Renee DiResta

Google’s letter to Jim Jordan last week said Biden pressured them to moderate, but they acted independently.

Jordan’s reaction? Cry “censorship”…and demand his own policy changes.

Except there’s receipts showing Jordan knew that the claim that Biden was coercing YT was bullshit all along…based on dozens of his own closed-door interviews with executives!

Breaking down the Jordan Censorship Hoax ⬇️

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/speech--coercion--and-the-myth-of-the-censorship-regime

Google’s letter to Jim Jordan last week said Biden pressured them to moderate, but they acted independently.

Jordan’s reaction? Cry “censorship”…and make his own demands for YouTube to change its policies.

Except there’s receipts showing Jordan knew that the idea that some Biden Regime was coercing YT was bullshit all along…based on dozens of his own closed-door interviews with executives!

Breaking down the Jordan Censorship Hoax ⬇️

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/speech--coercion--and-the-myth-of-the-censorship-regime

📆1 year ago, "Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality" hit the shelves.

It's about who shapes what we believe: influencers + algorithms + online crowds.

About bespoke realities, fractured publics, and consensus collapse.

A 🧵 w/some updates on characters and plot points:

https://bookshop.org/p/books/invisible-rulers-the-people-who-turn-lies-into-reality-renee-diresta/20664632

When the “Internet of Beefs” becomes a geopolitical treatise: two of the most powerful men in the 🌎 fight like influencers while we participate.

Online beefing isn’t about winning — it’s performance. Each combatant plays the hero, battling an enemy who represents everything wrong w/the world.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/06/07/how-musk-trump-feud-became-an-online-battle-like-no-other/

The Right Wing Reproducibility Crisis

ht to thebulwark.com

On that 3am system prompt update to Grok, Elon’s anger at Gemini, & the politics behind prompts.

‘The solution, is transparency. Not bc we can, or should, attempt to strip out values that the owner decides to encode but bc the values shouldn’t be obscured.’

https://open.substack.com/pub/agentsofinfluence/p/yes-but-have-you-considered-the-issue

"We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law.”

New from me: an essay on the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, and its remarkable 30 yr history of witch hunts & blacklists.

It chronicles how industries & academia went from capitulation to defiance, and what we can take from that today

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/process-as-punishment--an-american-history-of-political-spectacle

Every now & then I get Google alerts letting me know I’m namechecked in an aggrieved way in a conservative media outlet.

Today it’s The Spectator, where this lady is mad ab a metaphor I used in the Guardian a year ago: the “Transitive Property of Bad People”, smearing someone based on association

She hates the metaphor because she didn’t learn this obscure mathematical concept as a child and hopes the “feeble vogue term” will soon be dropped.

#Caturday Behemoth is two months shy of his 2nd birthday. He is a Maine Coon and will grow until he’s 3.

He doesn’t like being picked up.

🙊New from me in the Atlantic: the U.S. government now runs on Twitter Files logic

When Elon Musk bought Twitter, he pushed the Twitter Files—decontextualized emails that spun routine moderation decisions as censorship. They fed the audience a simple but misleading story: the govt was silencing them.

The bullshit asymmetry principle in action: the amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.

Especially true when you’re requesting a correction from Matt Taibbi…

https://open.substack.com/pub/reneediresta/p/an-object-lesson-in-bad-faith-media

This is absolutely the Twitter Files for the government.

Elon is so desperate for grand score-settling & to humiliate his enemies. But what the Twitter Files actually showed was generally careful governance, people trying to make good calls, some bad calls, & then a lot of stuff literally cut in half or taken out of context by “journalists” who didn’t understand the basics. That seems to be what we’re getting here too.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/upshot/doge-contracts-musk-trump.html

You can change the title of this chart and - with the exception of Orban - this process has been essentially identical, featuring the same people, for the last five years.

Online rumors as propaganda, advancing the goals of a political machine.

We chronicled how this worked in election 2020…and got investigated by Jim Jordan in retaliation.

I cohosted one of my favorite pods today! From the Character.ai Giga Chad chatbot to Mark Zuckerberg’s $25M tent entry fee/lawsuit settlement, we discuss the ‘First Amendment as meme’ online speech news of the week.

https://podcast.ctrlaltspeech.com/2315966/episodes/16535791-this-episode-has-masculine-energy

New from me, and unexpectedly timely with the Zuck announcement. 🙃 This is an essay about “working the refs” - trying to make the people who make the rules advantage your side - and what happens if that becomes impossible.

Ref-working has influenced content moderation policies for a long time; platforms respond to pressure, as we saw yesterday! Since policies shape norms & influence what goes viral, ppl have strong opinions ab these shifts.

https://www.noemamag.com/the-great-decentralization

Has anyone here ever filed a permission request with NYT to secure the rights to republish a figure in an academic paper? Just sent my first in.

