Renée DiResta

Date: 2019-03-12 | Duration: 2h 11m

Episode Overview

Renée DiResta dives into the complex world of online disinformation campaigns, focusing on how foreign actors, particularly Russian operatives, exploited social media platforms from 2015 onward to influence American political discourse. She details the sophisticated use of fake accounts and targeted content designed to sow division by appealing to various identity groups, such as Black communities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and incarcerated populations. DiResta highlights how these operations evolved from benign memes to highly politicized messaging, activating and polarizing audiences in subtle yet effective ways. She also explains the challenges in detecting and countering these campaigns, given their blend of automated bots and real people posing as Americans. The conversation further explores the broader impact of social media on public discourse, including the difficulties platforms face in moderating content without infringing on free speech. DiResta discusses the arms race between disinformation actors and tech companies, emphasizing the lack of regulation and the complexity of balancing open communication with preventing harassment and manipulation. She also touches on emerging threats like deepfakes and AI-generated content, warning about their potential to exacerbate misinformation. Throughout, DiResta offers insights into how these digital tactics have reshaped crowd psychology and political engagement, underscoring the urgent need for improved detection and accountability in the evolving online ecosystem.

About Renée DiResta

Renée DiResta is a leading expert in the field of media and misinformation, currently serving as the Director of Research at New Knowledge and a Mozilla Fellow focused on Media, Misinformation, and Trust. With a robust background in technology and social media, she has gained recognition for her incisive analysis of the spread of disinformation and its impact on public discourse. DiResta's work not only sheds light on the mechanics behind misinformation campaigns but also advocates for informed digital citizenship. Known for her engaging insights, she has been a sought-after voice in discussions surrounding online trust and the societal implications of fake news, making her a compelling figure in today’s digital landscape.

Key Moments

– Social Media Manipulation
– Disinformation Campaigns
– Russian Internet Research Agency
– Online Political Influence
– Troll Farms
– Content Moderation
– Algorithmic Amplification
– Sock Puppet Accounts
– Election Interference
– Memes in Propaganda
– Deepfake Technology
– Online Radicalization
– Digital Activism
– Platform Accountability
– Cybersecurity
– Data Transparency
– Freedom of Speech Online
– Crowd Psychology
– Tech Regulation
– Online Harassment
0:00:00 – Challenges of identifying online manipulation
0:00:49 – Vaccination and small group influence
0:02:18 – Government response to terrorism online
0:03:07 – Meeting Russian trolls in St. Petersburg
0:03:52 – Social media's early years and growth
0:06:56 – Engagement tactics of pro-Trump accounts
0:08:18 – Definition and use of sock puppet accounts
0:09:39 – American trolls' role in disinformation
0:11:48 – Motivations behind Russian agency operations
0:14:38 – Effectiveness of social media propaganda
0:16:40 – Creation of targeted identity-based pages
0:20:52 – Use of memes like Kermit the Frog for engagement
0:26:20 – Impact on election and public opinion
0:29:35 – Shifts in support for political candidates
0:34:17 – Analysis of hundreds of thousands of posts
0:37:11 – Scope of accounts and content produced
0:40:34 – Identifying sloppiness in fake content
0:43:13 – Spy versus spy nature of information warfare
0:48:48 – Absence of vaccine misinformation on some platforms
0:51:09 – Facebook's start of content moderation
0:56:45 – Attempts to financially exploit political supporters
1:00:50 – Black Matters social media network creation
1:06:46 – Hiring people to create fake accounts
1:10:35 – Emotional reactions to meme content
1:13:07 – Targeted ad delivery in social media
1:16:30 – Tech hearings and research collaboration
1:22:21 – Challenges of keyword bans and censorship
1:26:35 – Algorithms and machine learning in moderation
1:30:15 – Foreign manipulation of public opinion
1:32:31 – Lack of regulation in tech ecosystem
1:38:18 – California GDPR and data protection laws
1:44:56 – Toxicity in online discourse
1:48:39 – Volatile protests and online communication
1:53:31 – Heavy phone usage and social media impact
1:57:30 – Emerging generative adversarial networks
2:00:35 – ISIS chemical plant hoax example
2:02:07 – Capabilities of deepfake technology
2:07:27 – Future threats and concerns of manipulation

Transcript Excerpt

Starting point is 00:00:00 people though they really are it's just fucking hard business especially when you didn't see it Starting point is 00:00:49 as someone who vaccinates. And I started looking at the way that small groups were able to Starting point is 00:01:35 the pros and cons of that were. And then this was 2015. So the way that this sort of Starting point is 00:02:18 And I wound up working on thinking about how the government was going to respond to the challenge of terrorist Starting point is 00:03:07 actually met the trolls, been in St. Petersburg, and began to write about what was happening over Starting point is 00:03:52 So 2015, if we think about social media and the birth of social media, essentially it had only been alive for, I mean, what was Twitter 2007, I believe? Starting point is 00:04:18 Yeah, so I think, so there was this, if you go back to like, Starting point is 00:04:39 You could put up your blog. Starting point is 00:05:36 So this becomes really interesting for regular people who just want to find their friends, reach people, spread their message, grow an audience. Starting point is 00:06:09 and a couple other minor platforms other than YouTube. Starting point is 00:06:37 And then I'll go to some of these accounts. Starting point is 00:06:56 And then you'll go through the timeline and all they're doing is engaging people and arguing for Trump you know whatever the fuck they're angry about Starting point is 00:07:40 But there were actually a fair number of these as we began to do the investigation into the Russian operation. Starting point is 00:08:18 automated. Sometimes it's a real person. But a sock puppet is the other way that we can refer Starting point is 00:09:05 It begins to look outwards. Starting point is 00:09:39 American trolls that were very much real and active and part of this and expressing their Starting point is 00:10:07 VPNs, that's it yeah so if they do that they can kind of do that as long as they want they can contin...

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Who was the guest on Joe Rogan Experience #1263?

Renée DiResta was the guest on JRE #1263. This page includes the episode overview, topics discussed, and related resources.

What topics were discussed on JRE #1263?

On Joe Rogan Experience #1263 with Renée DiResta, topics include Social Media Manipulation, Disinformation Campaigns, Russian Internet Research Agency, and Online Political Influence.

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