Author Series | Barbara McQuade | Attack from Within

Legal scholar and analyst Barbara McQuade, discusses her new book Attack from Within at the Hudson Library & Historical Society. The book shows readers how to identify the ways disinformation is seeping into all facets of our society and how we can fight against it. Publisher’s Weekly opines, “A concise introduction to the threat to American democracy...for those curious about the past and future of political disinformation.”
American society is more polarized than ever before. We are strategically being pushed apart by disinformation-the deliberate spreading of lies disguised as truth-and it comes at us from all sides. It's endangering our democracy and causing havoc in our electoral system, schools, hospitals, workplaces, and in our Capitol. Advances in technology including rapid developments in artificial intelligence threaten to make the problems even worse by amplifying false claims and manufacturing credibility.
Disinformation is designed to evoke a strong emotional response to push us toward more extreme views, unable to find common ground with others. The false claims that led to the breathtaking attack on our Capitol in 2021 may have been only a dress rehearsal. Attack from Within shows us how to prevent it from happening again, thus preserving our country’s hard-won democracy.
Barbara McQuade is a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, her alma mater, where she teaches courses in criminal law, criminal procedure, national security, and data privacy. She is also a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, and a co-host of the podcast #SistersInLaw. From 2010 to 2017, McQuade served as U.S Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Ms. McQuade was appointed by President Barack Obama and was the first woman to serve in her position. Earlier in her career, she worked as a sportswriter and copy editor, a judicial law clerk, an associate in private practice, and an assistant U.S. attorney.