Whether used as a political tactic to discredit news stories and media outlets, or as a description of false information manufactured and circulated for profit, the term ""fake news"" holds a particularly caustic sway in twenty-first-century society. A frequent subject of cable news broadcasts, periodical coverage, and social media chatter, and a constant talking point for political pundits, its impact spans from shaping minor differences in partisanship to influencing elections. In Fake News! Josh Grimm gathers a range of critical approaches to provide an essential resource for readers, students, and teachers interested in understanding this ever-present feature of today's media and political landscape. The opening section surveys the long history of fake news, with examples ranging from seventeenth-century satires of early newspapers to propaganda efforts in Nazi Germany, and then traces the evolution of the term over time. The following section explores how exposure to fake news impacts individuals, with particular emphasis on changes in popular discourse and the ability to assess sources critically. Essays in this section also highlight approaches developed by newsrooms and other organisations, including Facebook and Google, to fight the widespread dissemination of fake news. The volume pairs original research with articles from prominent scholarly journals, offering a wide-ranging and accessible discussion of debates central to the current post-truth era, covering topics such as social media, the Onion, InfoWars, media literacy, and the radicalization of white men. By highlighting key components and practical methods for examining misinformation in the media, Fake News! presents in-depth analysis of a topic that remains more timely than ever.

How Public Policy Impacts Racial Inequality, edited by Josh Grimm and Jaime Loke, brings together scholars of political science, sociology, and mass communication to provide an in-depth analysis of race in the United States through the lens of public policy. This vital collection outlines how issues such as profiling, wealth inequality, and housing segregation relate to race and policy decisions at both the local and national levels. Each chapter explores the inherent conflict between policy enactment, perception, and enforcement. Contributors examine topics ranging from the American justice system's role in magnifying racial and ethnic disparities to the controversial immigration policies enacted by the Trump administration, along with pointed discussions of how the racial bias of public policy decisions historically impacts emerging concerns such as media access, health equity, and asset poverty. By presenting nuanced case studies of key topics, How Public Policy Impacts Racial Inequality offers a timely and wide-ranging collection on major social and political issues unfolding in twenty-first-century America.

Amid a recent resurgence in horror films, David Robert Mitchell's It Follows stands out as a particularly bold entry, a horror fan's dream come true that sparked a renewed creativity. Pulling a robust 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, It Follows was hailed as a "teen movie you've never seen before," a "creepy, mesmerizing exercise in minimalist horror," "the best horror film in years," and simply, "so damn good." Mitchell uses a variety of approaches to reinvent genre bromides while simultaneously embracing and challenging tropes that audiences and filmmakers rely on a little too heavily. It Follows is one of the best because it is one of the most unique. In this Devil's Advocate, Joshua Grimm focuses on how this film helped reinvent the rules of a horror movie, particularly along the lines of genre, style, sex, and gender.