Digital Coup
The Conspiracy to Thwart Global Democracy
- Ethics, Culture & Social Issues
- Publisher: Broadleaf Books (Augsburg Fortress)
- Published: 2026
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Publisher's Description
"A concise summation of digital threats to democracy." -- Library Journal "A hard-hitting investigative look at cyber warfare and various attempts to subvert Western democracies through disinformation and other means." -- Booklist "An urgent, eye-opening political science book about how authoritarian governments weaponize social media to attack democracies." -- Foreword Reviews The rise of AI and misinformation warfare is leading to racial and political polarization and democratic erosion on a global level. We are at a unique period in world history. While advances in digital technology have brought the world closer than ever, they have also been used as tools of oppression, driving misinformation and deepening divisions. AI-generated propaganda, radicalization pipelines, and profit-driven algorithms are reshaping political landscapes, often without our awareness. How did we get here, and what can we do? In Digital Coup, international lawyer, professor, and former national security professional Darin Johnson uses his expertise to explore how AI-driven disinformation and social media echo chambers unravel truth, deepen societal divisions, and erode democracy. Johnson walks us through the digital battleground where tech companies monetize political anxieties and extremists weaponize misinformation. He introduces us to the shadowy networks trafficking in data and disinformation, showing how AI's power is being wielded to manipulate, polarize, and exploit. This world, he argues, is shaped both by those who engineer these systems and by those who refuse to challenge them. With clear-eyed urgency, Johnson dismantles the myth of a neutral internet and calls for a radical rethinking of our digital future. Digital Coup is a vital intervention, offering both a wake-up call and a vision for a more informed, united, and accountable online world.
Endorsements (6)
“Timely. Trenchant. Compelling. Digital Coup masterfully highlights the political peril and existential threats posed by unraveling state and vigilante exploitation of digital technologies. Blending legal analyses with incisive prose, Johnson sounds a chilling alarm about the authoritarian and ominous actors that weaponize digital platforms to erode democracy and augment tyranny.”
“Digital Coup offers a compelling, detailed blueprint for pragmatic, innovative, promising solutions rooted in new, enforceable frameworks to promote greater transparency, accountability, and verification systems that represent just the kind of visionary, pioneering thought leadership much needed for such a historic time as this, where the just rule of law and democracy remain in great peril.”
“Digital Coup makes clear that social media's power to advance democracy, human rights, and social justice has now been co-opted by forces determined to create a more dehumanizing and oppressive world both on- and offline. Johnson engages one of the most urgent conversations of our time--how we will resist the forces that seek to destroy our democracies and our communities through the weaponization of the apps that we use every day.”
“Digital Coup confronts a reality too few are willing to face: The digital revolution has become the new battleground for voting rights and democratic participation. With clear-eyed urgency, Johnson exposes how disinformation and AI-driven manipulation threaten the political voice of African Americans and vulnerable communities worldwide--and calls us to defend democracy on its newest front.”
“Digital Coup is a sharp critique of how technology's rapid commercialization distorts public discourse and undermines democratic values. During the Ferguson Uprising, social media became a lifeline--used to coordinate actions, share truths, and resist dominant narratives--highlighting both the power and the vulnerability of digital platforms. Johnson warns that as AI and the internet increasingly serve profit-driven interests, unchecked data manipulation and monopolized content threaten equity and justice. Digital Coup is a timely call to defend the integrity of information and the people who rely on it to organize, resist, and reimagine a better future.”
“Digital Coup exposes how authoritarian regimes have weaponized America's racial divisions against our democracy, with Russian operatives studying our history of Jim Crow and police brutality to turn Americans against each other through sophisticated social media manipulation. Johnson reveals how these attacks specifically target Black voters and marginalized communities, from voter suppression schemes to the deliberate amplification of white supremacist violence during Black Lives Matter protests. This urgent analysis shows that defending democracy and defending racial justice are inseparable. We cannot protect our institutions without protecting the voting rights and dignity of all Americans.”
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