Disinformation (company)
The Disinformation Company (abbreviated as Disinfo) was a privately held, limited American publishing company until 2012 when it was sold to Red Wheel/Weiser/Conari[1]. It also owned Disnformation Books, which focused on current affairs titles and books exposing alleged conspiracy theories, occultism, politics, news oddities, and purported disinformation. It is headquartered in New York City, New York. Arguably, its most visible publications to date are 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know and the Everything You Know About [subject] Is Wrong series, both by the company's editor-at-large Russ Kick.[2]
Private limited | |
Founded | September 13, 1996 |
Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Gary Baddeley, President / CEO Matt Staggs, Web content editor, podcast host |
Products | Multimedia Publishing and Distribution |
Website | disinfo |
History
In 1996, Tele-Communications Inc. (now Comcast) funded a Hollywood-based Internet initiative responsible for online projects like the Getty Museum and an Internet-based political humor soap opera entitled Candidate 96. The initiative launched its own interactive website, featuring the tag line; "everything you know is wrong". Soon after the site's launch, TCI cancelled funding and support for the site.[3]
The founding team kept it going, being nominated for an award for politics in the first Webby Awards ceremony. The Disinformation Company, as it was now known, was then acquired by Razorfish.[3] Eventually, the Disinformation Company became privately held.
In addition to publishing books, the company also had a home video division as well as multimedia and Internet projects.
In 2000, Disinfo organized DisinfoCon, a 12-hour event featuring Richard Metzger, rock musician Marilyn Manson, underground filmmaker Kenneth Anger, painter Joe Coleman, Douglas Rushkoff, Mark Pesce, Grant Morrison, Robert Anton Wilson, Todd Brendan Fahey and others.
In 2002, the company produced a four-episode documentary series called Disinformation (also alternatively titled as Disinfo Nation).
In 2008, the Disinformation Company itself was accused of spreading propaganda (such as 9/11 "Truth" material) by Louis Proyect.[4]
As of June 17, 2020, the Disinfo.com website was inactive. While the Disinformation Company Ltd. was still listed as the owner, all content was deleted and the domain was for sale.[5]
Documentary films
- Disinformation: The Complete Series (2004)
- Rest in Pieces: A Portrait of Joe Coleman (2004)
- Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (2004)
- Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War (2004)
- Unconstitutional: The War On Our Civil Liberties (2004)
- Uncle Goddamn (2004)
- Desperately Seeking Seka (2004)
- Bush Family Fortunes: The Best Democracy Money Can Buy (2004)
- Da Vinci Code Decoded (2004)
- Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005)
- How Arnold Won the West (2005)
- This Divided State (2005)
- Gay Republicans (2005)
- American Jobs (2005)
- Origins of the Da Vinci Code (2005)
- Exploring the Da Vinci Code: Henry Lincoln's Guide to Rennes-le-Chateau (2005)
- Aftermath: Unanswered Questions from 9/11 (2005)
- Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers (2006)
- Big Easy to Big Empty (2006)
- Robert Anton Wilson: Maybe Logic (2006)
- The Cult of the Suicide Bomber (2006)
- The Big Buy: Tom DeLay's Stolen Congress (2006)
- Stupidity (2006)
- The ACLU Freedom Files (2006)
- 9/11: Press for Truth (2006)
- 9/11 Mysteries (2006)
- American Blackout (2006)
- Terrorstorm: A History of Government Sponsored Terrorism (2006)
- McLuhan's Wake (2007)
- Disinfo.con (2007)
- The War on The War on Drugs (2007)
- Escape to Canada (2007)
- In Debt We Trust (2007)
- Endgame: Blueprint for Global Enslavement (2007)
- Let's All Hate Toronto: A Comic Adventure into Canada's Love/Hate Relationship with Itself (2007)
- Never Get Busted Again 1: Traffic Stops (2007)