How long does this take? Do they charge you? The website was very vague.

“RFK Jr: Maybe A Broken Clock Is Right Twice A Day?” “Yes, Children’s Health Defense Lies Hurt Kids BUT…”

This media coverage framing is about to seep into a confirmation hearing, where it’ll be used to imply that pesky medical “experts” opposed to RFK are the real unreasonable ones. “We all know the status quo is bad, why do you hate change?”

This is a rhetorical trick implying a binary. It’s not “RFK vs status quo”!

American kids deserve a qualified leader. Pick the best for them.

A bit ago I joined Ryan Holiday to talk ab online manipulation & smear campaigns, among other things. He wrote the 📕 “Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator” ab his own work in PR & manipulated narratives. If you’re interested in the Blake Lively story, listen. The tactics are almost identical bt entertainment & politics — it’s easy to smear someone in an age of online rage mobs & vitriolic factions!

https://dailystoic.com/the-new-age-of-media-manipulation-renee-diresta/

Chatted with Adam Lowenstein for The Ink about how to fight an epidemic of bad faith.

Not sure I have the answers here, but a lot of good people are trying to figure it out…

https://the.ink/p/how-to-fight-an-epidemic-of-bad-faith-interview-renee-diresta

New work out on MIDDLEWARE! What is it? Third party tools that can interact with, in this case, social media platforms, on behalf of users. Maybe they're curating content in your feed in a particular way. Maybe they're serving as moderation agents, labeling and hiding content or users that you personally don't want to see. The goal is to give users more agency over their social media experience. (Mastodon ppl know)

https://www.thefai.org/posts/shaping-the-future-of-social-media-with-middleware

“To his supporters, Bhattacharya’s supposed status as a victim of government censorship is the key element of his hero’s journey. And it’s simply not true.”

I very much regret listening to Stanford when it told me I shouldn’t respond publicly to Jay’s lies ab our work. They were wrong, & I knew it then too. But this is the cost of vexatious lawsuits: the person silenced is the target.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/jay-bhattacharya-censored-government-nih-trump-covid-rcna183120

I always enjoy really direct, candid interviewers & this was a lot of fun. “So Marc A is tweeting about wanting to prosecute people like you, how does that make you feel?” “How does your new employer feel about it?” “Would you do Rogan again?”

We talked about the fediverse, Bluesky and middleware, too.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/studying-online-bad-behavior-was-hard-its-going-to/id1080467174?i=1000679198557

This focuses on civil servants, but the need is broad. When we received our nuisance subpoenas and (ongoing) vexatious lawsuits, I was lucky to be at an institution willing to fight the legal fight, even as our center collapsed as a result. Legal, security, & comms support is critical. American researchers are avoiding doing basic work studying American elections because of fear of political retribution.

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/funders-should-help-democracy-defenders-from-trump-threats

5 years ago yesterday I wrote an essay arguing that institutions were thinking about online media, insurgencies, & manipulation campaigns all wrong. Fighting the last war.

The Digital Maginot line, I called it. It went viral then.

Here it is on its anniversary. It unfortunately holds up incredibly well and describes the moment we are now in:

https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2018/11/28/the-digital-maginot-line/

“Some public health experts fear that some state health authorities, particularly in Republican-led states, could follow a CDC that is skeptical of vaccines. One result might be lower vax rates —& worse public health outcomes —in red states than in blue…similar to the pattern that played out w/the Covid-19 💉 .”

Ppl disproportionately died in red states. This is ab kids now. The man is a dangerous crank; the Senate must vote No.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/health/rfk-jr-vaccines-hhs.html

“Some public health experts fear that some state health authorities, particularly in Republican-led states, could follow a CDC that is skeptical of vaccines. One result might be lower vax rates —& worse public health outcomes —in red states than in blue…similar to the pattern that played out w/ he Covid-19 💉 .”

Ppl disproportionately died in red states. This is ab kids now. The man is a dangerous crank; the Senate must vote No.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/health/rfk-jr-vaccines-hhs.html

Throwback for Gen X here. I told my kids ab the old Carmen San Diego games when it became a TV show. It looks like they're actually bringing back the old game structure...but without the multiple floppy disks that you have to flip between as you play.

carmensandiego-game.com

~One year ago today I got profiled on Infowars for my work ruling the media as the head of a robust PsyOp Alliance.

I hope that its new owners quickly get on profiling me again. (Cc:

)

kakistocracy, noun

Diplomatic efforts underway to advance the economic agenda of Co-President Musk

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/jd-vance-elon-musk-x-twitter-donald-trump-b2614525.html

#caturday — Behemoth at 1y 3mo.

