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This is a Berkman Klein alum page. The information below may be out of date.

Renee DiResta is the Director of Research at cybersecurity company New Knowledge, and Head of Policy at the nonprofit Data for Democracy.

Renee investigates the spread of disinformation and malign narratives across social networks, and assists policymakers in understanding and responding to the problem. She has advised Congress, the State Department, and other academic, civic, and business organizations. In 2017, Renee was named a Presidential Leadership Scholar, and had the opportunity to continue her work with the support of the Presidents Bush, President Clinton, and the LBJ Foundation.

She is 2018 Mozilla Fellow in Media, Misinformation, and Trust, a Harvard Berkman-Klein affiliate, a Staff Associate at Columbia University Data Science Institute, a Council on Foreign Relations term member, and a Founding Adviser to the Center for Humane Technology.

Previously, she has been the co-founder of logistics startup Haven, a Principal at O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, and an emerging markets derivatives trader at Jane Street. Her work and writing has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, Wired, Slate, Fast Company, and the Economist. She is the author of the O’Reilly book “The Hardware Startup: Building Your Product, Business, and Brand”, and lives on the web at http://reneediresta.com and @noUpside.


News

May 7, 2020

Introducing: The Breakdown

A brief interview series sharing an inside look at the work of BKC

Through brief interviews, The Breakdown shares an inside look into how members of the Berkman Klein Center community are working on and grappling with difficult topics, and brings…


Community

NiemanLab

Renee DiResta joins Stanford Internet Observatory

DiResta, an affiliate, will be the program’s research manager

Jul 26, 2019
The Guardian

Anti-vaxx 'mobs': doctors face harassment campaigns on Facebook

Medical experts who counter misinformation are weathering coordinated attacks. Now some are fighting back

Facebook's stance on anti-vaccine misinformation, and what public health experts have to say about it.

Mar 6, 2019
Wired

How Amazon's Algorithms Curated a Dystopian Bookstore

Amazon and the spread of health misinformation.

Mar 5, 2019
Bloomberg

Instagram May Have Been Key Tool in Russia's Manipulation of U.S. Voters

Renee DiResta discusses the results of a new report commissioned by the Senate Intelligence Committee about Russian interference in U.S. elections.

Dec 17, 2018
Ribbon Farm

The Digital Maginot Line

We are immersed in an evolving, ongoing conflict: an Information World War in which state actors, terrorists, and ideological extremists leverage the social infrastructure…

Nov 28, 2018
Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's 2018 Word Of The Year Is "Misinformation"

Watch these experts help explain “Misinformation” in 2018

Nov 22, 2018
Wired

From QAnon to Pizzagate, When Online Conspiracies Form Cults

We used to worry about filter bubbles, which accidentally trap users in a certain sphere of information. In the era of social networks, the bubble has expanded.

Nov 13, 2018
Wired

Algorithmic Megaphones and Free Speech

Where is the line between authentic free speech and the manipulation of speech?

Oct 12, 2018

Events

Jan 13, 2021 @ 2:00 PM

Covid State of Play: 2021 Outlook and Vaccine Disinformation

Video & Podcast: Featuring Jonathan Zittrain, Margaret Bourdeaux, and Renée DiResta

Video & Podcast: Reflecting on 2020, the year ahead, and vaccine disinformation that has been proliferating online

May 15, 2018 @ 12:00 PM

Shaping Consumption

How Social Network Manipulation Tactics Are Impacting Amazon and Influencing Consumers

Narrative manipulation issues are increasingly well-documented problems affecting the entire social ecosystem.