- The Cult of the Suicide Bomber 2 (2008)
- War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death (2008)
- The Real McCain: Less Jobs. More Wars. (2008)
- Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections (2008)
- The Mindscape of Alan Moore (2008)
- Slacker Uprising (2008)
- 2012: Science or Superstition (2009)
- Killer at Large (2009)
- New World Order (2009)
- RiP!: A Remix Manifesto (2009)
- Cargo 200 (2009)
- Standing with Stones: A Journey Through Megalithic Britain (2009)
- In Search of the Great Beast 666: Aleister Crowley (2009)
- Rethink Afghanistan (2009)
- MoveOn: The Movie (2009)
- Plunder: The Crime of Our Time (2010)
- World Cup Soccer in Africa: Who Really Wins? (2010)
- Mobilize: A Film About Cell Phone Radiation (2014)
Books
- Everything You Know Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Secrets and Lies by Russ Kick (2002)
- Disinformation: The Interviews. by Richard Metzger (2002)
- Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult by Richard Metzger (2003)
- Turn Off Your Mind: The Mystic Sixties and the Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius by Gary Lachman (2003)
- Why Do People Hate America? by Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies (2003)
- Abuse Your Illusions: The Disinformation Guide To Media Mirages And Establishment Lies by Russ Kick (2003)
- 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know by Russ Kick (2003)
- Anarchy For The Masses: The Disinformation Guide to The Invisibles by Patrick Neighly and Kereth Cowe-Spigai (2003)
- Lines in the Sand: New Writing on War and Peace by Mary Hoffman (2003)
- 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know, Vol. 2 by Russ Kick (2004)
- Pop! Goes The Witch: The Disinformation Guide to 21st Century Witchcraft by Fiona Horne (2004)
- Under The Influence: The Disinformation Guide to Drugs by Preston Peet (2004)
- The Disinformation Book of Lists by Russ Kick (2004)
- Club Zero-G by Douglas Rushkoff and Steph Dumais (2004)
- The Little Food Book by Craig Sams (2004)
- The Little Earth Book by James Bruges (2004)
- The Yes Men: The True Story of the End of the World Trade Organization by The Yes Men (2004)
- American Terminator: Myths, Movies, and Global Power by Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies (2004)
- Da Vinci Code Decoded: The Truth Behind the New York Times #1 Bestseller by Martin Lunn (2004)
- Everything You Know About Sex Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to the Extremes of Human Sexuality (and everything in between) by Russ Kick (2005)
- Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price by Greg Spotts and Robert Greenwald (2005)
- CAFTA and Free Trade: What Every American Should Know by Greg Spotts (2005)
- Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War On Journalism by Robert Greenwald and Alexandra Kitty (2005)
- Generation Hex an anthology edited by Jason Louv (2005)
- Nothing Is True - Everything Is Permitted: The Life of Brion Gysin by John Geiger (2005)
- Progressive Hollywood by Ed Rampell (2005)
- Underground!: The Disinformation Guide to Ancient Civilizations, Astonishing Archaeology and Hidden History by Preston Peet (2005)
- 50 American Revolutions You're Not Supposed to Know by Mickey Z (2005)
- We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind by Martin Howard and Douglas Rushkoff (2005)
- Don't Believe It!: How Lies Become News by Alexandra Kitty (2005)
- Beyond the Bleep: The Definitive Unauthorized Guide to What the Bleep Do We Know!? by Alexandra Bruce (2005)
- The Vigil: 26 Days In Crawford, Texas by W. Leon Smith (2005)
- The Passover Plot: Special 40th Anniversary Edition by Hugh J. Schonfield (2005)
- The Real Rule of Four: The Unauthorized Guide to The New York Times #1 Bestseller by Joscelyn Godwin (2005)
- Identity Theft, Inc.: A Wild Ride with the World's #1 Identity Thief by Glenn Hastings and Richard Marcus (2006)
