DiscoverZooming In at The UnPopulistHow the Right Uses Social Media to Create a Powerful Propaganda Machine: A Conversation with Renée DiResta
How the Right Uses Social Media to Create a Powerful Propaganda Machine: A Conversation with Renée DiResta

How the Right Uses Social Media to Create a Powerful Propaganda Machine: A Conversation with Renée DiResta

Update: 2025-02-23
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For years, traditional media—newspapers, cable news, and radio—dominated the political conversation. These were the institutions that shaped public discourse, set the agenda, and determined which ideas gained traction. But as the digital ecosystem evolved, a parallel and sometimes overlapping infrastructure emerged—one where influencers, niche content creators, and algorithmically curated feeds have redefined how people engage with information.

To understand this evolution, host Aaron Ross Powell sits down with Renee DiResta, an Associate Research Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown and author of Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality. Together they unpack how this shift has upended not just how news spreads but also how political identities are formed, narratives take hold, and, ultimately, how power operates.

We hope you enjoy.

© The UnPopulist, 2025

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How the Right Uses Social Media to Create a Powerful Propaganda Machine: A Conversation with Renée DiResta

How the Right Uses Social Media to Create a Powerful Propaganda Machine: A Conversation with Renée DiResta

Aaron Ross Powell