How to Sell a Genocide
The Media's Complicity in the Destruction of Gaza
Published on 21. April 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-0-7453-5165-0 (ISBN)
Description
'Compelling .. a very interesting, challenging read' - Alastair Campbell, co-host of The Rest Is Politics
'Brilliant ... this is such a crucial book, and it's a book that had to be written. Everyone go and get it' - Owen Jones
'I cannot recommend it enough. A stunning work of data analysis proving the genocide incitement perpetrated by legacy liberal media' - Matthew Remski, co-author of Conspirituality
As bombs rained down on Gaza in October 2023, images of mass death and destruction gripped the world, and openly genocidal statements from Israeli leaders foretold the magnitude of horrors to come. But the US media was quick to downplay, obscure, and repackage an emerging campaign of extermination into a slick "war on terror" framework.
How to Sell a Genocide is a thorough indictment of US corporate media's role in enabling-and, at times, directly inciting-one of the most devastating campaigns of mass killing in modern memory. Johnson unpacks how major news outlets like The New York Times, CNN, and MSNBC systematically sanitized Israel's war crimes, hid the US's central role, and dehumanized the Palestinian people.
Drawing from deep, original data-driven analysis, Johnson dissects the mechanics of propaganda, from the selective empathy, strategic omissions, overt racism and repetition of state-sanctioned falsehoods, to the demonization of humanitarian workers and dishonest coverage of campus protests. With clarity and moral force, Johnson argues that the genocide could not have been sustained without the active, sustained complicity of the US media.
All royalties from the book will be donated to the Middle East Children's Alliance.
'Brilliant ... this is such a crucial book, and it's a book that had to be written. Everyone go and get it' - Owen Jones
'I cannot recommend it enough. A stunning work of data analysis proving the genocide incitement perpetrated by legacy liberal media' - Matthew Remski, co-author of Conspirituality
As bombs rained down on Gaza in October 2023, images of mass death and destruction gripped the world, and openly genocidal statements from Israeli leaders foretold the magnitude of horrors to come. But the US media was quick to downplay, obscure, and repackage an emerging campaign of extermination into a slick "war on terror" framework.
How to Sell a Genocide is a thorough indictment of US corporate media's role in enabling-and, at times, directly inciting-one of the most devastating campaigns of mass killing in modern memory. Johnson unpacks how major news outlets like The New York Times, CNN, and MSNBC systematically sanitized Israel's war crimes, hid the US's central role, and dehumanized the Palestinian people.
Drawing from deep, original data-driven analysis, Johnson dissects the mechanics of propaganda, from the selective empathy, strategic omissions, overt racism and repetition of state-sanctioned falsehoods, to the demonization of humanitarian workers and dishonest coverage of campus protests. With clarity and moral force, Johnson argues that the genocide could not have been sustained without the active, sustained complicity of the US media.
All royalties from the book will be donated to the Middle East Children's Alliance.
Reviews / Votes
'Really, really moving. What Adam Johnson is doing there is he's forensically documenting the way in which people reported the Gaza War. Everything from the adjectives they use, the way they described the two combatants, the amount of attention they paid to casualties on the Israeli side compared to the Palestinian side' -- Rory Stewart, author of <i>Politics on the Edge</i> and co-host of <i>The Rest is Politics</i> 'Compelling .. a very interesting, challenging read' -- Alastair Campbell, co-host of <i>The Rest Is Politics</i> 'So intelligent. Johnson's commentary is so good' -- Briahna Joy Gray, host of the <i>Bad Faith</i> podcast 'One of the more important books about politics you're going to read this year' -- Perry Bacon, <i>New Republic</i> 'Brilliant ... this is such a crucial book, and it's a book that had to be written. Everyone go and get it' -- Owen Jones 'A great read. It has a ton of empirical analysis data as well as just stories of what was going on in some of these newsrooms that you probably haven't read or encountered elsewhere. It's a really useful tool for folks who are still trying to change the minds of folks around them, to help them really understand how freaking propagandized they are if this is the kind of media they are consuming' -- Jared Ware, co-host of <i>Millennials Are Killing Capitalism</i> 'This is a really vital volume for seeing through media reporting from October 2023 to the present day' -- Nathan Robinson, <i>Current Affairs</i> 'I cannot recommend it enough. A stunning work of data analysis proving the genocide incitement perpetrated by legacy liberal media' -- Matthew Remski, co-author of <i>Conspirituality</i> 'A painstakingly detailed indictment of the Fourth Estate, showing how cable shows, newspapers, and online news sites helped build support for the mass killing of Palestinians' -- <i>Mondoweiss</i> 'Powerful .. an empirically rich critique of the full horror of the performance of American journalism on Gaza.' -- <i>Counterfire</i> 'How to Sell a Genocide vividly and meticulously demonstrates the power of narrative and the powers involved in shaping them... Through painstaking documentation over a 12-month period, Johnson shows how anti-Palestinian racism among elite liberals and liberal institutions constituted "Moats of Rationalization" that primed Western audiences for genocide.' -- Noura Erakat, Human rights attorney and author of <i>Justice For Some</i> 'Read this book' -- As'ad AbuKhalil, professor of political science at California State UniversityMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 212 mm
Width: 137 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
276 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7453-5165-0 (9780745351650)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2026
1st Edition
Pluto Press
€17.49
Available for download
Persons
Adam Johnson is a media analyst and co-host of the podcast Citations Needed. His writing has been featured in The Nation, In These Times, The Intercept, Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle.
Content
Introduction
1. '40 beheaded babies', the ISIS-ificiation of Hamas, and how to prime the American public for revenge
2. Who is allowed to be human?
3. How U.S. media helped the Biden administration distance itself from the Horrors of Gaza
4. Covering war crimes like earthquakes
5. How the New York Times helped Israel militarize civilians and humanitarian workers in Gaza
6. Sunday Morning news shows, editorial boards, Morning Joe, and how 'Agenda Setting' news limited the debate to 'how many Palestinian should die'
7. Selective empathy and liberalism's crisis of legitimacy
8. 'Anti-semitism' show trials and the smearing of campus protests
9. The Atlantic, 'Day After' wish-cashing, and soft-pedalling mass killing for the tote bag set
Conclusion
1. '40 beheaded babies', the ISIS-ificiation of Hamas, and how to prime the American public for revenge
2. Who is allowed to be human?
3. How U.S. media helped the Biden administration distance itself from the Horrors of Gaza
4. Covering war crimes like earthquakes
5. How the New York Times helped Israel militarize civilians and humanitarian workers in Gaza
6. Sunday Morning news shows, editorial boards, Morning Joe, and how 'Agenda Setting' news limited the debate to 'how many Palestinian should die'
7. Selective empathy and liberalism's crisis of legitimacy
8. 'Anti-semitism' show trials and the smearing of campus protests
9. The Atlantic, 'Day After' wish-cashing, and soft-pedalling mass killing for the tote bag set
Conclusion