Blowout

This term refers to deliberate attempts to disseminate false information with the intent to deceive, often with the goal of political sabotage. In Blowout Maddow details how Russia launched a major disinformation campaign during the 2016 US presidential election, in which thousands of social media accounts and ads were created to stir up anti-Clinton sentiment to get Donald Trump elected. Trump was the president friendliest to Russian oil interests. Maddow argues that Putin “succeeded in his biggest aim: he corrupted and polluted our most treasured possession, our democracy” (332).

Fracking is the process of injecting liquid at a high pressure into rock formations to open existing fissures in the rock, with the intent of extracting oil or natural gas. Maddow traces the story of fracking from its origins, enabled by the efforts of George Mitchell, to its renaissance in Oklahoma. Maddow places special emphasis on fracking as an “ultrahazardous activity” with dire environmental impacts in Chapter 12.

Gazprom is the largest state-owned energy company in Russia, its largest producer and industry leader. When Gazprom struggled to produce for Russia and Europe in 2011, ExxonMobil stepped in and helped Russia’s oil and gas reputation by creating a megadeal with another state-owned company, Rosneft.