Welcome to the personal website of Emerson T. Brooking, home of Interesting Times, a blog about policy, technology, and life in the 21st century.
Buy my book, LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media, out now.
Email me, emerson at etbrooking.com.
Recent Posts:
On Architects
These men are remembered as extraordinary ideological architects. They are remembered as architects, in large part, because they are frozen in amber. They were killed before they could inhabit the things that they built.
A Dispatch from the Trail
It was black women who lifted Doug Jones to victory in the Alabama Special, but that election is nothing compared to the effort now unfolding across Georgia for Stacey Abrams, daughter of two ministers and proud Spelman graduate.
5,676 Good Words on John S. McCain
This is McCain’s closer, his last big reverb on the six-string as it were. And the frenzied standing-O it always gets from his audience is something to see. […] Who wouldn’t cheer, hearing stuff like this, especially from a guy we know chose to sit in a dark box for four years instead of violate a Code?
The George Wallace Show, Circa ’72
“We might get our country back,” said the construction man, stirred. “I feel like I lost it. I feel like I been lost in it all this time.”
Always Politicize Tragedy
A "thought and prayer" is nothing. It is something you can do, quite literally, in your sleep.
Two Predictions
Either of these events would precipitate a political crisis of a scale not seen since 1974. If occurring close together, they might precipitate a social and constitutional crisis of a scale not seen in this or the last century.
You can also find a collection of my published works. My writing has been featured in the Atlantic, Foreign Policy, and Popular Science.
Recent Publications:
How a “Political Astroturfing” App Coordinates Pro-Israel Influence Operations
Analysis of "Act.IL," a smartphone app intended to crowdsource digital influence operations. This represents the future of information warfare. (DFRLab/Atlantic Council)
The Christchurch Call and the Failure of U.S. Leadership
The Christchurch Call represented a historic opportunity for international unity. By rebuffing it, the United States shows just how far it has retreated from the fight against terrorism and violent extremism. (New Atlanticist/Atlantic Council)
Christchurch-Style Terrorism Reaches American Shores
Digital forensic analysis of preparations made by the Poway, CA synagogue shooter. (DFRLab/Atlantic Council)
White Nationalism Overshadowed at Congressional Hearing on White Nationalism
Small exchange with partisan pundit dominates media coverage and online conversation about historic congressional hearing on white ethno-nationalist terrorism. With Melissa Hall. (DFRLab/Atlantic Council)
The Election Hackers Are Back – and They’re Starting with the US Midterms
In the final days before the 2018 U.S. Midterm Elections, social media platforms remain at serious risk of targeted viral misinformation. While Silicon Valley had taken some preparatory actions, the U.S. government has done essentially nothing. With P.W. Singer. (The Guardian)
The World Has Entered an Age of Conflict with Real World Results
The spread of viral misinformation has become a dangerous public health crisis, akin to the spread of contagions past. This crisis must be answered with a strong emphasis on information literacy. With P.W. Singer. (The Globe and Mail)