PageSourceSearch

https://www.reneediresta.com/newsletter/

html reneediresta.com collected 2026-10-02 03:26:58 UTC 19,389 bytes, 333 lines download raw bytes

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&#x27;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&#x27;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 I’m 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 I’m the analyst; sometimes I’m 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 there’s 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 X’s 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 Rogers’ 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, I’m 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 “censorship industrial complex”.</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 “receipts.” Here’s 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 2024’s Most Effective Political Narratives</h3>
270                            <p class="gh-recent-posts-excerpt">JD Vance admitted he promoted the debunked &quot;eating the pets&quot; claim because he had to &quot;create stories&quot; 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 — the America First Legal &quot;censorship&quot; 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&#x27;s Community Notes is Struggling to Factcheck the LA Mayoral Election</h3>
284                            <p class="gh-recent-posts-excerpt">The &quot;Spencer Pratt got 0 out of 24,000 votes” 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 &rarr;</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 insider’s 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.