Network Propaganda
Network Propaganda by Yochai Benkler, Robert Faris and Hal Robertsby Yochai Benkler, Robert Faris and Hal Roberts
Ranked 5 of 5 political science books by recommenders
Recommended for its history of how the American media environment changed, with data on how social media use and media consumption intersect. One reader found little new information.
Recommended for its history of how the American media environment changed, with data on how social media use and media consumption intersect. One reader found little new information.
2 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 2
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 2 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Empirical data on media patterns
“Not only do they provide a history of how the American media environment changed, but they also gather and analyze data on how social media use and media consumption intersect.”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “AI fake news complaining about how AI fake news is the death of real news” “for an empirical analysis of what the patterns actually are”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “America.gov” Explains how media mechanics work
“Its the best description of the actual media mechanics at play.”
Comment from 2 Oct 2026 in “America.gov” “you have an issue where part of the information economy/market is captured”
Comment from 13 Jun 2026 in “US bans differential privacy in Census data” Puts the pieces together in one place
“Frankly it was everything I thought I knew, and then some, all in one place.”
Comment from 27 Jun 2026 in “Why Does Everyone Hate AI?” “this book does a better job of putting all the parts together”
Comment from 30 Nov 2025 in “The Undermining of the CDC”
Other political science books people recommend
The four most recommended other political science books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policyby Mearsheimer and Walt | 5 | 1 | 83% | 6 | — | — |
| What's the Matter with Kansas?by Thomas Frank | 4 | 1 | 80% | 4 | — | — |
| The Dictator's Handbookby Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| The Logic of Political Survivalby Bruce Bueno de Mesquita | 4 | 1 | 80% | 3 | — | — |
| Network Propagandaby Yochai Benkler, Robert Faris and Hal RobertsThis page | 2 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Its the best description of the actual media mechanics at play.”
“I had to put it down after reading 20 percent of the book. I just don't see any new information that I had already known”
“for an empirical analysis of what the patterns actually are”
“Not only do they provide a history of how the American media environment changed, but they also gather and analyze data on how social media use and media consumption intersect.”
“Frankly it was everything I thought I knew, and then some, all in one place.”
“if you are really interested in the phenomenon of the current media ecosystem, I would point you to the work by Faris, Roberts, and Benkler”
“you have an issue where part of the information economy/market is captured”
“this book does a better job of putting all the parts together”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.