Virtual Unreality

The bestselling author of Proofiness and Zero explains how to separate fact from fantasy in the digital world   Digital information is a powerful tool that spreads unbelievably rapidly, in­fects all corners of society, and is all but impossible to control—even when that information is actually a lie. In Virtual Unreality, Charles Seife uses the skepticism, wit, and sharp facility for anal­ysis that captivated readers in Proofiness and Zero to take us deep into the Internet information jungle and cut a path through the trickery, fakery, and cyber skullduggery that the online world enables.   Taking on everything from breaking news coverage and online dating to pro­gram trading, self-publishing, and that ec­centric and unreliable source that is Wiki­pedia, Seife arms his readers with actual tools—or weapons—for discerning truth from fiction online.