1st Edition

Populism, Propaganda, and Political Extremism Building the Rage Machine

By Adam G. Klein Copyright 2026
214 Pages 8 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

214 Pages 8 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

214 Pages 8 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

At its core, this book is about political anger: how it is cultivated, where it is taking us, and how to address it. Populism, Propaganda, and Political Extremism: Building the Rage Machine explores the manufacturing of populist narratives and deployment of propaganda that together produce a state of outrage and disunity in American politics. Through chronicling these subversive communications,... Read more

1. State of Rage  2. One Part Populism  3. Two Parts Propaganda  4. The Machine at Work  5. Tribalism and Perspectives of the Other Side  6. Dismantling the Rage Machine  7. A Final Word on Disagreement

Biography

Adam G. Klein is Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Pace University in New York City. With 15 years of experience studying extremism, he is the author of two books on the subject: Fanaticism, Racism, and Rage Online (2017) and A Space for Hate (2010). His work on radical voices in media and politics has been published in leading journals, including Communication Theory, Communication Monographs, and the International Journal of Communication. He has been a guest speaker on NPR, WNYC, and a frequent contributor to the news website The Conversation. His articles have appeared in The New Republic, Business Insider, Salon, and Yahoo News.