1<!DOCTYPE html> 2<html lang="en"> 3<head> 4 <meta charset="utf-8" /> 5 <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> 6 <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://www.reneediresta.com/assets/built/index.css?v=schGztMmPRm2fMj8" /> 7 8 <title>Newsletter</title> 9 10 <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.reneediresta.com/newsletter/"> 11 <meta name="referrer" content="no-referrer-when-downgrade"> 12 13 <meta property="og:site_name" content="Renée DiResta"> 14 <meta property="og:type" content="website"> 15 <meta property="og:title" content="Newsletter"> 16 <meta property="og:description" content="Why is that random controversy blowing up on social media? Is it even real? 17 18Agents of Influence is my newsletter about the people and systems shaping what we believe online: influencers, algorithms, crowds, platforms, power brokers, and institutions. 19 20It's for occasional short essays, quick explainers, and notes on current"> 21 <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.reneediresta.com/newsletter/"> 22 <meta property="og:image" content="https://storage.ghost.io/c/90/5d/905d39b3-4af6-4abf-a352-c5d1000447f5/content/images/2024/03/hero-new-c8b1ab017f-1.jpg"> 23 <meta property="article:published_time" content="2024-03-09T21:30:19.000Z"> 24 <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2026-05-26T03:09:58.000Z"> 25 <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> 26 <meta name="twitter:title" content="Newsletter"> 27 <meta name="twitter:description" content="Why is that random controversy blowing up on social media? Is it even real? 28 29Agents of Influence is my newsletter about the people and systems shaping what we believe online: influencers, algorithms, crowds, platforms, power brokers, and institutions. 30 31It's for occasional short essays, quick explainers, and notes on current"> 32 <meta name="twitter:url" content="https://www.reneediresta.com/newsletter/"> 33 <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://storage.ghost.io/c/90/5d/905d39b3-4af6-4abf-a352-c5d1000447f5/content/images/2024/03/hero-new-c8b1ab017f-1.jpg"> 34 <meta name="twitter:label1" content="Written by"> 35 <meta name="twitter:data1" content="Renée DiResta"> 36 <meta name="twitter:site" content="@noupside"> 37 <meta property="og:image:width" content="1199"> 38 <meta property="og:image:height" content="726"> 39 40
40<script type="application/ld+json"> 41{ 42 "@context": "https://schema.org", 43 "@type": "Article", 44 "publisher": { 45 "@type": "Organization", 46 "name": "Renée DiResta", 47 "url": "https://www.reneediresta.com/", 48 "logo": { 49 "@type": "ImageObject", 50 "url": "https://www.reneediresta.com/favicon.ico", 51 "width": 48, 52 "height": 48 53 } 54 }, 55 "author": { 56 "@type": "Person", 57 "name": "Renée DiResta", 58 "url": "https://www.reneediresta.com/404/", 59 "sameAs": [] 60 }, 61 "headline": "Newsletter", 62 "url": "https://www.reneediresta.com/newsletter/", 63 "datePublished": "2024-03-09T21:30:19.000Z", 64 "dateModified": "2026-05-26T03:09:58.000Z", 65 "description": "Why is that random controversy blowing up on social media? Is it even real?\n\nAgents of Influence is my newsletter about the people and systems shaping what we believe online: influencers, algorithms, crowds, platforms, power brokers, and institutions.\n\nIt's for occasional short essays, quick explainers, and notes on current controversies. One post might break down an influence operation or new platform policy; another might cover how AI is supercharging scams. Sometimes Iâm the analyst; sometime", 66 "mainEntityOfPage": "https://www.reneediresta.com/newsletter/" 67} 68 </script>
68 69 70 <meta name="generator" content="Ghost 6.68"> 71 <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Renée DiResta" href="https://www.reneediresta.com/posts/rss/"> 72
72<script defer src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/ghost/portal@~2.71/umd/portal.min.js" data-i18n="true" data-ghost="https://www.reneediresta.com/" data-key="f8155638dac811e0193e2a9482" data-api="https://agents-of-influence.ghost.io/ghost/api/content/" data-locale="en" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
