Peter Geoghegan

Journalist, author, broadcaster

DEMOCRACY FOR SALE

Democracy is in crisis, awash with dark money and digital disinformation. What can be done to save it?

Democracy for Sale takes a journey from Westminster to Washington, and far beyond, to see how money, vested interests and digital skulduggery are eroding trust in democracy – and what must be done about it.

Through exclusive interviews and original research meet the fabulously well-funded partisan think tanks, propagandists who know how to game a rigged system, and the campaigners and regulators valiantly trying to stop them. Find out how antiquated electoral laws are broken with impunity, and Silicon Valley tech giants have colluded in selling out democracy. Democracy for Sale follows the money that its donors would much prefer to remain in the shadows.

WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT DEMOCRACY FOR SALE

A brilliant description of the dark underbelly of modern democracy: dark money, influence games and the new tactics of the new far-right. Everyone should read it.

Anne applebaum

AUTHIR OF 'TWILIGHT OF DEMOCRACY: THE SEDUCTIVE LURE OF AUTHORITARIANISM'.

Democracy for Sale forensically exposes the fault lines in our politics, and reveals how they have been exploited by the rich and the powerful to further their own interests. If you’re concerned about the health of British democracy, read this book – it is thorough, gripping and vitally important.

OLIVER BULLOUGH

AUTHOR OF 'MONEYLAND'.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Peter Geoghegan is an Irish writer, broadcaster and journalist. His journalism has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, the London Review of Books and many other publications. He was openDemocracy‘s UK investigations editor from 2018 to 2021 and was nominated for a 2019 and 2020 British Journalism award and the Paul Foot award in 2019 and 2021 (twice). He was editor-in-chief and CEO at openDemocracy from 2021 to 2023. In December 2022, openDemocracy won Campaign of the Year at the British Journalism Awards for its ground-breaking work on transparency in British public life. He co-founded the Scottish investigative website the Ferret.

Peter’s most recent book, the Sunday Times best-selling Democracy for Sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics, was published in August 2020 by Head of Zeus. His previous book, The People’s Referendum: Why Scotland Will Never Be the Same Again, was nominated for the Saltire First Book Award. He has made documentaries for BBC Radio Four, worked on investigative TV programmes for Channel 4 and regularly appears on British and international broadcast outlets. He lives in London.