[dkural]

I read books to gain information. Books are convenient collections of facts where ideally the author has gone through the trouble of scholarship and synthesis. Thus, when I read any book, I like starting with a high bayesian prior of being able to trust the information in it, without having to fact check the statements. Indeed, this is the primary value I get from reading a book as opposed to looking stuff up myself.

Now, when the publisher is known for publishing lies and distortions, it reduces my bayesian prior that their publications are any good, particularly given the explicit stated mission of this institution is to push a given political viewpoint. It is not about the flavor politics: I don't read anything by left-wing think tanks either. It is hard to distinguish fact from fiction when one reads propaganda from an organization whose purpose is to produce intellectualized propaganda.

Thus, my criticism of the book is - I am not able to trust the author or the publisher, due to the publisher having broken that trust earlier by lying to me. The author made a bad choice by choosing a publisher who publishes propaganda. Too bad. Trust is a pre-requisite I have for taking someone's writing seriously. So there you go.

This is why we have reviews/ratings etc. We trust our fellow readers too, and try to extend the chain of trust.