About the Book
New York Times Bestseller
"Authoritarian governments abroad have long used legal threats and lawsuits against journalists to cover up their disinformation, corruption, and violence. Now, as master investigative journalist David Enrich reveals, those tactics have arrived in America." -- Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of Strongmen
David Enrich, the New York Times Business Investigations Editor and the #1 bestselling author of Dark Towers, produces his most consequential and far-reaching investigation yet: an in-depth exposé of the broad campaign--orchestrated by elite Americans--to silence dissent and protect the powerful.
It was a quiet way to announce a revolution: In an obscure 2019 case that the Supreme Court refused to even hear, Justice Clarence Thomas raised the prospect of overturning the legendary New York Times v. Sullivan decision. Though hardly a household name, Sullivan is one of the most consequential free speech decisions, ever. Fundamental to the creation of the modern media as we know it, it has enabled journalists and writers all over the country--from top national publications to revered local newspapers to independent bloggers--to pursue the truth aggressively and hold the wealthy, powerful, and corrupt to account.
Thomas's words were a warning--the public awakening of an idea that had been fomenting on the conservative fringe for years. Now it is going mainstream. From the Florida statehouse to small town New Hampshire to Donald Trump's White House, this movement today consists of some of the world's richest and most powerful people and companies, who believe they should be above scrutiny and want to silence or delegitimize voices that challenge their supremacy. Indeed, many of the same businessmen, politicians, lawyers, and activists are already weaponizing the legal system to intimidate and punish journalists and others who dare criticize them.
In this masterwork of investigative reporting, David Enrich, New York Times Business Investigations Editor, traces the roots and reach of this growing threat to our modern democracy. With Trump's emboldened right-wing coalition committed to demonizing and punishing those who attempt to hold them accountable, Murder the Truth sounds the alarm about the looming war over facts, laying bare the stakes of losing our most sacrosanct rights. The result is a story about power in the age of Trump--the way it's used by those who have it and the lengths to which they will go to avoid it being questioned.
About the Author :
David Enrich is the Business Investigations Editor at the New York Times and the bestselling author of Dark Towers and Servants of the Damned. The winner of numerous journalism awards, he previously was an editor and reporter at the Wall Street Journal. His first book, The Spider Network: How a Math Genius and Gang of Scheming Bankers Pulled Off One of the Greatest Scams in History, was short-listed for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year award. Enrich grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts, and graduated from Claremont McKenna College in California. He currently lives in New York with his wife and two sons.
Review :
"David Enrich makes a compelling and alarming case in this very important new book." -- Rachel Maddow
"With the new administration already seizing every opportunity to strong-arm the press, and with stiff spines in short supply among leaders of major media organizations, Murder the Truth makes for an unfortunately urgent warning...This is a story not just about political and legal shifts, but about the power of money." -- Washington Post
"David Enrich is a keen observer of the intersection of money, power and politics... [A] granular and disturbing read."
-- The Guardian
"The story Enrich has unearthed is engaging...Enrich takes readers deep into other interesting First Amendment legal battles, showing how each one could chip away at Times v. Sullivan."
-- Boston Globe
"[Murder the Truth] feels especially timely in the current political climate, amid questions of whether owners of newspapers and TV networks will stand up to a president who's long demonized the media--and whether the conservative-majority Supreme Court could upend libel laws in America." -- Vanity Fair
"Please read this important book while we still have the liberty to publish and enjoy such tomes." -- Philadelphia Inquirer
"[This] book reads like a thriller. I read the entire thing in a day because it's so captivating. It's the perfect primer on the right wing's war against free speech. If you're looking to learn more about free speech and how Trump and the far right are seeking to weaponize our speech laws to silence dissent, this book is a must read." -- Taylor Lorenz, User Mag
"A most fascinating and comprehensive chronicle of this new threat to journalism...The ultrawealthy are feeling emboldened to file lawsuits against journalists and their publishers, perhaps inspired by Donald Trump's giddy disregard for a free press. In his new book, 'Murder the Truth, ' David Enrich forecasts a dangerous endgame."
-- William D. Cohan, Puck News
"Urgently relevant... Enrich is an indefatigable investigative reporter as well as a gifted storyteller." -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"In his tightly reported book, Enrich shows how we got here. The story is not without nuance: not every plaintiff he describes is unsympathetic; not every critic of Sullivan is on the political right (and some who might like to keep the precedent in place are). In the end, though, he paints a clear picture of a right-wing crusade to weaken press protections in order to blunt scrutiny of the rich and powerful--one that is already exerting a devastating financial and emotional toll on American journalists, even as Sullivan remains the law of the land." -- Columbia Journalism Review
"Authoritarian governments abroad have long used legal threats and lawsuits against journalists to cover up their disinformation, corruption, and violence. Now, as master investigative journalist David Enrich reveals, those tactics have arrived in America. Murder the Truth is a timely and essential study of how these favored legal tools of repressive regimes are being regularly deployed in the United States to conceal the truth, discredit the press, and benefit anti-democratic forces." -- Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of Strongmen
"This important book is about an attempted murder. With readers as witnesses, we see small newspapers killed, and editors and publishers terrorized by legal assaults from public officials who demonize the press as Enemies of the People. Yet as this riveting narrative shows, the ultimate target is the Supreme Court's landmark New York Times vs Sullivan decision, which erected a First Amendment wall to protect journalists from being silenced by those in power. David Enrich's engrossing, carefully reported account is vital to help prevent this murder." -- New York Times bestselling author Ken Auletta
"This is the deeply reported, richly narrated story of a war on honest journalism that disturbs the interests of the wealthy and powerful. David Enrich takes us behind the scenes of a concerted right-wing campaign to destroy news organizations financially -- but the ultimate goal is to overturn New York Times v. Sullivan, the linchpin of libel protection for reporters who err in good faith. Nothing less than the future of accountability journalism is at stake." -- Barton Gellman, New York Times bestselling author and three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize
"A chilling deep dive . . . an unsettling look at a dire threat to democracy." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"[Enrich] elucidates the complex legal challenges to fact-based journalism brought against long-established media and independent outlets by hungrily litigious politicians and corporate executives...With thousands of publications now defunct, Enrich's probing analysis brings crucial attention to this endangered tenet of a functioning democracy." -- Booklist (starred review)
"A revealing look at a campaign intended to stifle the First Amendment in favor of those in power." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Startling and deeply researched"
-- Nieman Lab
