We Are #ALTGOV - by Amanda Sturgill (Hardcover)

About the Book

Experiencing firsthand President Trump's disregard for truth, rogue government employees took to social media with anonymized outrage, fact-checking, and a call to action. The #ALTGOV Twitter movement subverted official statements to remind Americans that all was not well in t...

Book Synopsis

Experiencing firsthand President Trump's disregard for truth, rogue government employees took to social media with anonymized outrage, fact-checking, and a call to action. The #ALTGOV Twitter movement subverted official statements to remind Americans that all was not well in the White House but that there was something they could do about it.

Review Quotes

Always wanted to know who's behind the #AltGov Twitter movement? This is your chance to see four years of American history unfold through their eyes. Learn how #AltGov's digital army tried to make a difference and fought to defend democracy in the way they knew best: tweet by tweet.

Sturgill capably weaves together interviews with a number of federal bureaucrats who participated in the #ALTGOV movement and current events to create a gripping narrative. The work fleshes out anonymous Twitter accounts into full personas with individual reasons for joining the movement. Using the bureaucrats' own words, Sturgill dismisses the claim that the #ALTGOV movement consisted only of political opponents of the Trump administration. Undergraduates will digest this book easily and gain an appreciation for this unique time in American politics, and scholars will find Sturgill's research foundational for further studies of protest activities by government officials, both in the US and abroad. This book is relevant to the disciplines of political science, political communication, mass communication, and public administration and fits well into courses on American politics, bureaucracy, and political movements. Recommended. All readership levels.

This fascinating work delves into the activities of the alts and the rogues that made up so much of the online political world in the early days of the Trump administration. It offers fresh insights into the confusion and chaos of 2016 through 2021 using primary sources in a compelling way I have never seen before.

About the Author

Amanda Sturgill is a professor at Elon University, where she teaches courses in journalism, media analytics, and digital strategy. She has built a 20-plus year career studying the ways people communicate online, including how breaking news is covered on Twitter, how people learn from digital media, how media work and don't work for poor people and those with disabilities, and how people form online communities around their interests. Her research and teaching have been featured on CBC Radio, KABC Radio, and in The Washington Post.