FAKERS: A TOP-SECRET TALE OF PHANTOMS AND FORGERIES ON THE DISINFORMATION FRONT LINE
BY RORY CORMAC
MAY 14, 2026
PUBLISHER: OUP OXFORD
|
|
Fakers: A Top-Secret Tale of Phantoms and Forgeries on the Disinformation Front Line
by Rory Cormac
Intrigue, espionage, and deception. The truth behind 8,000 once top-secret files, so explosive their authors never dreamed they would be released.
Fakers reveals the rise and fall of the mavericks running Britain's Cold War forgery empire. Their secret mission was audacious: to disrupt and discredit adversaries across the world using phantom groups, fake sources, and counterfeit documents.
The leader was a remarkable character, wrestling with personal and professional dilemmas: Hans Welser. An Austrian refugee and one-time MI5 suspect interned behind barbed wire, Welser was a great survivor who rose to become special operations adviser to the Foreign Office, working hand in glove with MI6. His second in command was an eccentric, hard drinking, and high-flying journalist-turned-propagandist called John Rayner. Brought out of semi-retirement, for one final posting. Their team of bowler-hatted refugees, voluble ex-journalists, trailblazing women, and licentious literary sorts navigated loyalty and betrayal — both professionally and romantically — from the diplomats' attic, in the most sensitive part of the Foreign Office's secret propaganda department.
The newly declassified files expose an array of plots, some comically absurd and others dangerously controversial. The forgery empire impersonated everything from hippies and ghosts to Islamists and ballet composers in their campaign to smear hostile politicians, stir tensions among adversaries, and even stymie the career of a contentious British historian. All took place against a high stakes backdrop — both overseas as states competed beneath the looming threat of nuclear war and in the corridors of power at home where grey-suited bureaucrats circled, keen to shut down the team for good.
With timely insight into how propaganda works and how to respond to disinformation, Fakers is a thrilling journey into a secret world where nothing was as it seemed.
Amazon
|
|
|
“A fun and fascinating dive into the deep history of propaganda and fakery – including its absurdities – which has shaped our world today.” Gordon Corera, author of The Spy in the Archive
"Fascinating, evocative and timely. A thoroughly researched, entertaining, and brilliantly enlightening read." ― Danny Wallace, author of Somebody Told Me
“A world where Monty Python meets Le Carré, with a revelation on every page that will transform how you see our history.” – Peter Pomerantsev, author of This is Not Propaganda
|
About the book:
Fakers: A Top-Secret Tale of Phantoms and Forgeries on the Disinformation Front Line
by Rory Cormac
OUP Oxford – 368 pages 33.46 (Kobo)
Publication Date: May 14, 2026 (available for pre-purchase)
|
|
About the Author: Rory Cormac
Rory Cormac is a Professor of International Relations specialising in the study of Covert Action and Secret Statecraft.
His most recent book is How to Stage A Coup and Ten Other Lessons from the World of Secret Statecraft . The CIA's in-house journal described it as "a valuable and thought-provoking work, the most thorough treatment of the topic to date." International Affairs called it "an important public service".
Alongside Richard J. Aldrich, he has researched and fronted three documentaries for Channel 4: Spying on the Royals (2017), D-Day: The King who Fooled Hitler (2019) and The Queen and the Coup (2020).
He has appeared at the Hay, Cheltenham and Edinburgh Literary Festivals, and regularly features in national and international media outlets. Most recently he has been a semi-regular columnist on secret statecraft for the Spectator.
Rory has provided oral evidence to parliamentary inquiries on foreign interference in both the UK and Australia. He has spoken at the UK Cabinet Office Foreign Office, Home Office, Number 10 and Ministry of Defence, as well as at the US State Department and Pentagon, NATO and the Italian Foreign Ministry.
Rory is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and has held Leverhulme and AHRC fellowships. Before joining Nottingham, Rory worked at the University of Warwick and King's College London.
Biography Credit: University of Nottingham
Book Review / Revue de livres
Disclaimer: Articles are chosen for relevance and circulated for information only. Views expressed are those of the respective journalists / authors. Republication does not infer endorsement.
Book Review Editor: Ralph Mahar - Suggestions for Book Reviews will be gratefully received at thepillarsociety.bulletins@gmail.com