72<style id="gh-members-styles">.gh-post-upgrade-cta-content, 73.gh-post-upgrade-cta { 74 display: flex; 75 flex-direction: column; 76 align-items: center; 77 font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; 78 text-align: center; 79 width: 100%; 80 color: #ffffff; 81 font-size: 16px; 82} 83 84.gh-post-upgrade-cta-content { 85 border-radius: 8px; 86 padding: 40px 4vw; 87} 88 89.gh-post-upgrade-cta h2 { 90 color: #ffffff; 91 font-size: 28px; 92 letter-spacing: -0.2px; 93 margin: 0; 94 padding: 0; 95} 96 97.gh-post-upgrade-cta p { 98 margin: 20px 0 0; 99 padding: 0; 100} 101 102.gh-post-upgrade-cta small { 103 font-size: 16px; 104 letter-spacing: -0.2px; 105} 106 107.gh-post-upgrade-cta a { 108 color: #ffffff; 109 cursor: pointer; 110 font-weight: 500; 111 box-shadow: none; 112 text-decoration: underline; 113} 114 115.gh-post-upgrade-cta a:hover { 116 color: #ffffff; 117 opacity: 0.8; 118 box-shadow: none; 119 text-decoration: underline; 120} 121 122.gh-post-upgrade-cta a.gh-btn { 123 display: block; 124 background: #ffffff; 125 text-decoration: none; 126 margin: 28px 0 0; 127 padding: 8px 18px; 128 border-radius: 4px; 129 font-size: 16px; 130 font-weight: 600; 131} 132 133.gh-post-upgrade-cta a.gh-btn:hover { 134 opacity: 0.92; 135}</style> 136
136<script defer src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/ghost/sodo-search@~1.8/umd/sodo-search.min.js" data-key="f8155638dac811e0193e2a9482" data-styles="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/ghost/sodo-search@~1.8/umd/main.css" data-sodo-search="https://agents-of-influence.ghost.io/" data-locale="en" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
136 137 138 <link href="https://www.reneediresta.com/webmentions/receive/" rel="webmention"> 139
139<script defer src="/public/cards.min.js?v=ShRHxgy4po8zN-Wf"></script>
139 140 <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/public/cards.min.css?v=WwnU9jw5ancNC8Gc"> 141
141<script defer src="/public/member-attribution.min.js?v=AKG4hWena9j3yX3I"></script>
141 142
142<script defer src="/public/ghost-stats.min.js?v=vFcCUf6ZQ0Hyhc8h" data-stringify-payload="false" data-datasource="analytics_events" data-storage="localStorage" data-host="https://www.reneediresta.com/.ghost/analytics/api/v1/page_hit" tb_site_uuid="905d39b3-4af6-4abf-a352-c5d1000447f5" tb_post_uuid="f69c4388-09dd-4d2e-a3fe-48121f2392b6" tb_post_type="page" tb_member_uuid="undefined" tb_member_status="undefined" tb_gift_link=""></script>
142<style>:root {--ghost-accent-color: #55ae86;}</style> 143
143<script defer src="https://us.umami.is/script.js" data-website-id="66926329-727a-4d98-80d1-095e6b3cd19a"></script>
143 144</head> 145<body class="page-template page-newsletter"> 146 <div class="gh-viewport"> 147 <header id="gh-head" class="gh-head"> 148 <nav class="gh-head-inner gh-container"> 149 <div class="gh-head-brand"> 150 <a class="gh-head-logo" href="https://www.reneediresta.com"> 151 Renée DiResta 152 </a> 153 </div> 154 155 <a class="gh-burger" role="button" aria-label="menu"> 156 <div class="gh-burger-box"> 157 <div class="gh-burger-inner"></div> 158 </div> 159 </a> 160 161 <div class="gh-head-menu"> 162 <ul class="nav"> 163 <li class="nav-about"><a href="https://www.reneediresta.com/about/">About</a></li> 164 <li class="nav-books"><a href="https://www.reneediresta.com/books/">Books</a></li> 165 <li class="nav-newsletter nav-current"><a href="https://www.reneediresta.com/newsletter/">Newsletter</a></li> 166 <li class="nav-speaking"><a href="https://www.reneediresta.com/speaking/">Speaking</a></li> 167 <li class="nav-writing"><a href="https://www.reneediresta.com/writing/">Writing</a></li> 168 <li class="nav-contact"><a href="https://www.reneediresta.com/contact/">Contact</a></li> 169 <li class="nav-threads"><a href="https://www.threads.net/@renee.diresta">Threads</a></li> 170 <li class="nav-linkedin"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneediresta/">LinkedIn</a></li> 171 <li class="nav-substack"><a href="https://agentsofinfluence.substack.com/">Substack</a></li> 172 <li class="nav-bluesky"><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/noupside.bsky.social">Bluesky</a></li> 173</ul> 174 175 </div> 176 177 <div class="gh-head-clearfix"></div> 178 </nav> 179 </header> 180 181 <main class="gh-main"> 182 183<article class="gh-article post no-image"> 184 <header class="gh-header gh-canvas"> 185 </header> 186 187 <div class="gh-content gh-canvas"> 188 <h1 class="gh-title">Newsletter</h1> 189 <p><strong>Why is that random controversy blowing up on social media? Is it even real?