Peter Burnett's new novel Scotland or No explores the growing blogosphere, where the differences between the fake and the real are the new political battle lines.  

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Back living in Edinburgh, Alan Stewart hasn’t seen his father for six years, other than on Twitter where he is known as Scotland’s biggest conspiracy theorist.

Claiming to have uncovered an army of false internet profiles, Alan’s father sets him on a crash course in lies and manipulation, as these fakes take center-stage in the battle for Scottish independence. Working in social media, Alan discovers that this army of fake profiles has more than just friends and likes. These profiles can vote.

From the gloom of Old Town closes emerges an underworld of smears and lies spread by feral bloggers who will stop at nothing to ensure the success of their political cause.

Alan believes that the internet should be making people better informed. In reality it makes it harder to tell fact from fiction. And the liars are winning.

Scotland or No is a journey into the fake heart of the internet, as its young hero sets out to capture Scotland's biggest troll.

Fake jobs. Fake places. Fake people. 

Nothing is what it seems online, and if the trolls don't get you, then the government will.

Review of Scotland or No at Herald Scotland