- The Terror Conspiracy: Deception, 9/11 and the Loss of Liberty by Jim Marrs (2006)
- The Enigma of the Freemasons: Their History and Mystical Connections by Tim Wallace-Murphy (2006)
- No Holiday: 80 Places You Don't Want To Visit by Martin Cohen (philosopher) (2006)
- Green Day: American Idiots & The New Punk Explosion by Ben Myers (2006)
- Number Freaking: How To Change The World With Delightfully Surreal Statistics by Gary Rimmer (2006)
- The Little Money Book by David Boyle (2006)
- Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know by John Farndon (2006)
- And Now For Something Completely Digital: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Monty Python CDs and DVDs by Alan Parker and Mick O'Shea (2006)
- Scamorama: Turning the Tables on Email Scammers by Eve Edelson (2006)
- 50 Facts That Should Change The World 2.0 by Jessica Williams (2007)
- Circle of Six by Randy Jurgensen and Robert Cea (2007)
- Who Really Runs The World?: The War Between Globalization and Democracy by Thom Burnett and Alex Games (2007)
- Who's Watching You?: The Chilling Truth about the State, Surveillance, and Personal Freedom by Mick Farren and John Gibb (2007)
- Wolves in Sheep's Clothing: The New Liberal Menace in America by Stephen Marshall (2007)
- System Of A Down: Right Here In Hollywood by Ben Myers (2007)
- Glitter & Greed: The Secret World of the Diamond Cartel by Janine Roberts (2007)
- Infernal Device: Machinery of Torture and Execution by Erik Ruhling (2007)
- Iran: Everything You Need to Know by John Farndon (2007)
- The Enigma of The Knights Templar: Their History and Mystical Connections by Marilyn Hopkins (2007)
- Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind by Graham Hancock (2007)
- Far Out: 101 Strange Tales from Science's Outer Edge by Mark Pilkington (2007)
- Everything You Know About God is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Religion by Russ Kick (2007)
- Beyond The Secret: The Definitive Unauthorized Guide to The Secret by Alexandra Bruce (2007)
- The Hamptons Dictionary: The Essential Guide to Class Warfare by Miles Jaffe (2008)
- 100 Things You're Not Supposed to Know by Russ Kick (2008)
- Dumbocracy: Adventures with the Loony Left, the Rabid Right, and Other American Idiots by Marty Beckerman (2008)
- 50 Facts That Should Change The USA by Stephen Fender (2008)
- The Egypt Code by Robert Bauval (2008)
- Above Top Secret by Jim Marrs (2008)
- You Are STILL Being Lied To: The New Disinformation Guide to Media Distortion, Historical Whitewashes and Cultural Myths by Russ Kick (2009)
- Sticker Nation 2: The Big Book of Subversive Stickers, Volume 2 by Srini Kumar (2009)
- Why Do You Kill: The Untold Story of the Iraq Resistance by Jürgen Todenhöfer (2009)
- 2012: Science or Superstition by Alexandra Bruce (2009)
- The Sisterhood of the Rose by Jim Marrs (2009)
- Hidden Wisdom: Secrets of the Western Esoteric Tradition by Tim Wallace-Murphy (2010)
- The Georgia Guidestones: America's Most Mysterious Monument by Raymond Wiley (2011)
- 50 Things You're Not Supposed To Know: Religion by Daniele Bolelli (2011)
References
- "Red Wheel Weiser Buys Disinformation Books". Publishers Weekly. June 5, 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- McNichol, Tom (November 13, 2003). "Peeking Behind the Curtain of Secrecy". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2008.
- Burden, Paul R (2010). A Subject Guide to Quality Web Sites. Reprint. Scarecrow Press. p. 473. ISBN 978-0810876941.
Disinfo company.
- "The Real McCain". August 17, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
- https://www.disinfo.com/
External links
- Articles
- Peeking Behind the Curtain of Secrecy by The New York Times
- Truth is Stranger Than Science Fiction by New York Press
- DVD REVIEW: Film dissects government's lies en route to war in Iraq. by The America's Intelligence Wire
- The big lie lie: why a warning about "Disinformation" is itself a form of Disinformation by Skeptic
- Throw your cake by Red Herring