30-05-2025
Barbara McQuade's book on disinformation, 'Attack from Within,' gets paperback release
Barbara McQuade teaches law at the University of Michigan, but her classroom extends far beyond the stately Tudor Gothic buildings of the Law Quad on the Ann Arbor campus.
'I am now considering myself a disinformation evangelist,' says the Detroit native, having a little fun as she describes her continuing efforts to fight the spread of lies, deceptions and distortions that threatens democracy.
McQuade had a New York Times bestseller in 2024 with 'Attack From Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America.' On June 3, the paperback version makes its debut.
A former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, McQuade is well known for her legal analysis on MSNBC and NBC News and for co-hosting the podcast '#SistersInLaw." She wrote her book not to get more media exposure, but to provide a resource for those worried about the fact that disinformation has become an unwelcome part of America's political process.
'I just want to help educate the public about this problem because it is something that can be used against us by politicians, by business leaders, by anyone who wants to advance an agenda," says McQuade. "I'm hopeful that if we can educate people about the tactics of disinformation, we can learn to recognize them and that will build resilience against being manipulated by them.'
The paperback edition of "Attack from Within" has a new introduction that offers her insights on the 2024 presidential election, the courting of Donald Trump's favor by tech billionaires and Trump's early decisions in his second term, including his pardons and commutations for those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol (which she writes "sent a message not just condoning political violence, but empowering it").
The rest of the book is a thoroughly researched, comprehensive look at the history of disinformation and the ways it is being used now, along with advice on how to preserve and strengthen inherent values like seeking the truth and respecting the rule of law.
Are the issues addressed in 'Attack from Within' as relevant today as they were a year ago? 'I'm sad to say, it may be more pertinent than ever," says McQuade. "I think that this problem of disinformation has not subsided. In fact, if anything, it has only grown. And so I think the urgency of the message is even more pronounced today.'
Better known as Barb to friends and admirers, McQuade seems to have the perfect disposition for calmly discussing topics that often turn into heated free-for-alls on cable news shows or at family dinner tables. Her tone is friendly and reasonable. She chooses her words carefully and avoids overstatement.
McQuade acknowledges that disinformation can occur on either side of the political spectrum. 'I think one of the things we're learning right now us how many people either stayed silent or made false representations about President Biden's mental acuity,' she says, referring to revelations like those in 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again," the new book by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios correspondent Alex Thompson.
Notes McQuade of the tribalism that can drive political partisans to behave like sports fans and support their team, not their own eyes, on a referee's call, 'There is this tendency for people to say not just what they believe to be true, but (what) they want to believe to be true. Sometimes that is harmful to the public good.'
When asked about the Trump administration's clashes with the courts over its deportations of migrants, McQuade says, 'It is certainly within (Trump's) purview to deport people who are not in the country lawfully, but he may do so only in compliance with the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, which says that people get a hearing and they get notice. That is to prevent mistakes from happening and we've already seen mistakes with people deported who should not have been.'
McQuade explains the implications of skirting due process with the clarity of someone who has debated her points before judges and students. 'It might be easy at this moment to say …'Those aren't people like me. This couldn't happen to me.' It could happen to you and it is happening to our fellow Americans. For that reason, I think we ought to make sure that the law works for everybody because the due process clause applies to anybody who is within the territory of the United States. If we see an erosion for one group of people, then certainly the same could happen to any group of people.'
McQuade is positive, but measured, in her views on how the Supreme Court is doing its job these days. 'I think some justices more than others have viewpoints in alignment with the Trump administration, but I think others care about the role of the court as an institution and as a check on abuse of presidential power.' She remains 'cautiously optimistic'" that they will continue to provide those checks.
The legal battles to rein in the Trump administration's controversial wielding of executive power may be drawing more students to legal careers, much like Woodward and Bernstein's coverage of the Watergate scandals resulted in a surge of journalism majors at colleges in the 1970s.
'Admissions applications to Michigan Law School were at an historic high this year,' says McQuade. 'I think there is a strong interest in the law right now. ... I hear from many students who are going into public interest law or want to work for state attorney general's offices in an effort to safeguard some of the institutions of democracy.'
McQuade sees an important role for education to play in teaching young people how to spot and avoid disinformation. 'Whether you call it media literacy or resilience from disinformation or critical thinking … I think it is incredibly important for the next generation of students to be able to manage this landscape where we're going to have artificial intelligence and social media and the ability to deceive people."
She adds: "We will need students to have the skill set to be able to sift through that which is reliable and that which is not.'
McQuade's book points the way to overcoming political divisions by putting facts and democracy first. Ultimately, as her new intro for 'Attack from Within" concludes: 'We have the power to effect change by uniting against the forces that seek to drive us apart. If we want to overcome the dangers of disinformation, we must choose truth over tribe.'
Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Barbara McQuade's book on disinformation gets paperback release
