Library workers are well aware of the effects of book bans and censorship. Propaganda and disinformation are the flipside of the same coin. Understanding the complex relationships among these interrelated processes is more critical than ever, especially as libraries explore possible solutions and responses. The following books show how disinformation can lead to censorship and how censorship can, in turn, allow disinformation to thrive.
Book Bans, Disinformation, and Cultural Erasure: The Censorship Movement in Libraries, Schools, and Society
By Paul T. Jaeger
Jaeger situates the current book-banning movement within a larger social and political effort to erase marginalized communities and culture. He provides clear definitions and examples of these processes and goals, including the roles played by technological progress and economic inequity. With accessible references (like the Beatles, Dungeons & Dragons, and Holmes and Watson) and nuanced examinations of McCarthyism, the history of libraries, and the myth of neutrality, this is a recommended read for anyone interested in a more expansive understanding of current First Amendment challenges. Bloomsbury Libraries Unlimited, 2026. 320 p. $31.50. 979-8-216-39714-4. (Also available as an ebook.)
Banning Books in America: Not a How-To Edited
By Samuel Cohen
Bringing together authors, educators, librarians, and researchers, this anthology of essays examines why books are banned and how book bans affect everyone. It also shows the role privilege plays in censorship: For an established author, a book challenge may bring buzz or attention, but for new authors, a book ban can cause their work to languish in obscurity, often alongside the underrepresented topics and subjects they are writing about. Each essay adds a different nuance or layer to our understanding of book bans—and inspiration to fight back. Bloomsbury Academic, 2026. 192 p. $21.60. 979-8-765-13807-6. (Also available as an ebook.)
Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind
By Annalee Newitz
Newitz’s book provides an engaging overview of how stories can be weaponized. Psychological warfare has not only been used against foreign adversaries, but it has also been used against cultural movements in the US, they explain. The book begins with Edward Bernays, the propagandist known as the “father of public relations,” and moves on to discuss eugenics, Wonder Woman, anti-LGBTQ+ groups, and more. Newitz concludes with strategies for disarming domestic psyops, including the role libraries play in safeguarding information. Beyond cataloging notable case studies, Stories Are Weapons prompts readers to think critically about the tales we are told. W. W. Norton & Company, 2024. 272 p. $18.99. PBK. 978-1-324-11046-0. (Also available as an ebook.)
Routledge Handbook of the Influence Industry
Edited by Emma L. Briant and Vian Bakir
This handbook for political scientists, though not primarily about book bans or censorship, provides important context on the digital landscape that supports the spread of disinformation. Briant and Bakir explore the influence industry, a contemporary network of private companies that, through data collection and analysis, can create targeted propaganda. The text offers case studies on Cambridge Analytica and the events leading up to the Arab Spring, while speculating on potential future harms. When read alongside other books on this list, this comprehensive anthology illuminates connections between censorship, disinformation, and the rise of data capitalism. Routledge, 2025. 434 p. $56.79. PBK. 978-1-032-18900-0. (Also available as an ebook.)
