Sander van der Linden, Ph.D.
Professor, Author, and Speaker
Featured in the MOST ANTICIPATED NON-FICTION BOOKS of 2023 By BBC, Cosmopolitan, Apple Books, and Next Big Ideas
Out Now!
"You will never look at your social media feed in the same way"
- Angela Saini, Author of Superior
"I am so glad we now have this book. There's nothing else like it"
- Robert Cialdini, Author of Influence
"This brilliant book....provides a set of powerful evidence-based 'antigens' designed to protect us from false claims"
- Sir David Spiegehalter, Author
of The Art of Statistics.
'Fascinating' - The Observer
'Authoritative' - Financial Times
'Powerful' - Kirkus
'Riveting' - Waterstones
'Encouraging' - The Times
'Important' - Forbes
'Must-Read' - Psychology Today
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Reviews of Foolproof
Praise for Foolproof
Sir David Spiegelhalter, Author of The Art of Statistics.
“This brilliant book vividly illuminates the challenges of countering misinformation, showing how human psychology can make us vulnerable to manipulation and conspiracy theories. Van der Linden’s analysis would be utterly depressing, were he not to provide a set of powerful evidence-based ‘antigens’ designed to protect us from false claims. They have never been more needed."
Marianna Spring, BBC Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent
"‘An insightful and forensic examination of why our brains entertain disinformation - and the remedies that can protect us all from its real-world harm. For everyone who messages me asking how they can speak to someone who has fallen victim to online conspiracies - this is the book for you!”
Angela Saini, Author of Superior: The Return of Race Science
"A fascinating, in-depth investigation into the complex landscape of misinformation from someone who has spent his career trying to combat fake news. You will never look at your social media feeds in the same way again"
Dr. Seema Yasmin, Emmy-Award winning journalist, former epidemic intelligence officer, and Author of What the Fact!?
"Reminding us that we are all susceptible to believing lies, Foolproof is a highly necessary do-it-yourself guide for building mental resilience against false information.”
Robert Cialdini, New York Times Best Selling Author of Influence
“In the nick of time, this book provides straight information about the origins, workings, and consequences of misinformation-infused messaging. I am so glad we now have this book. There's nothing else like it"
Jay Van Bavel, Author of The Power of Us
"Sander van der Linden is one of the world’s leading experts on combating misinformation, and Foolproof is the ultimate handbook for navigating—and fighting back against—the tsunami that threatens to drown us in bullshit."
Mitch Prinstein, Chief Science Officer, American Psychological Association (APA)
"This outstanding and easy-to-read summary of the science, offered by the foremost scientific authority on the subject, is essential reading for us all, explaining precisely why misinformation is so powerful, and how we help others to be less susceptible to it."
Clare Wardle, Director, Information Futures Lab, Brown University
"Bringing the psychology of misinformation to life, Foolproof is one of the smartest and, ultimately, most optimistic books on the subject I’ve read."
Cambridge Professor and
Author of FOOLPROOF
Biography
Educating the Next Generation
Sander van der Linden, Ph.D., is Professor of Social Psychology in Society and Director of the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge. His research looks at how people process (mis)information, how it spreads in online networks, and how we can most effectively prebunk and inoculate people against false information. He leads national consensus reports on the psychology of misinformation and serves on the World Health Organization's (WHO) infodemic working group. He has won numerous awards for his research on human judgment, communication, and decision-making, including the Rising Star Award from the Association for Psychological Science (APS), the Sage Early Career Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), the Frank Prize in Public Interest Research from the University of Florida, and the Sir James Cameron Medal for the Public Understanding of Risk from the Royal College of Physicians. His research papers have received awards from organizations such as the American Psychological Association (APA), the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI). He co-developed the award-winning fake news game, Bad News, which has been played by millions of people around the world and he regularly advises governments, public health authorities, and social media companies on how to combat the spread of misinformation. He is ranked among the top 1% of highly cited social scientists worldwide and has published over 150 research papers. He frequently appears on international TV and radio and his work is regularly featured in outlets such as the New York Times, Rolling Stone, NPR, and the BBC. He has been described by WIRED magazine as one of “15 top thinkers” and by Fast Company Design as one “four heroes who are defending digital democracy online”. Before joining Cambridge, he held academic positions at Princeton, Yale, and the LSE.
The Vaccine for Fake News
