Renee DiResta
@noupside.bsky.social
🌐Studies influence, propaganda, platform design@Georgetown
✍🏼Lawfare,The Atlantic
📕Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality (invisiblerulers.com) —how influencers, algorithms, &online crowds shape public opinion
🦹🏻♀️Twitter Files supervillain
✍🏼Lawfare,The Atlantic
📕Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality (invisiblerulers.com) —how influencers, algorithms, &online crowds shape public opinion
🦹🏻♀️Twitter Files supervillain
Pinned
Renee DiResta
@noupside.bsky.social
· Apr 15
New from me: an essay on the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, and its remarkable 30 year history of witch hunts & blacklists.
It chronicles the progression of how industries & academia went from capitulation to defiance,& what we can take from that today
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/proc...
It chronicles the progression of how industries & academia went from capitulation to defiance,& what we can take from that today
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/proc...
Reposted by Renee DiResta
He’s demonstrably devolved into an abusive, depraved, radicalized, vile POS as a result of mainlining the worst content on his own site 24/7 since acquisition.
Yet another reason why every major media outlet that reported "grok apologized and promised to put in place new safeguards" was so full of shit (beyond the fact that Grok can't apologize and was just responding to a user prompt, Elon has made it clear: he wants X to be the deepfake abuse creator)
Grok producing vile sexualized deepfakes of women and children isn’t an accident
www.cnn.com/2026/01/08/t...
www.cnn.com/2026/01/08/t...
January 9, 2026 at 6:58 AM
He’s demonstrably devolved into an abusive, depraved, radicalized, vile POS as a result of mainlining the worst content on his own site 24/7 since acquisition.
“They’re eating the pets”
Media should remind readers whenever it quotes JD Vance that he’s said he’s willing to “make up stories”.
“Nobody debates that” here is doing the same thing “it’s clear” did for Kristi Noem in her press conference. Power rhetoric in lieu of evidence. In group/out group.
Media should remind readers whenever it quotes JD Vance that he’s said he’s willing to “make up stories”.
“Nobody debates that” here is doing the same thing “it’s clear” did for Kristi Noem in her press conference. Power rhetoric in lieu of evidence. In group/out group.
JD Vance:
"You have a woman who aimed her car at a law enforcement officer and pressed on the accelerator - nobody debates that."
The video of the incident does not show that and a lot of people debate that.
"You have a woman who aimed her car at a law enforcement officer and pressed on the accelerator - nobody debates that."
The video of the incident does not show that and a lot of people debate that.
January 9, 2026 at 12:38 PM
“They’re eating the pets”
Media should remind readers whenever it quotes JD Vance that he’s said he’s willing to “make up stories”.
“Nobody debates that” here is doing the same thing “it’s clear” did for Kristi Noem in her press conference. Power rhetoric in lieu of evidence. In group/out group.
Media should remind readers whenever it quotes JD Vance that he’s said he’s willing to “make up stories”.
“Nobody debates that” here is doing the same thing “it’s clear” did for Kristi Noem in her press conference. Power rhetoric in lieu of evidence. In group/out group.
He’s demonstrably devolved into an abusive, depraved, radicalized, vile POS as a result of mainlining the worst content on his own site 24/7 since acquisition.
Yet another reason why every major media outlet that reported "grok apologized and promised to put in place new safeguards" was so full of shit (beyond the fact that Grok can't apologize and was just responding to a user prompt, Elon has made it clear: he wants X to be the deepfake abuse creator)
Grok producing vile sexualized deepfakes of women and children isn’t an accident
www.cnn.com/2026/01/08/t...
www.cnn.com/2026/01/08/t...
January 9, 2026 at 6:58 AM
He’s demonstrably devolved into an abusive, depraved, radicalized, vile POS as a result of mainlining the worst content on his own site 24/7 since acquisition.
Mafia tactics. And his baby mama posted this earlier
January 9, 2026 at 3:10 AM
Mafia tactics. And his baby mama posted this earlier
There we go. Frankly as a New Yorker it was embarrassing that California was doing this better. This is who we are.
