Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator

You've seen it all before. A malicious online rumor costs a company millions. A political sideshow derails the national news cycle and destroys a candidate. Some product or celebrity zooms from total obscurity to viral sensation. What you don't know is that someone is responsible for all this. Usually, a media manipulator like Ryan Holiday.

In a world where blogs control and distort the news, his job is to control blogs — as much as any one person can. In today's culture...

• Blogs like Gawker, Buzzfeed and The Huffington Post drive the media agenda.
• Bloggers are slaves to money, technology, and deadlines.
• Manipulators wield these levers to shape everything you read, see and watch — online and off.

Why did Holiday give away his secrets? Because he's tired of a world where blogs take indirect bribes, marketers help write the news, reckless journalists spread lies, and no one is accountable for any of it. Holiday explains exactly how the media really works. What you choose to do with the information is up to you.

"Ryan Holiday is part Machiavelli, part Ogilvy, and all results…this whiz kid is the secret weapon you've never heard of."

—Tim Ferriss, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The 4-Hour Workweek “A playbook for the dark arts of exploiting the media”

—Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power "This book will make online media giants very, very uncomfortable. "

— Drew Curtis, founder, Fark.com “Ryan Holiday's brilliant exposé of the unreality of the Internet should be required reading for every thinker in America.”

— Edward Jay Epstein, author of The Big Picture”

 “The strategies Ryan created to exploit blogs drove sales of millions of my books and made me an internationally known name.” —Tucker Max, #1 New York Times bestselling author of I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell

“Ryan has a truly unique perspective on the seedy underbelly of digital culture.”

—Matt Mason, Director of Marketing, BitTorrent

“Behind my reputation as marketing genius there is Ryan Holiday, whom I consult often and has done more for my business than just about anyone.”

—Dov Charney, CEO and founder, American Apparel

"...an astonishing, disturbing book"—Financial Times

“In the world of the internet celebrity, Ryan Holiday is the smart and handsome type, like the Arthur Miller to the girl who uploads YouTube videos of herself naked and eating ice cream.”

—Ladygunn Magazine

"This is a dark book with an important warning to clients and PR people alike."—Richard Edelman "[Like] Upton Sinclair on the blogosphere."—Tyler Cowen, MarginalRevolution.com

“Holiday is part Machiavelli, part Ogilvy, and all results…this whiz kid is the secret weapon you’ve never heard of.”—Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek “Essential reading.”—Andrew Keen “Ryan Holiday's brilliant exposé of the unreality of the Internet should be required reading for every thinker in America.”— Edward Jay Epstein, author of The Big Picture

“The strategies Ryan created to exploit blogs drove sales of millions of my books and made me an internationally known name.”—Tucker Max

“Behind my reputation as marketing genius there is Ryan Holiday, whom I consult often and has done more for my business than just about anyone.”—Dov Charney, CEO and founder, American Apparel

“Holiday has written more than a dyspeptic diatribe, as his precise prose and reference to the scholarship of others add weight to his claims. A sharp and disturbing look into the world of online reality.”—Kirkus Reviews

“His focus is prescient and his schemes compelling. Media students and bloggers would do well to heed Holiday’s informative, timely, and provocative advice.”—Publishers Weekly

“While the observation that the Internet favors speed over accuracy is hardly new, Holiday lays out how easily it is to twist it toward any end… Trust Me, I’m Lying provides valuable food for thought regarding how we receive — and perceive — information.”—New York Post

“This is an astonishing book. Holiday has worked for several years as a self-proclaimed media manipulator, running campaigns for companies such as American Apparel. He is now intent on revealing the tricks that his kind use to influence us. Many of these stories are chilling.”—Gillian Tett, Financial Times

andldquo;Holiday is part Machiavelli, part Ogilvy, and all resultsandhellip;this whiz kid is the secret weapon youandrsquo;ve never heard of.andrdquo;andmdash;Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweekandnbsp;andldquo;Essential reading.andrdquo;andmdash;Andrew Keenandnbsp;andldquo;Ryan Holiday's brilliant exposandeacute; of the unreality of the Internet should be required reading for every thinker in America.andrdquo;andmdash; Edward Jay Epstein, author of The Big Picture

andldquo;The strategies Ryan created to exploit blogs drove sales of millions of my books and made me an internationally known name.andrdquo;andmdash;Tucker Max

andldquo;Behind my reputation as marketing genius there is Ryan Holiday, whom I consult often and has done more for my business than just about anyone.andrdquo;andmdash;Dov Charney, CEO and founder, American Apparel

andldquo;Holiday has written more than a dyspeptic diatribe, as his precise prose and reference to the scholarship of others add weight to his claims. A sharp and disturbing look into the world of online reality.andrdquo;andmdash;Kirkus Reviews

andldquo;His focus is prescient and his schemes compelling. Media students and bloggers would do well to heed Holidayandrsquo;s informative, timely, and provocative advice.andrdquo;andmdash;Publishers Weekly

andldquo;While the observation that the Internet favors speed over accuracy is hardly new, Holiday lays out how easily it is to twist it toward any endandhellip; Trust Me, Iandrsquo;m Lying provides valuable food for thought regarding how we receive andmdash; and perceive andmdash; information.andrdquo;andmdash;New York Post

andldquo;This is an astonishing book. Holiday has worked for several years as a self-proclaimed media manipulator, running campaigns for companies such as American Apparel. He is now intent on revealing the tricks that his kind use to influence us. Many of these stories are chilling.andrdquo;andmdash;Gillian Tett, Financial Times

The cult classic that predicted the rise of fake news--revised and updated for the post-Trump, post-Gawker age.

Hailed as astonishing and disturbing by the Financial Times and essential reading by TechCrunch at its original publication, former American Apparel marketing director Ryan Holiday's first book sounded a prescient alarm about the dangers of fake news. It's all the more relevant today.

Trust Me, I'm Lying was the first book to blow the lid off the speed and force at which rumors travel online--and get traded up the media ecosystem until they become real headlines and generate real responses in the real world. The culprit? Marketers and professional media manipulators, encouraged by the toxic economics of the news business.

Whenever you see a malicious online rumor costs a company millions, politically motivated fake news driving elections, a product or celebrity zooming from total obscurity to viral sensation, or anonymously sourced articles becoming national conversation, someone is behind it. Often someone like Ryan Holiday.

As he explains, "I wrote this book to explain how media manipulators work, how to spot their fingerprints, how to fight them, and how (if you must) to emulate their tactics. Why am I giving away these secrets? Because I'm tired of a world where trolls hijack debates, marketers help write the news, opinion masquerades as fact, algorithms drive everything to extremes, and no one is accountable for any of it. I'm pulling back the curtain because it's time the public understands how things really work. What you choose to do with this information is up to you."

RYAN HOLIDAY is a media strategist for notorious clients such as Tucker Max and Dov Charney. After dropping out of college at 19 to apprentice under Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power, he went on to advise many bestselling authors and multiplatinum musicians. He is currently the director of marketing at American Apparel. He lives in New Orleans. Visit www.ryanholiday.net