</strong></p><p>Agents of Influence is my newsletter about the people and systems shaping what we believe online: influencers, algorithms, crowds, platforms, power brokers, and institutions. </p><p>It's for occasional short essays, quick explainers, and notes on current controversies. One post might break down an influence operation or new platform policy; another might cover how AI is supercharging scams. Sometimes Iâm the analyst; sometimes Iâm the case study. </p><p>It's where I publish quickly and more directly than I can in media outlets or books. </p><p>No paywall, no spam, no sponsors. Just updates when thereâs something worth saying.</p><div class="kg-card kg-signup-card kg-width-regular " data-lexical-signup-form="" style="background-color: #F0F0F0; display: none;"> 190 191 <div class="kg-signup-card-content"> 192 193 <div class="kg-signup-card-text "> 194 <h2 class="kg-signup-card-heading" style="color: #000000;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Subscribe to </span><i><em class="italic" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Agents of Influence!</em></i></h2> 195 196 197 <form class="kg-signup-card-form" data-members-form="signup"> 198 <input data-members-label="" type="hidden" value="Newsletter page signup"> 199 <div class="kg-signup-card-fields"> 200 <input class="kg-signup-card-input" id="email" data-members-email="" type="email" required="true" placeholder="Your email"> 201 <button class="kg-signup-card-button kg-style-accent" style="color: #FFFFFF;" type="submit"> 202 <span class="kg-signup-card-button-default">Subscribe</span> 203 <span class="kg-signup-card-button-loading"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="24" width="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24"> 204 <g stroke-linecap="round" stroke-width="2" fill="currentColor" stroke="none" stroke-linejoin="round" class="nc-icon-wrapper"> 205 <g class="nc-loop-dots-4-24-icon-o"> 206 <circle cx="4" cy="12" r="3"></circle> 207 <circle cx="12" cy="12" r="3"></circle> 208 <circle cx="20" cy="12" r="3"></circle> 209 </g> 210 <style data-cap="butt"> 211 .nc-loop-dots-4-24-icon-o{--animation-duration:0.8s} 212 .nc-loop-dots-4-24-icon-o *{opacity:.4;transform:scale(.75);animation:nc-loop-dots-4-anim var(--animation-duration) infinite} 213 .nc-loop-dots-4-24-icon-o :nth-child(1){transform-origin:4px 12px;animation-delay:-.3s;animation-delay:calc(var(--animation-duration)/-2.666)} 214 .nc-loop-dots-4-24-icon-o :nth-child(2){transform-origin:12px 12px;animation-delay:-.15s;animation-delay:calc(var(--animation-duration)/-5.333)} 215 .nc-loop-dots-4-24-icon-o :nth-child(3){transform-origin:20px 12px} 216 @keyframes nc-loop-dots-4-anim{0%,100%{opacity:.4;transform:scale(.75)}50%{opacity:1;transform:scale(1)}} 217 </style> 218 </g> 219 </svg></span> 220 </button> 221 </div> 222 <div class="kg-signup-card-success" style="color: #000000;"> 223 Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. 224 </div> 225 <div class="kg-signup-card-error" style="color: #000000;" data-members-error=""></div> 226 </form> 227 228 229 </div> 230 </div> 231 </div> 232 </div> 233 234</article> 235 236 237<section class="gh-recent-posts" aria-labelledby="recent-posts-title"> 238 <div class="gh-canvas"> 239 <h2 id="recent-posts-title" class="gh-recent-posts-title">Recent posts</h2> 240 241 <ol class="gh-recent-posts-list"> 242 <li class="gh-recent-posts-item"> 243 <a class="gh-recent-posts-link" href="/suddenly-foreign-influence-research-is-good-again/"> 244 <h3 class="gh-recent-posts-post-title">Suddenly, Foreign Influence Research Is Good Again</h3> 245 <p class="gh-recent-posts-excerpt">What Xâs Chinese bot takedown tells us about the counter-disinformation infrastru
245cture we dismantled  246 247 248 249On Monday I wrote about Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogersâ extraordinary effort to leak documents</p> 250 <time class="gh-recent-posts-date" datetime="2026-09-02">September 2, 2026</time> 251 </a> 252 </li> 253 <li class="gh-recent-posts-item"> 254 <a class="gh-recent-posts-link" href="/when-matt-taibbi-met-mike-benz/"> 255 <h3 class="gh-recent-posts-post-title">When Matt Taibbi Met Mike Benz</h3> 256 <p class="gh-recent-posts-excerpt">To mark the paperback of Invisible Rulers, Iâm releasing audio from a Twitter Space in which Matt Taibbi meets then-unknown political operative named Mike Benz. It is the origin story of the âcensorship industrial complexâ.</p> 257 <time class="gh-recent-posts-date" datetime="2026-08-04">August 4, 2026</time> 258 </a> 259 </li> 260 <li class="gh-recent-posts-item"> 261 <a class="gh-recent-posts-link" href="/debunking-election-integrity-lies-trump-institute-for-propaganda-analysis/"> 262 <h3 class="gh-recent-posts-post-title">Trump is going to lie to you tonight. An old guide to propaganda shows how to spot the red flags.