January 9, 2026 at 12:49 AM
There we go. Frankly as a New Yorker it was embarrassing that California was doing this better. This is who we are.
I also think this has a very real chance of occurring.
Media should be considering explainers on why there’s no universe where Maduro rigged the election bc this is one of those rumors that’s built up lore for years in bespoke realities, & normies may register it as a “shocking revelation”.
Media should be considering explainers on why there’s no universe where Maduro rigged the election bc this is one of those rumors that’s built up lore for years in bespoke realities, & normies may register it as a “shocking revelation”.
Can't wait for Pardon Attorney Ed Martin to broker a deal where Maduro "confesses" to rigging the 2020 election in exchange for clemency and cushy exile.
I predict that 2026 will be a big year for the “Hey Ed!” series.
January 8, 2026 at 11:07 PM
I also think this has a very real chance of occurring.
Media should be considering explainers on why there’s no universe where Maduro rigged the election bc this is one of those rumors that’s built up lore for years in bespoke realities, & normies may register it as a “shocking revelation”.
Media should be considering explainers on why there’s no universe where Maduro rigged the election bc this is one of those rumors that’s built up lore for years in bespoke realities, & normies may register it as a “shocking revelation”.
Because they’re afraid of pissing off Elon, they don’t fully understand what it created, and it’s abstract to them.
Ted Cruz is one of the few US pols I’ve seen say anything.
Shouldn’t be partisan but let’s be real: if X was owned by a lefty the LA & MO AGs would’ve sent letters already.
Ted Cruz is one of the few US pols I’ve seen say anything.
Shouldn’t be partisan but let’s be real: if X was owned by a lefty the LA & MO AGs would’ve sent letters already.
I reached out to more than three dozen X advertisers, xAI investors, politicians, and government agencies about the growing library of sexualized deepfakes generated with Grok—now including Renee Good. I only heard back from four, with three declining to comment.
spitfirenews.com/p/grok-deepf...
spitfirenews.com/p/grok-deepf...
Why isn't there a bigger Grok boycott?
Advertisers, politicians, and investors are still all-in on X, despite a sexual abuse crisis.
spitfirenews.com
January 8, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Because they’re afraid of pissing off Elon, they don’t fully understand what it created, and it’s abstract to them.
Ted Cruz is one of the few US pols I’ve seen say anything.
Shouldn’t be partisan but let’s be real: if X was owned by a lefty the LA & MO AGs would’ve sent letters already.
Ted Cruz is one of the few US pols I’ve seen say anything.
Shouldn’t be partisan but let’s be real: if X was owned by a lefty the LA & MO AGs would’ve sent letters already.
Mmm if only some people had, idk, said something about this, studied it, offered free-expression-preserving policy and design suggestions to improve it, etc.
This guy filmed himself palling around in a car w/cEnSoRsHIP cOmPleX hoaxer Frame Game tho. Good luck fixing that shitty culture you built.
This guy filmed himself palling around in a car w/cEnSoRsHIP cOmPleX hoaxer Frame Game tho. Good luck fixing that shitty culture you built.
Vivek Ramaswamy has deleted his Twitter and Instagram accounts because, he says, it’s “coordinated influence that hides behind armies of avatars, creating a false impression of grassroots support”.
This behavior is the engine that runs MAGA, so it’s interesting to see him acknowledge that.
This behavior is the engine that runs MAGA, so it’s interesting to see him acknowledge that.
Vivek Ramaswamy deleted social media heading into the Ohio governor's race. Here's why
Ohio GOP-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has deleted his social media apps, saying they can skew his perspective. Up until now, his campaign and race have mostly been fought online.
www.news5cleveland.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:32 PM
Mmm if only some people had, idk, said something about this, studied it, offered free-expression-preserving policy and design suggestions to improve it, etc.
This guy filmed himself palling around in a car w/cEnSoRsHIP cOmPleX hoaxer Frame Game tho. Good luck fixing that shitty culture you built.
This guy filmed himself palling around in a car w/cEnSoRsHIP cOmPleX hoaxer Frame Game tho. Good luck fixing that shitty culture you built.
