Tethics & Chill [online]: Truth, Lies, and the Influence Machine w/ Renée DiResta

​What happens when propaganda goes peer-to-peer?

​In an age where truth can be engineered and outrage is an asset class, the institutions once trusted to hold the line—governments, media, academia—are increasingly sidelined by niche influencers, algorithmic chaos, and viral misinformation. But what if it’s not just a media problem? What if it's a systems problem?

​Renée DiResta is one of the world’s foremost experts on adversarial online ecosystems. She studies how state actors, grifters, extremists, and opportunists weaponize the internet’s infrastructure—manipulating public opinion, radicalizing communities, and dissolving shared reality in the process.

​In her new book Invisible Rulers, Renée traces how bespoke realities are constructed and amplified to such an extent that they erode the legitimacy of democratic institutions themselves.

​Join us as we explore:

• ​How influence operations and algorithmic amplification shape what people believe

• ​The evolving threat landscape of disinformation, scams, and child exploitation in the age of generative AI

• ​Why content moderation is a design problem, not just a policy debate

• ​What technologists and builders can do to resist the machinery of manipulation

​This conversation won’t just surface the challenges—we’ll dive into solutions, from better platform design to governance innovations that preserve both free expression and societal cohesion.

​Come ready to think systemically, challenge assumptions, and imagine better futures.

​Stay tethical and we’ll see you there.
— Anastasia, Zoe, Ross, and Vivian