One way to understand our present problems with disinformation is to look to the past for patterns. States have long used information as part of warfare, particularly during the first half of the twentieth century. This talk is not just a story about Germany alone. It reveals how news became a form of international power and how communications can change the course of history.

Heidi Tworek is an assistant professor of international history at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. In addition, Tworek is a visiting fellow at the Center for History and Economics at Harvard University, as well as a non-resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Her latest book is News from Germany: The Competition to Control World Communications, 1900–1945 (2019).