I hope this isn't what it looks like. The mother of one of Musk's kids, who was being degraded by nonconsensual nudified images (incl of her while underage) -- and who had the audacity to speak up about it -- just posted a screenshot showing her account being demonetized.
January 8, 2026 at 8:28 PM
I hope this isn't what it looks like. The mother of one of Musk's kids, who was being degraded by nonconsensual nudified images (incl of her while underage) -- and who had the audacity to speak up about it -- just posted a screenshot showing her account being demonetized.
Reposted by Renee DiResta
Kristi Noem, herself, supplied the method used to ID the agent. She said he "been dragged by a vehicle” in an earlier incident.
@startribune.com reporters, who know their way around court records, quickly unearthed his name and confirmed his identity.
@startribune.com reporters, who know their way around court records, quickly unearthed his name and confirmed his identity.
The agent, Jonathan Ross, was dragged by a vehicle and injured during a June operation in the Twin Cities, court records show.
ICE agent who fatally shot woman in Minneapolis is identified
Jonathan Ross, a Minnesota-based agent, was dragged in a separate incident last year by a fleeing motorist.
bit.ly
January 8, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Kristi Noem, herself, supplied the method used to ID the agent. She said he "been dragged by a vehicle” in an earlier incident.
@startribune.com reporters, who know their way around court records, quickly unearthed his name and confirmed his identity.
@startribune.com reporters, who know their way around court records, quickly unearthed his name and confirmed his identity.
“DNI stands for Do Not Invite”
Tulsi Gabbard should win some kind of ‘Useful Idiot of the Decade’ award. 🥇 I struggle to think of any other appointee who has so thoroughly debased themselves while getting absolutely nothing *for* themselves.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Tulsi Gabbard should win some kind of ‘Useful Idiot of the Decade’ award. 🥇 I struggle to think of any other appointee who has so thoroughly debased themselves while getting absolutely nothing *for* themselves.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
US Spy Chief Gabbard Excluded From Maduro Plan Over Past Views
The White House excluded Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard from months of planning to oust Nicolas Maduro because her previous opposition to military action in Venezuela cast doubt on he...
www.bloomberg.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:30 PM
“DNI stands for Do Not Invite”
Tulsi Gabbard should win some kind of ‘Useful Idiot of the Decade’ award. 🥇 I struggle to think of any other appointee who has so thoroughly debased themselves while getting absolutely nothing *for* themselves.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Tulsi Gabbard should win some kind of ‘Useful Idiot of the Decade’ award. 🥇 I struggle to think of any other appointee who has so thoroughly debased themselves while getting absolutely nothing *for* themselves.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
yeah I’m sure they’re adopting Grok for “deeper research” in the first 8 days of Jan 2026.
January 8, 2026 at 3:19 PM
yeah I’m sure they’re adopting Grok for “deeper research” in the first 8 days of Jan 2026.
Don’t do vigilante false name/ID wannabe-OSINT shit, it’s destructive and doesn’t help anything. Remember the Brown shooter debacle from just, what, three weeks ago? The “unmasked” faces floating around are AI generated and Steve Grove is someone else entirely.
All of those pictures of that ICE agent’s face are AI.
Here’s the proof.
Here’s the proof.
January 8, 2026 at 2:35 AM
Don’t do vigilante false name/ID wannabe-OSINT shit, it’s destructive and doesn’t help anything. Remember the Brown shooter debacle from just, what, three weeks ago? The “unmasked” faces floating around are AI generated and Steve Grove is someone else entirely.
Watch how the authoritarian denying reality frames events:
Blame shift
Threat inflation
Conspiracy (“coordinated” “ppl are being trained” —by who?)
“it’s clear” is a rhetorical substitute for evidence; a power move that pressures audience to accept her frame even tho they saw something else.
Blame shift
Threat inflation
Conspiracy (“coordinated” “ppl are being trained” —by who?)
“it’s clear” is a rhetorical substitute for evidence; a power move that pressures audience to accept her frame even tho they saw something else.
