THE ART OF PROPAGANDA, shaping public opinion and putting society at risk

357pp., paperback, Midrand, 2023

Deji Haastrup on the growing influence of propaganda in a world where social media and artificial intelligence make it easy to manipulate information, and the threat this poses to social cohesion.

Haastrup was the Public Affairs Assistant to the US Consul for Public Affairs at the United States Information Service, and the Public Relations Manager at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria. He also held several positions at Chevron, before retiring as General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, in 2016. He is the author of Eavesdropping: Essays and travel notes; A Rich Enabling Silence and Little Birds and Ordinary People. He lives in Cape Town.