Todd Helmus
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toddhelmus.bsky.social
Todd Helmus
@toddhelmus.bsky.social
140 followers 120 following 7 posts

Research analyst focusing on foreign influence, #terrorism, #propaganda and social media. Speaker. My opinions; Not my employer’s. RTs not endorsements.

Videos
Political science 41%
Sociology 16%
Posts Replies Media Videos

toddhelmus.bsky.social
Todd Helmus @toddhelmus.bsky.social · Mar 6
“We are living in the most momentous and dangerous of times.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/w...
Europe Races to Craft a Trump-Era Plan for Ukraine and Defense
European leaders are gathering in Brussels Thursday to discuss how to support Ukraine and fend more for themselves on defense.
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Todd C. Helmus

popovaprof.bsky.social
Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · Mar 6
this piece with @oxanashevel.bsky.social
nationalinterest.org/feature/be-w...
Be Wary Of Russia’s Call For Negotiations
While peace is a net positive, there are legitimate fears of Russian manipulation in negotiations to create terms suitable for only Putin.
nationalinterest.org

Reposted by Todd C. Helmus

noupside.bsky.social
Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · Mar 4
So much great work coming out on people-first tech lately! Today from KGI, an incredibly detailed report on recommender systems by a collection of rockstar technologists. We focus so much on moderation, but *curation*- particularly recommendation- really matters!

kgi.georgetown.edu/research-and...
Better Feeds: Algorithms That Put People First – Knight-Georgetown Institute
kgi.georgetown.edu

toddhelmus.bsky.social
Todd Helmus @toddhelmus.bsky.social · Mar 4
I am writing up talking points for a int’l symposium event on what the west must do to deter adversaries from using disinformation in conflict.

Realizing tho that the notion of a unified “west” is an increasingly an antiquated and out of date notion. And it blows my mind.

Reposted by Todd C. Helmus

jagolinzer.bsky.social
Alan Jagolinzer @jagolinzer.bsky.social · Feb 9
Disinformation & propaganda reinforce social identity.

Emotional need for belonging seems to dominate the need to understand what’s really going on.

RAND Corporation Sr Scientist @toddhelmus.bsky.social discussed this in the context of terror groups.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=GvC2...
RAND Corp's Sr Behavioral Scientist Todd Helmus on how propaganda reinforces community, 27 July 2023
YouTube video by Cambridge Disinformation Summit
m.youtube.com

Reposted by Todd C. Helmus

sheeraf.bsky.social
Sheera Frenkel @sheeraf.bsky.social · Jan 10
As a reporter who covered the Facebook apology tour circa 2016, and spent HOURS on the phone with FB flak and executives earnestly telling me Zuckerberg was torn up over Russian election interference and was making it a top priority to fix misinfo on FB, this week’s developments are 🙃

toddhelmus.bsky.social
Todd Helmus @toddhelmus.bsky.social · Jan 10
Emily Gross and I shared beers while chatting on her podcast, @beerocracy.bsky.social. Beers aside, we spoke about a deadly serious topic, extremism and suicide-protest among veterans. We also spoke about how my participation in a One-Wheel Facebook group explains online radicalization.
beerocracy.bsky.social Emily Gross @beerocracy.bsky.social · Jan 9
Check out the latest Beerocracy! where @toddhelmus.bsky.social and I discuss a poignant topic in the wake of the tragedies on New Years Day.

A Concerning Trend: Extremism Among Veterans
youtu.be/gCG9eonpRyI
A Concerning Trend: Extremism Among Veterans
YouTube video by Beerocracy! with Emily Gross
youtu.be

Reposted by Todd C. Helmus

beerocracy.bsky.social
Emily Gross @beerocracy.bsky.social · Jan 9
Check out the latest Beerocracy! where @toddhelmus.bsky.social and I discuss a poignant topic in the wake of the tragedies on New Years Day.

A Concerning Trend: Extremism Among Veterans
youtu.be/gCG9eonpRyI
A Concerning Trend: Extremism Among Veterans
YouTube video by Beerocracy! with Emily Gross
youtu.be

toddhelmus.bsky.social
Todd Helmus @toddhelmus.bsky.social · Jan 4
And this story is heartbreaking. A devil’s brew of PTSD, depression, paranoid delusions and TBI.

Was he getting the care he needed or was he left out in the lurch by the Army?

www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
Tesla Cybertruck driver struggled with mental health, investigators say
Authorities say U.S. soldier Matthew Livelsberger died by suicide in a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
www.washingtonpost.com

toddhelmus.bsky.social
Todd Helmus @toddhelmus.bsky.social · Jan 4
Fascinating story about the New Orleans attacker’s deepening spiral to isolation and puritanical Islam.

But still no public evidence that he consumed extremist propaganda or connected with recruiters or other followers. So the big question still remains. Why ISIS?

www.nytimes.com/2025/01/04/u...
Tracing the New Orleans Attacker’s Secret Radicalization
Recordings and interviews detail Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s growing discontent with American society and increasing isolation even within his local Muslim community.
www.nytimes.com

toddhelmus.bsky.social
Todd Helmus @toddhelmus.bsky.social · Dec 9
A provocative little tidbit here that the United Health Care assassination suspect was captured with document that indicates “ill will towards corporate America.”

Could this broader than a targeted killing and veer into the terrorism arena?

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Live updates: Police say 26-year-old man in custody in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing
The latest news in the killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson.
www.washingtonpost.com

toddhelmus.bsky.social
Todd Helmus @toddhelmus.bsky.social · Nov 23
Thanks Alan! Good to be here.