New work: The post-election period may be volatile, particularly if the outcome is disputed. Social media platforms will be scrutinized for their handling of rumors and disinformation, false claims of victory, and potential incitements to violence. A group of us analyzed potential scenarios and key policies to be aware of: https://www.techpolicy.press/a-guide-to-social-media-moderation-policies-for-the-post-election-period/

The 2024 Freedom on the Net report is out. It includes analysis of generative AI in elections globally, and actual attempts at censorship around elections — ie, governments using their power to silence dissidents, or parties manipulating the info space

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2024/struggle-trust-online

Here’s my contribution to The Discourse on the insane rumors that have become reality among a subset of X users

1. The platform privileges rumors. This has always been structurally true but “policy shapes propagation” & Elon’s policy changes juices it.
2. This is not accidental. Rumors are useful for political propaganda. MAGA elites now amplify & legitimize them. It’s not just “more visible,” it’s normalized.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/10/rumors-x-twitter-musk/680219/

What Dr. Francis Collins is describing in this excerpt from his new book isn’t just a problem in public health. Institutions don’t understand how influencers, algorithms, and crowds now shape public opinion, and they don’t understand the incentives that power factionalism. Institutions have dropped the ball — and they are also under attack.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/09/covid-political-polarization-public-trust-vaccine/679806/

“I saw people on television talking about it”

“I saw people on television talking about it”

#caturday big paws

I joined NPR Weekend Edition for a quick chat about the Russia DOJ actions - both the useful idiot Tenet indictment, but also the Doppelgänger operation.

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/07/nx-s1-5101895/doj-says-russia-paid-right-wing-influencers-to-spread-russian-propaganda

I joined @npr Weekend Edition for a quick chat about the Russia DOJ actions - both the useful idiot Tenet indictment, but also the Doppelgänger operation.

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/07/nx-s1-5101895/doj-says-russia-paid-right-wing-influencers-to-spread-russian-propaganda

beautiful spot to be riding

I have a new article up today on The Unpopulist describing what we know ab the Durov affair, the many things that “content moderation” covers, & the difference between “free speech” and “crimes”. Also covers SIO’s experience w/Telegram data.

https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/platforms-like-telegram-accused-of

My son, reading this book: “Mom who was Britney Spears? Did she used to be famous or something?”

Yesterday Meta acknowledged a tip led to the disruption of a Russian network.

Sharing was “once routine under President Donald J. Trump” but then partisan hack AGs in MO and LA pretended it was a Biden administration plot to ‘censor conservatives.’

New guidelines note that “the F.B.I. does not request or expect the receiving company to take any particular action based on the shared information”.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/15/business/fbi-social-media-disinformation.html

Bug happening when trying to follow KamalaHQ on X. Tells you that you can’t follow more people at this time.

Weird message choice but this account may be temporarily limited in some way because it just got a huge surge in followers. Conspiracy theorists will likely have a field day assuming it’s malice but remember this is Twitter 2024 and incompetence is the most reasonable explanation.

When you previously funded the competition

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/08/13/fact-check-donald-trump-did-donate-kamala-harris-past-campaigns/3356945001/

Explaining to my children that there used to be one movie for the whole plane.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/07/trump-assassination-attempt-conspiracy-theories/679012/

The tropes that have been appearing in these conspiracy theories — false flags, foreign provocateurs, staged attacks - are very old. They’re common in movies, which makes them immediately recognizable, makes them seem perhaps more plausible…but the speed and conviction w/which people across the political spectrum now jump to wild theories & find receptive audiences is disturbing.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/07/trump-assassination-attempt-conspiracy-theories/679012/

Amtrak train eastern corridor delayed an hour because of heat. Multiple trains in this situation. This seems like a problem that’s only going to keep getting worse…

Trying out Fedica...it's pretty nice. Helpful to see the character limits for Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads all in line, easy access to content warnings for platforms that use them, looks like it supports threading. There is a post scheduler (helpful for when you finally read that article everyone must read at 2am...)

Not a lawyer but this seems to be saying that content moderation isn’t censorship because platforms have 1A rights, too. Also seems to say that labeling is not censorship. Gosh. How could the Twitter Files have gotten this so wrong? #NetChoice

“A serious misunderstanding of First Amendment precedent and principle…”

“Plaintiffs Lack Standing to Sue Over Government Jawboning When Their Evidence is Based on Vibes–Murthy v. Missouri”

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2024/06/plaintiffs-lack-standing-to-sue-over-government-jawboning-when-their-evidence-is-based-on-vibes-murthy-v-missouri.htm

I wrote about lies that became reality - related to our work - in the NYT today.

-The repetitive process by which rumors about “the steal” became fact -The crank theories about us, derived from one guy with a blog, then laundered by right wing media and newsletter trolls -Nonsense becoming pretext for Congressional subpoenas -Material obtained under subpoena finding its way to a lawsuit mill…

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/25/opinion/stanford-disinformation-election-jordan-twitter.html