'How to Talk to Your WhatsApp Uncle and...': Rukmini S' next on disinformation

NEW DELHI: Independent data journalist Rukmini S will come out with her new book next year which focuses on essential e-tools for survival and aims at helping readers take on the age of disinformation.

"How to Talk to Your WhatsApp Uncle and Other Essential Tools for Survival" will be published under Westland Books' Context imprint.

With stories of misinformation old and new from the world of science, sports and politics, the book uses 10 basic principles of statistics and contemporary stories from India to offer readers handy tools to protect themselves from being taken in.

Chennai-based Rukmini, who has authored "Whole Numbers and Half Truths: What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us About Modern India", says she has been "struck by the deep concern in India around misinformation and disinformation" and hopes her book "helps those grappling with figuring out what to believe".

According to Karthika V K, publisher at Westland Books, "Like Rukmini's first book, this too promises to break new ground and provide fresh and surprising insights into the dynamics of social and political interaction in India."

Anish Chandy of Labyrinth Agency says this will be a "bigger blockbuster than the first book".

The book's blurb says there is a lot of misinformation which is taking over our lives, especially our loved ones. But it can be hard to know where to start to bring common sense back into the group chat. What information can you trust actually and what is the truth? What numbers are credible, and how can you tell?