The rise of populism around the world in recent years has taken the form of an avalanche that subverts all the established rules. In the eyes of their voters, the flaws of populist leaders are turning into assets. Their inexperience is proof that they do not belong to the corrupt elite circle and their incompetence is a guarantee of their authenticity. The tensions they cause at international level are a sign of their independence and the conspiracy theories that characterise their propaganda are a sign of their freedom of thought.

Behind the frenetic manifestations of the populist carnival lies the hard work of communicators, Big Data analysts and physical scientists who, by exploiting the data of millions of citizens with the tools provided by the internet and social media, have a decisive influence on the way people think and perceive reality. Giuliano da Empoli paints a portrait of chaos engineers, persons almost unknown to the general public, who act behind the scenes and radically change the rules of the political game and the characteristics of modern societies.