Liar in a Crowded Theater - by Jeff Kosseff (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The author addresses one of the most pressing issues in modern American life: the pervasiveness of lies, the constitutional protection they enjoy, the harm that they cause, and how to combat them. The two most recent presidential elections, the battle against the coronavirus, and the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol demonstrate the power of lies, their pervasiveness online, and the damage that they can inflict"--

Book Synopsis

Thanks to the First Amendment, Americans enjoy a rare privilege: the constitutional right to lie. And although controversial, they should continue to enjoy this right.

When commentators and politicians discuss misinformation, they often repeat five words: "fire in a crowded theater." Though governments can, if they choose, attempt to ban harmful lies, propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation, how effective will their efforts really be? Can they punish someone for yelling "fire" in a crowded theater--and would those lies then have any less impact? How do governments around the world respond to the spread of misinformation, and when should the US government protect the free speech of liars?

In Liar in a Crowded Theater, law professor Jeff Kosseff addresses the pervasiveness of lies, the legal protections they enjoy, the harm they cause, and how to combat them. From the COVID-19 pandemic to the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections and the January 6, 2021, insurrection on the Capitol building, Kosseff argues that even though lies can inflict huge damage, US law should continue to protect them. Liar in a Crowded Theater explores both the history of protected falsehoods and where to go from here.

Drawing on years of research and thousands of pages of court documents in dozens of cases--from Alexander Hamilton's enduring defense of free speech to Eminem's victory in a lawsuit claiming that he stretched the truth in a 1999 song--Kosseff illustrates not only why courts are reluctant to be the arbiters of truth but also why they're uniquely unsuited to that role. Rather than resorting to regulating speech and fining or jailing speakers, he proposes solutions that focus on minimizing the harms of misinformation. If we want to seriously address concerns about misinformation and other false speech, we must finally exit the crowded theater.

Review Quotes

Kosseff's book reminds readers on the left and the right to cherish and defend the many robust protections for false speech as free speech embodied in the court's jurisprudence.
--Law & Liberty

Powerful....Kosseff says the solution to harmful speech lies in strengthening the free market for ideas rather than government regulation. The regulation of free speech poses its own dangers to democracy and does not propose any long-term solutions.
--ProMarket

Well written...'Liar in a Crowded Theater: Freedom of Speech in a World of Misinformation' will prove of special value to readers with an interest in free speech, political propaganda and psychology, political commentary and constitutional analysis.
--Midwest Book Review

Kosseff, a professor of cybersecurity law at the United States Naval Academy, urges caution. He doesn't deny that technology can amplify lies, and that lies--whether deliberately engineered or not--can be dangerous....But he points to 'the unintended consequences of giving the government more censorial power.'
--Jennifer Szalai, New York Times Book Review

[An] instructive new book.Those who would regulate false speech assume that the government is well-equipped to mediate truth. They assume that the power to silence dissent will not be abused. They assume that the public will accept the state's pronouncements of fact at face value. Beyond all, they assume that censorship works--that it doesn't tend to backfire. None of these assumptions escapes Kosseff's Crowded Theater unscathed. The book's evidence against them is abundant and well-organized.
--City Journal

Engaging.
--FTC Watch

Illuminating and persuasive....[A] convincing case against tinkering with the First Amendment.
--The Cipher Brief

[Kosseff] makes the case that the courts have improved our country by gradually strengthening legal protections for false speech--a principle that should hold even though new technologies are changing how information looks, is created, and flows.
--Boston Globe

Part historical retelling of First Amendment jurisprudence, part road map for policymakers, the book notes areas where the courts have in fact narrowly carved out First Amendment protections for false speech.
--Cristiano Lima, Washington Post

A useful guide to thinking about a complex issue.
--Publishers Weekly

One of the best books about free speech ever written.
--Nilay Patel, The Verge

About the Author

Jeff Kosseff (ARLINGTON, VA) is an associate professor of cybersecurity law at the United States Naval Academy.