others, it is a proto-fascist organization of the misinformed and manipulated lower middle class. Either way, it is surely one of the most significant forms of reaction in the age of Obama. In this definitive socio-political analysis of the Tea Party, Anthony DiMaggio examines the Tea Party phenomenon, using a vast array of primary and secondary sources as well as first-hand observation. He traces the history of the Tea Party and analyzes its organizational structure, membership, ideological coherence, and relationship to the mass media. And, perhaps most importantly, he asks: is it really a movement or just a form of "manufactured dissent" engineered by capital? DiMaggio's conclusions are thoroughly documented, surprising, and bring much needed clarity to a highly controversial subject.

In this fresh and provocative book, Anthony DiMaggio uses the war in Iraq and the United States confrontations with Iran as his touchstones to probe the sometimes fine line between news and propaganda. Using Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony and drawing upon the seminal works of Noam Chomsky, Edward Herman, and Robert McChesney, DiMaggio combines a rigorousempirical analysis and clear, lucid prose to enlighten readers about issues essential to the struggle for a critical media and a functioning democracy. If, as DiMaggio shows, our newspapers and television news programs play a decisive role in determining what we think, and if, as he demonstrates convincingly, what the media give us is largely propaganda that supports an oppressive and undemocratic status quo, then it is incumbent upon us to make sure that they are responsive to the majority and not just the powerful and privileged few.

This book interrogates rising fascism in America. It spotlights the major facets of fascism that increasingly characterize contemporary U.S. politics, in relation to political authoritarianism, the rise of anti-intellectualism, the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories, the glorification of political street violence and state violence, rising white supremacy, and the militarization of U.S. political discourse. Alongside this, Giroux and DiMaggio show how the assault on critical education and pedagogy is central to the fascist program. They stress the importance of reprioritizing education as a public good to combating fascist politics and ideology and draw links between fascism and the banning of books in schools, whitewashing history, and punishing policies aimed at Black, Brown, and transgender youth. They challenge the commonly embraced notion that Trumpism is primarily a function of economic insecurity within his support base, documenting how support for the former president primarily centered on reactionary socio-cultural values and white supremacy. They also show how white supremacist values are central to the Trump base defending the January 6th insurrection, despite academics, journalists, and political officials in both major parties ignoring the threat of rising white nationalism.

"Crashing the Tea Party" challenges conventional dogmas related to the most recent movement of choice of conservative America and the mass media. This book undertakes a critical journalistic and scholarly examination of the Tea Party at the national and local level. Through firsthand observation of local Tea Party chapters, Street and DiMaggio uncover details about the Tea Party that have remained largely unexplored. Is the Tea Party a genuine social movement or a top-down interest group created largely by the mass media, Republican Party, and corporate funding? Street and DiMaggio explore this question systematically, closely documenting their results. They show how mass media reporting and commentary affect public opinion of the Tea Party and its preferred policy whipping boy, health care reform, in particular. This book fills the gap in public understanding of how social movements fit within the larger political ideologies on the left and right, and the growing role of media in influencing public opinion on major issues of the day. Street and DiMaggio cover the Tea Party from the inside out, and in the context of the 2010 Midterm elections, the Wisconsin Worker Movement, and the Arab Spring."

"Crashing the Tea Party" challenges conventional dogmas related to the most recent movement of choice of conservative America and the mass media. This book undertakes a critical journalistic and scholarly examination of the Tea Party at the national and local level. Through firsthand observation of local Tea Party chapters, Street and DiMaggio uncover details about the Tea Party that have remained largely unexplored. Is the Tea Party a genuine social movement or a top-down interest group created largely by the mass media, Republican Party, and corporate funding? Street and DiMaggio explore this question systematically, closely documenting their results. They show how mass media reporting and commentary affect public opinion of the Tea Party and its preferred policy whipping boy, health care reform, in particular. This book fills the gap in public understanding of how social movements fit within the larger political ideologies on the left and right, and the growing role of media in influencing public opinion on major issues of the day. Street and DiMaggio cover the Tea Party from the inside out, and in the context of the 2010 Midterm elections, the Wisconsin Worker Movement, and the Arab Spring."

What to make of the Tea Party? To some, it is a grassroots movement aiming to reclaim an out-of-touch government for the people. To others, it is a proto-fascist organization of the misinformed and manipulated lower middle class. Either way, it is surely one of the most significant forms of reaction in the age of Obama.

In this definitive socio-political analysis of the Tea Party, Anthony DiMaggio examines the Tea Party phenomenon, using a vast array of primary and secondary sources as well as first-hand observation. He traces the history of the Tea Party and analyzes its organizational structure, membership, ideological coherence, and relationship to the mass media. And, perhaps most importantly, he asks: is it really a movement or just a form of "manufactured dissent" engineered by capital? DiMaggio's conclusions are thoroughly documented, surprising, and bring much needed clarity to a highly controversial subject.

In this fresh and provocative book, Anthony DiMaggio uses the war in Iraq and the United States confrontations with Iran as his touchstones to probe the sometimes fine line between news and propaganda. Using Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony and drawing upon the seminal works of Noam Chomsky, Edward Herman, and Robert McChesney, DiMaggio combines a rigorousempirical analysis and clear, lucid prose to enlighten readers about issues essential to the struggle for a critical media and a functioning democracy. If, as DiMaggio shows, our newspapers and television news programs play a decisive role in determining what we think, and if, as he demonstrates convincingly, what the media give us is largely propaganda that supports an oppressive and undemocratic status quo, then it is incumbent upon us to make sure that they are responsive to the majority and not just the powerful and privileged few.

The term 'fake news' became a buzzword during Donald Trump's presidency, yet it is a term that means very different things to different people. This pioneering book provides a comprehensive examination of what Americans mean when they talk about fake news in contemporary politics, mass media, and societal discourse, and explores the various factors that contribute to this, such as the power of language, political parties, ideology, media, and socialization. By analysing a range of case studies across war, political corruption, climate change, conspiracy theories, electoral politics, and the Covid-19 pandemic, it demonstrates how fake news is a fundamentally contested phenomenon, and how its meaning varies depending on the person using the term, and the political context. It provides readers with tools to identify, talk about, and resist fake news, and emphasizes a need for education reform with an eye toward promoting critical thinking and information literacy.

This book interrogates rising fascism in America. It spotlights the major facets of fascism that increasingly characterize contemporary U.S. politics, in relation to political authoritarianism, the rise of anti-intellectualism, the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories, the glorification of political street violence and state violence, rising white supremacy, and the militarization of U.S. political discourse. Alongside this, Giroux and DiMaggio show how the assault on critical education and pedagogy is central to the fascist program. They stress the importance of reprioritizing education as a public good to combating fascist politics and ideology and draw links between fascism and the banning of books in schools, whitewashing history, and punishing policies aimed at Black, Brown, and transgender youth. They challenge the commonly embraced notion that Trumpism is primarily a function of economic insecurity within his support base, documenting how support for the former president primarily centered on reactionary socio-cultural values and white supremacy. They also show how white supremacist values are central to the Trump base defending the January 6th insurrection, despite academics, journalists, and political officials in both major parties ignoring the threat of rising white nationalism.