“But as I walked down the streets of London, I started to realize that mine was a pyrrhic victory. We talked for five minutes and said “Biden” dozens of times. We said “Trump” never. I realized that, in setting a gotcha trap for Walker, I’d accidentally ensnared myself in one that was far worse: the disinformation trap. The entire debate took place on the turf of lies rather than the turf of truth.”

Lesson 1: Simple narratives can seduce the storytelling animal Lesson 2: Lies are “sticky” Lesson 3: The Backfire Effect is a risk — but maybe not as much as we thought Lesson 4: We take information at face value — and that’s now dangerous