Noem: "People need to stop using their vehicles as weapons ... it's clear that it's being coordinated. People are being trained"
January 8, 2026 at 1:58 AM
Watch how the authoritarian denying reality frames events:
Blame shift
Threat inflation
Conspiracy (“coordinated” “ppl are being trained” —by who?)
“it’s clear” is a rhetorical substitute for evidence; a power move that pressures audience to accept her frame even tho they saw something else.
Blame shift
Threat inflation
Conspiracy (“coordinated” “ppl are being trained” —by who?)
“it’s clear” is a rhetorical substitute for evidence; a power move that pressures audience to accept her frame even tho they saw something else.
Europeans following the saga of Lil Marco and Cersei Lannister over in the state department imposing visa restrictions on Europeans for content moderation and the DSA, of note.
🌮
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
🌮
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
US lifts sanctions on Brazil judge targeted by Trump
Justice Alexandre de Moraes oversaw the trial that led to Jair Bolsonaro's conviction and imprisonment for attempting a coup.
www.reuters.com
January 7, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Europeans following the saga of Lil Marco and Cersei Lannister over in the state department imposing visa restrictions on Europeans for content moderation and the DSA, of note.
🌮
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
🌮
www.reuters.com/world/americ...
Gavin perhaps the only governor who understands the game
January 7, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Gavin perhaps the only governor who understands the game
Reposted by Renee DiResta
“On a lighter note tonight, the Internet is having some fun with the fact that Marco Rubio has lots of different titles because the US president is a crazy, paranoid aspiring autocrat who is hollowing our institutions, and autocrats love to consolidate power.”
[Wink. Smile.]
“Florida Man, indeed.”
[Wink. Smile.]
“Florida Man, indeed.”
Bari Weiss Journalism looks an awful lot like a badly produced infomercial to me.
Here's the clip of Tony Dokoupil ending tonight's broadcast by absolutely gushing over "ultimate Florida Man" Marco Rubio.
January 7, 2026 at 1:59 AM
“On a lighter note tonight, the Internet is having some fun with the fact that Marco Rubio has lots of different titles because the US president is a crazy, paranoid aspiring autocrat who is hollowing our institutions, and autocrats love to consolidate power.”
[Wink. Smile.]
“Florida Man, indeed.”
[Wink. Smile.]
“Florida Man, indeed.”
Reposted by Renee DiResta
On the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol revisit Lawfare’s January 6 Project.
You can find our coverage of the attack which explores the many legal and policy issues that arose, as well as a repository of significant documents, congressional hearings, and other materials.
You can find our coverage of the attack which explores the many legal and policy issues that arose, as well as a repository of significant documents, congressional hearings, and other materials.
The Jan. 6 Project
www.lawfaremedia.org
January 6, 2026 at 7:29 PM
On the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol revisit Lawfare’s January 6 Project.
You can find our coverage of the attack which explores the many legal and policy issues that arose, as well as a repository of significant documents, congressional hearings, and other materials.
You can find our coverage of the attack which explores the many legal and policy issues that arose, as well as a repository of significant documents, congressional hearings, and other materials.
🧾 Shopping for Receipts
A viral video claimed Somali daycares in MN were scams. The govt jumped in—freezing💰 sending in the feds.
This is the latest example of a process: belief —> justification, culminating in policy. Populist leadership looks responsive.
open.substack.com/pub/agentsof...
A viral video claimed Somali daycares in MN were scams. The govt jumped in—freezing💰 sending in the feds.
This is the latest example of a process: belief —> justification, culminating in policy. Populist leadership looks responsive.
open.substack.com/pub/agentsof...
January 7, 2026 at 12:39 AM
🧾 Shopping for Receipts
A viral video claimed Somali daycares in MN were scams. The govt jumped in—freezing💰 sending in the feds.
This is the latest example of a process: belief —> justification, culminating in policy. Populist leadership looks responsive.
open.substack.com/pub/agentsof...
A viral video claimed Somali daycares in MN were scams. The govt jumped in—freezing💰 sending in the feds.
