Cover of The net delusion

The net delusion

by Evgeny Morozov, E. Morozov, Eduardo G. Murillo · first published 2011

21mentions
6recommended by
14HN commenters
2011–2021first – last mentioned

43% recommend57% neutral

Why HN recommends it

Argues the internet does not automatically democratize societies, showing how authoritarian governments use it for censorship, surveillance and spin. For anyone thinking critically about tech and politics.

Summarised by Claude from recommending comments

In this spirited book, journalist and social commentator Evgeny Morozov shows that by falling for the supposedly democratizing nature of the Internet, Western do-gooders may have missed how it also entrenches dictators, threatens dissidents, and makes it harder—not easier—to promote democracy. / from the : <a href="http://www.netdelusion.com/">official website </a>

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Mentions per year

80 2007: 0 mentions2008: 0 mentions2009: 0 mentions2010: 0 mentions2011: 8 mentions2012: 2 mentions2013: 1 mention2014: 1 mention2015: 0 mentions2016: 1 mention2017: 3 mentions2018: 0 mentions2019: 1 mention2020: 0 mentions2021: 1 mention2022: 0 mentions2023: 0 mentions2024: 0 mentions2025: 0 mentions2026: 0 mentions200720172026

What Hacker News says

  • johnchristopher · Apr 20, 2019 · Recommends

    > And we should all pretend that the internet resolves conflicts at any level? A lot of people believe so and unfortunately some policy-makers as well. I thought the book https://www.amazon.com/Net-Delusion-Dark-Internet-Freedom/dp... made a good argument against cyber-utopianism.

    on “Selective Empathy Can Chip Away at Civil Society” ↗
  • Chris_Dollar · Jun 8, 2011 · Recommends

    …fascinating. The comic version of the argument is extremely good. Thanks for posting that as well, it was well worth the look. Author, Evgeny Morozov poses a similar argument to Postman in the book, "Net Delusion" that came out this year. It gives an interesting analysis of the Internet in the 21st century and attempts to debunk a lot of cyber-utopian myths. We are currently trying to get in touch with Morozov…

    on “Internet cut off across Syria amid widespread protests” ↗
  • Chris_Dollar · Jun 15, 2011 · Recommends

    …interviewees. His explanation of the "Separations Principle" is essential reading for any one that wants to protect the integrity of the Internet as we know it. Have you read Evgeny Morozov's book, "The Net Delusion"...? Interesting book -- He looks at the future of the Internet and of democratic government from an interesting perspective. His central premise is that totalitarian governments in the 21st century…

    on “New documentary exposes media consolidation and government collusion” ↗
  • mashmac2 · Aug 3, 2011 · Recommends

    On the topic of government 'spin' in social media, I highly recommend the book The Net Delusion by Evgeny Morozov. He goes into detail on how different government organizations censor or spin different types of media, and how the viewpoint that 'everything should be completely open' is rather naive.

    on “DoD: $42,000,000 to influence Social Media” ↗
  • mashmac2 · Aug 4, 2012 · Recommends

    Morozov (the post's author) has also written a book called The Net Delusion that provides a good background on the less-friendly parts of the Internet. I recommend it for those just entering the IT/Internet-based business world.

    on “The Naked and the TED” ↗
  • zalew · Sep 18, 2012 · Recommends

    …we saw playing a big role in the Arab Spring? they host the anti-islam movie. but in all seriousness, westerners overvalue the peaceful and democratic role of the internet. I recommend reading 'The Net Delusion' by Evgeny Morozov (http://fave.co/SwFks5).

  • zalew · Jan 21, 2013 · Recommends

    this book could possibly change a bit your utopian view of liberating through radio waves and so. especially the historic examples about communism times in europe. http://www.amazon.com/Net-Delusion-Dark-Internet-Freedom/dp/... http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/09/net-delusion-mor... https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/books/review/Siegel-t.htm...

    on “How one man escaped from a North Korean prison camp” ↗
  • zalew · Apr 9, 2013 · Recommends

    …posts around here I guess he's not very liked in the tech bubble circles, but in case anyone is interested in reading a tiny bit more about this topic, I recommend Morozov's book http://www.amazon.com/The-Net-Delusion-Internet-Freedom/dp/1...

    on “IT for Oppression” ↗
  • johnchristopher · Jun 24, 2016 · Recommends

    The internet is a tool, not a political method. I think you'll find this book interesting: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jan/09/net-delusion-m... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/books/review/Siegel-t.html... https://www.amazon.com/Net-Delusion-Dark-Internet-Freedom/dp... > But the internet allows people on the so called fringe to see that…

    on “UK votes to leave EU” ↗
  • Caveman_Coder · Oct 15, 2017 · Recommends

    …are going to get hurt. To all those who think smart-cities will liberate humanity from repressive regimes, please think again. For a deeper perspective on this point, I'd highly recommend reading "The Net Delusion" by Evgeny Morozov [1]. He focuses on the moral/ethical/political/sociological aspects of modern technological change and systems that other optimistic authors intentionally fail to cover. > Smart cities…

    on “SmartCities’s Cyber Security Role and Ethical Challenges” ↗
  • CaptainZapp · Sep 16, 2014 · Recommends

    …checks and balances exists to rein abuse in. While this may get me down-voted into oblivion, since the author may be easily one of the most hated people in the tech world, I recommend Evgeny Morozovs "The Net Delusion" which is a quite insightful take on the abuse of tech by oppressive regimes.

    on “Copies of malware used by intelligence agencies to spy on journalists” ↗
  • Chris_Dollar · Jun 15, 2011 · Mentions

    …&#60;http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main&#62; Lessig, Lawrence. Remix McChesney, Robert and John Nichols. The Death and Life of American Journalism. Morozov, Evgeny. The Net Delusion Wu, Tim. The Master Switch

    on “New documentary #killswitch exposes media consolidation and government collusion” ↗
  • …it just an amplifier ? The potential is here but does it really solidify into existence for the vast majority or is just for the vocal groups (NGO, journalists, lobbyists, etc.) ? I have in mind the net delusion [0] and the submarine model [1]. [0] https://www.amazon.com/Net-Delusion-Dark-Internet-Freedom/dp... [1] http://paulgraham.com/submarine.html

    on “The internet does to the world what radio did to the world” ↗
  • benkant · Feb 3, 2011 · Mentions

    I just finished The Net Delusion by Evgeny Morozov which is a similarly sobering take on the effects of social media and technology in general on authoritarian governments. I can't summarise it anywhere as well as this link can: http://www.amazon.com/Net-Delusion-Dark-Internet-Freedom/dp/...…

    on “Malcom Gladwell: Does Egypt Need Twitter?” ↗
  • alexqgb · Sep 3, 2011 · Mentions

    …is often an acute awareness that never letting it happen again means banning a lot of stuff that young innocents casually dismiss "as just being how the internet works". Evgeny Morozov (author of "The Net Delusion" http://amzn.to/nOOxzQ) observes that casual openness is exactly how the web can be used to work against you. He makes the point that while folks safely ensconced in California should be grateful for…

    on “Facebook doesn't like privacy countermeasures” ↗

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