Invisible Rulers: Information Warfare and Public Trust

The Corporations and Society Initiative (CASI) welcomes Renée DiResta, a leading expert on online disinformation and networked influence, for a conversation on how information and power circulate in the digital age. Drawing on her research on social media manipulation, influence campaigns, and the dynamics of online communities—including anonymous and decentralized spaces—DiResta will explain how narratives emerge, spread, and shape public understanding across platforms.

A former researcher at the Stanford Internet Observatory and author of Invisible Rulers (2024), DiResta has advised policymakers and testified before the U.S. Congress on election interference and the role of technology companies in amplifying misleading content. Her work explores the intersection of technology, politics, and human behavior, raising core questions about accountability, platform governance, and who controls the spread of digital information.

Moderated by Dylan Ackerman (MBA ’26), this discussion will examine how social media, digital networks, and online communities are reshaping influence—and what that means for public and private institutions, democratic governance, and the future of public trust.

Renée DiResta is an Associate Research Professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and a former Technical Research Manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO). She is a leading expert on online disinformation, influence operations, and state-sponsored information warfare, and has advised the U.S. Congress on strategies to counter social media manipulation. DiResta studies how misinformation spreads across digital networks, the role of social media platforms and online communities, and ways to build more resilient institutions and democratic processes. She is the author of Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality (2024) and co-founded Vaccinate California, an organization promoting vaccination awareness in the state. She holds a B.S. in Computer Science and Political Science from Stony Brook University and has conducted research bridging technology, policy, and human behavior.

Moderator: Dylan Ackerman, MBA ’26