This is the latest example of a process: belief —> justification, culminating in policy. Populist leadership looks responsive.
open.substack.com/pub/agentsof...
All whinging about "1984" or "Orwell" by reflexive contrarians can be summarily dismissed from here on out.
www.whitehouse.gov/j6/
www.whitehouse.gov/j6/
January 6: A Date Which Will Live in Infamy
Discover the real January 6 story: peaceful protest turned tragedy, Deep State entrapment, media deception, and President Trump's triumphant pardons restoring justice to patriotic Americans.
www.whitehouse.gov
January 6, 2026 at 8:14 PM
All whinging about "1984" or "Orwell" by reflexive contrarians can be summarily dismissed from here on out.
www.whitehouse.gov/j6/
www.whitehouse.gov/j6/
January 6, 2026 at 4:34 PM
The Free Press ran an article by an intern saying Stanford Internet Observatory had students participate in the censorship of Hunter Biden’s laptop and the lab leak hypothesis. Utter nonsense.
There was neither a request for comment nor a response to my request for correction. It never happened.
There was neither a request for comment nor a response to my request for correction. It never happened.
Bari Weiss's Free Press website ran this screed by Matt Taibbi defending his lawsuit against a book author.
But the Free Press apparently never reached out to the author. Even though Weiss spiked that 60 Minutes piece for not reaching out to enough Trump officials www.thefp.com/p/matt-taibb...
But the Free Press apparently never reached out to the author. Even though Weiss spiked that 60 Minutes piece for not reaching out to enough Trump officials www.thefp.com/p/matt-taibb...
Matt Taibbi: To Protect Free Speech, I’m Suing the Man Who Defamed Me
There’s a difference between censorship, which prevents speech, and seeking restitution for a harmful lie already in print. That's why I'm suing the man who defamed me, writes Matt Taibbi.
www.thefp.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:09 PM
The Free Press ran an article by an intern saying Stanford Internet Observatory had students participate in the censorship of Hunter Biden’s laptop and the lab leak hypothesis. Utter nonsense.
There was neither a request for comment nor a response to my request for correction. It never happened.
There was neither a request for comment nor a response to my request for correction. It never happened.
Reposted by Renee DiResta
Oh my god I just went to read it.
“delegate Stacey Plaskett falsely accused me of perjury and threatened to jail me.”
Plaskett asked him to *correct his lies told under oath*…ABOUT SIO’S WORK.. 💀
This was after the @mehdirhasan.bsky.social
debacle when Matt had to admit multiple errors.
“delegate Stacey Plaskett falsely accused me of perjury and threatened to jail me.”
Plaskett asked him to *correct his lies told under oath*…ABOUT SIO’S WORK.. 💀
This was after the @mehdirhasan.bsky.social
debacle when Matt had to admit multiple errors.
Unfuckingbelievable
Matt Taibbi has smeared me for years:
- *cut emails in half* to lie ab my work
- cut quotes in half to make them the opposite of what I said
- lied ab the dates I worked at companies
- implied I worked on things I didn’t
- pretended I was a secret CIA agent
Now he’s a victim 🥲
Matt Taibbi has smeared me for years:
- *cut emails in half* to lie ab my work
- cut quotes in half to make them the opposite of what I said
- lied ab the dates I worked at companies
- implied I worked on things I didn’t
- pretended I was a secret CIA agent
Now he’s a victim 🥲
January 6, 2026 at 2:39 AM
Oh my god I just went to read it.
“delegate Stacey Plaskett falsely accused me of perjury and threatened to jail me.”
Plaskett asked him to *correct his lies told under oath*…ABOUT SIO’S WORK.. 💀
This was after the @mehdirhasan.bsky.social
debacle when Matt had to admit multiple errors.
“delegate Stacey Plaskett falsely accused me of perjury and threatened to jail me.”
Plaskett asked him to *correct his lies told under oath*…ABOUT SIO’S WORK.. 💀
This was after the @mehdirhasan.bsky.social
debacle when Matt had to admit multiple errors.
Reposted by Renee DiResta
