Thread by @brianstelter

Today is the launch day for HOAX in paperback. It's the final edition of a book I have been writing for years. You can order a copy at BuyHoax.com. But this is more than a promotional thread, I promise! This is the "story behind the story," as I like to say on TV

I started blogging about cable news in 2004. Which means I've been studying Fox News for a long, long time. When Trump became the "Fox president," I felt compelled to write it all down. We were going to call the book WINGMEN, until the pandemic hit, and @jcheiffetz coined HOAX.

The Trump age was really the "hoax" age. This was clear when the hardcover edition came out last August. But the story wasn't over yet. I asked to add a few more chapters. Then, after the election, a few more. After the riot, a new prologue. Eventually I added 20,000+ new words.

There was ONE sentence that I cut from the new edition, because it was no longer true. I'll show you. Before the election, I wrote, Trump "had alternative platforms, like One America News, that were eager to please him, but OANN was tiny & posed no immediate threat to Fox." Oops.

Election Week 2020 was like a volcanic eruption in the right-wing TV world. It altered the landscape in an instant. For the first time since launch day in 1996, Fox faced true competition from the right. Newsmax & OAN gained fans. All of that is part of the new narrative of HOAX.

There's a scene on page 367 when I broke the news to Newsmax boss Chris Ruddy that his channel had just out-rated Fox for the first time. Surprise – I had received the overnight ratings in my inbox before he did. But Fox clawed its way back, and that's part of the story too...

To win back the Trump base, Fox ran even further to the right. And here's the thing: It worked. It was toxic for the USA, but it was profitable for Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch. "We turned so far right we went crazy," in the words of one Fox commentator. cnn.com/2021/06/08/med…

It all comes back to the word HOAX. Trump and Fox tell the same story: That no one else, that nothing else can be trusted. Have you ever looked back at the way Trump was talking in October of last year? "Hoax," "ballot hoax," "rigged election." Here's page 10 of the new edition:

That's why HOAXthebook.com now opens with a scene from January 6. Showcasing "how both the GOP and its media organs had been radicalized by the Trump years." I think it might be the first book to really grapple with the post-riot landscape. amazon.com/Hoax-Donald-Tr…

Other new chapters of HOAX examine Fox's coverage of George Floyd, its airing of "riot porn," its handling of the 2020 campaign, and the minimizing of the pandemic. "We denied the pandemic," a dissident Fox commentator told me, "and now we're denying the election outcome."

For a taste of the new reporting, here's my #longread for CNN about how Fox management reacted to Trump's loss. Practically every change was about having less news on the air and more opinions-about-the-news. cnn.com/2021/06/08/med…

It was like serving dessert without dinner, when the dessert consisted of screaming about how awful the dinner was, and warning that the meal might be a socialist plot, and hey, while we're at it, why are chefs so corrupt?

In a new round of reporting for today's new release, Fox sources conveyed an utter lack of leadership. Why did the Big Lie spread for so long on Fox's airwaves? Because, in the words of an old Murdoch family friend, "Rupert has always been afraid to dictate to them." Page 369:

I really didn't intend to crack the whole hardcover book open and revise and add 12 all-new chapters. But the story kept changing. I'm indebted to @OneSignalPub, especially @jcheiffetz, for letting me work on this right up until the printing presses started to whirrrrr.

And I appreciate all of you putting up with my tweets about it 😊 If you'd like to order a paperback copy, check out Bookshop, Amazon, B&N, or your local shop. If you previously ordered the e-book, it will automatically update with the new chapters 👍 simonandschuster.com/books/Hoax/Bri…

The HOAX audiobook is all up to date, too, thanks to @SimonAudio. Here's where to order a copy 👂

Audible: adbl.co/2WB4FMQ
Apple Books: apple.co/31tCW3Q
Google Play: bit.ly/30tJ3Dp

One of the essential arguments in HOAX is that "Fox News enabled Donald Trump in ways that changed the country forever." For a sampling, @lithub has published chapter two from the book, titled "Fox News Brain:" bit.ly/34ZEumZ

Another essential argument in HOAX is that an insurrection couldn't have happened without 20+ years of Fox. We talked about that on @NewDay

There's lots more to share, but I have to save some for book buyers! Here's how to order the paperback:

Amazon amazon.com/Hoax-Donald-Tr…

B&N barnesandnoble.com/w/hoax-brian-s…

Bookshop bookshop.org/books/hoax-don…

And if HOAX isn't up your alley, check out these 3 new releases, all hitting stores today 👍

"The Plague Year" by @lawrence_wright bookshop.org/books/the-plag…

"Life on the Line" by @emmabgo amazon.com/Life-Line-Youn…

"Make A TikTok Every Day" by @davejorgenson penguinrandomhouse.com/books/673001/m…