Democracy for Sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics - Paperback

by Peter Geoghegan (Author)The Sunday Times bestseller. Democracy is in crisis, and unaccountable and untraceable flows of money are helping to destroy it. "A compulsively readable, carefully researched account of how a malignant combination of rightwing ideology, secretive money (much of it from the US) and weaponisation of social media have shaped contemporary British (and to a limited extent, European) politics... Remarkable" - Observer, Book of the Week 'A brilliant description of the dark underbelly of modern democracy. Everyone should read it" - Anne Applebaum "This forensic and highly readable book shows how so many of our democratic processes have moved into the murky, unregulated spaces of globalisation and digital innovation" - Peter Pomerantsev This is the story of how money, vested interests and digital skulduggery are eroding trust in democracy. Antiquated electoral laws are broken with impunity, secretive lobbying is bending our politics out of shape and Silicon Valley tech giants collude in selling out democracy. Politicians lie gleefully, making wild claims that can be shared instantly with millions on social media. The story of how undisclosed donations have infiltrated British politics, undermining public faith in democracy and fuelling the rise of populism across the West. Author Biography PETER GEOGHEGAN is an Irish writer, broadcaster and investigations editor at the award-winning news website openDemocracy. He led Open Democracy's investigations into dark money in British politics that were nominated for a 2019 British Journalism award and the Paul Foot award. His journalism has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, the London Review of Books and many other publications. His last book, The People's Referendum: Why Scotland Will Never Be the Same Again, was nominated for the Saltire First Book Award.