Stopping Hate

We live in combustible times: a single word, a scientific fact or a climate-related tragedy can become fuel for disinformation, conspiracy theories and hatred. Fernando Valladares knows this firsthand: after publicly explaining the link between extreme weather events and climate change, he became the target of threats, insults and harassment campaigns.

That experience is the starting point for a clear-sighted and courageous essay that goes far beyond personal testimony to explore why we hate, who benefits from that hatred and how we can defuse it before it destroys us.

Drawing on science, personal experience, social analysis and an ethical perspective, Stopping Hate explores the mechanisms of polarization, denialism, manufactured ignorance, social media, aggrieved masculinity, conspiracy theories, fanaticism and violence. Above all, it offers a way forward: collective intelligence and radical optimism.

An essential book for understanding one of the greatest challenges of our time: building a shared future in the face of fear and violence.