Many of us are being misled. Claiming to know the "pals" of presidential aspirants, dark secrets about public officials, and hidden causes of the current economic crisis, those who spread rumors know precisely what they are doing. They are sometimes able to derail political candidates, injure companies and reputations, even damage democratic governance. And in the era of the Internet, they know more about manipulating the mechanics of false rumors--social cascades, group polarization, and biased assimilation--than you do. They also know that the presumed correctives--publishing balanced information, issuing corrections, and trusting to the marketplace of ideas--do not always work. A pioneer in the effort "to design regulation around the ways people behave" ("The Wall Street Journal"), Cass R. Sunstein uses examples from the real world and from behavioral studies to explain why certain rumors spread like wildfire and what we can do to avoid being misled. Cass R. Sunstein is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School (on leave). His previous books include "Republic.com "and "Infotopia"; he coauthored "Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness." People are being misled. Those who spread rumors know precisely what they are doing when they claim to know the "pals" of presidential aspirants, dark secrets about public officials, and hidden causes of the current economic crisis. They are sometimes able to derail political candidates, injure companies and reputations, even damage democratic governance. And in the era of the Internet, they know more about manipulating the mechanics of false rumors--social cascades, group polarization, and biased assimilation--than you do. They also know that the presumed correctives--publishing balanced information, issuing corrections, and trusting to the marketplace of ideas--do not always work. A pioneer in the effort "to design regulation around the ways people behave" ("The Wall Street Journal"), Cass R. Sunstein uses examples from the real world and from behavioral studies to explain why certain rumors spread like wildfire and what we can do to avoid being misled. "Cass Sunstein has written a crisp, provocative book on a worrying problem--the susceptibility of our electronified society to base rumors. He convincingly shows that the constitutional marketplace of ideas does not solve the problem."--Anthony Lewis "It often seems that rumors are the one element that can travel faster than the speed of light. In "On Rumors," Cass Sunstein helps us understand their incredible appeal, their power, and their dangers. A fun-tastic book."--Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics, Duke University, and author of "Predictably Irrational ""What Sunstein says matters. Co-author of the bestseller Nudge, he's also Obama's nomination for U.S. regulation tsar. Going by this book, he'll make a fierce watchdog."--Aditya Chakrabortty, "The Guardian ""Truth doesn't always win in the marketplace of ideas. Lies spread too. Cass Sunstein explains why and he outlines what, in a world of Facebook, tabloids, and blogs, we ought to do about it."--Chip Heath, author of "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die ""One of the main takeaways of Sunstein's book is that trying to correct misinformation-based rumors with the truth is often ineffectual, or worse, counterproductive. The act of repeating the lie reinforces it in the minds of the polarized."--Evan Lerner, "Seed"

哈佛大学法学院院长将桑斯坦称为“我们的时代最顶尖的、涉猎领域最广的、被引用最多的、影响力最大的法学家”。

曾任职于美国司法部、美国国会司法委员会和马萨诸塞州法院。他所涉猎的领域包括政策管理、宪法、环境法、经济法、行为经济学等等，他在其中任何一个领域的成就都足以让他成为这个时代最伟大的学者之一。

他的各项研究成果已成为包括美国中情局在内的各种公共机构和企业的研究对象。

桑斯坦已被任命为奥巴马政府信息与规制事务办公室主任。