</h3> 263 <p class="gh-recent-posts-excerpt">Trump is expected to revive his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen, using selectively declassified intelligence as âreceipts.â Hereâs how to spot the tricks used to sell that story.</p> 264 <time class="gh-recent-posts-date" datetime="2026-07-16">July 16, 2026</time> 265 </a> 266 </li> 267 <li class="gh-recent-posts-item"> 268 <a class="gh-recent-posts-link" href="/jd-vance-springfield-pets-interpretive-polarization/"> 269 <h3 class="gh-recent-posts-post-title">Keep the Cat Memes Flowing: Interpretive Polarization and the Strategy Behind One of 2024âs Most Effective Political Narratives</h3> 270 <p class="gh-recent-posts-excerpt">JD Vance admitted he promoted the debunked "eating the pets" claim because he had to "create stories" to get media attention. This essay explores how political narratives are intentionally engineered to outlast factual corrections.</p> 271 <time class="gh-recent-posts-date" datetime="2026-07-13">July 13, 2026</time> 272 </a> 273 </li> 274 <li class="gh-recent-posts-item"> 275 <a class="gh-recent-posts-link" href="/happy-july-4-we-beat-stephen-miller-in-court/"> 276 <h3 class="gh-recent-posts-post-title">Happy July 4! We beat Stephen Miller in court.</h3> 277 <p class="gh-recent-posts-excerpt">A federal court dismissed Hines v. Stamos in full â the America First Legal "censorship" suit against the Election Integrity Partnership and Virality Project.</p> 278 <time class="gh-recent-posts-date" datetime="2026-07-05">July 5, 2026</time> 279 </a> 280 </li> 281 <li class="gh-recent-posts-item"> 282 <a class="gh-recent-posts-link" href="/why-xs-community-notes-is-struggling-to-factcheck-the-la-mayoral-election/"> 283 <h3 class="gh-recent-posts-post-title">Why X's Community Notes is Struggling to Factcheck the LA Mayoral Election</h3> 284 <p class="gh-recent-posts-excerpt">The "Spencer Pratt got 0 out of 24,000 votesâ rumor was obviously false. Fifty Community Notes tried to debunk it. So why did none of them appear?</p> 285 <time class="gh-recent-posts-date" datetime="2026-06-14">June 14, 2026</time> 286 </a> 287 </li> 288 </ol> 289 290 <a class="gh-recent-posts-archive" href="/posts/">Browse the full archive →</a> 291 </div> 292</section> 293 294 </main> 295 296 297 <div class="gh-newsletter-module"> 298
298<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/ghost/signup-form@~0.3/umd/signup-form.min.js" 299 data-background-color="#f0f0f0" data-text-color="#464646" 300 data-button-color="#55ae86" data-button-text-color="#FFFFFF" 301 data-label-1="Footer signup" data-title="Agents of Influence" 302 data-description="Your insiderâs guide to decoding propaganda, dissecting disinformation, and navigating the ever-evolving landscape of influence operations worldwide." 303 data-site="https://www.reneediresta.com/" data-locale="en" async></script>
303 304 </div> 305 </div> 306 307 <footer class="gh-foot"> 308 <div class="gh-container"> 309 <div class="gh-foot-menu"> 310 <ul class="nav"> 311 <li class="nav-home"><a href="https://www.reneediresta.com/">Home</a></li> 312 <li class="nav-about"><a href="https://www.reneediresta.com/about/">About</a></li> 313 <li class="nav-books"><a href="https://www.reneediresta.com/books/">Books</a></li> 314 <li class="nav-newsletter nav-current"><a href="https://www.reneediresta.com/newsletter/">Newsletter</a></li> 315 <li class="nav-speaking"><a href="https://www.reneediresta.com/speaking/">Speaking</a></li> 316 <li class="nav-writing"><a href="https://www.reneediresta.com/writing/">Writing</a></li> 317 <li class="nav-contact"><a href="https://www.reneediresta.com/contact/">Contact</a></li> 318 <li class="nav-threads"><a href="https://www.threads.net/@renee.diresta">Threads</a></li> 319 <li class="nav-linkedin"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneediresta/">LinkedIn</a></li> 320 <li class="nav-substack"><a href="https://agentsofinfluence.substack.com/">Substack</a></li> 321 <li class="nav-bluesky"><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/noupside.bsky.social">Bluesky</a></li> 322</ul> 323 324 </div> 325 </div> 326 </footer> 327 </div> 328 329 330 331
331<script src="https://www.reneediresta.com/assets/built/index.js?v=4hsgFp_Le6O8HA9_" defer></script>
331 332</body> 333</html>
Line numbers count LF bytes from the start of the resource, as the search results do. Vendor segments are library code the classifier recognised; they are stored but not indexed. Bytes are shown as Latin1 characters, one per byte.