Newsletter

Why is that random controversy blowing up on social media? Is it even real?

Agents of Influence is my newsletter about the people and systems shaping what we believe online: influencers, algorithms, crowds, platforms, power brokers, and institutions.

It's for occasional short essays, quick explainers, and notes on current controversies. One post might break down an influence operation or new platform policy; another might cover how AI is supercharging scams. Sometimes I’m the analyst; sometimes I’m the case study.

It's where I publish quickly and more directly than I can in media outlets or books.

No paywall, no spam, no sponsors. Just updates when there’s something worth saying.

Recent posts

  1. When Matt Taibbi Met Mike Benz

    To mark the paperback of Invisible Rulers, I’m releasing audio from a Twitter Space in which Matt Taibbi meets then-unknown political operative named Mike Benz. It is the origin story of the “censorship industrial complex”.

  2. Trump is going to lie to you tonight. An old guide to propaganda shows how to spot the red flags.

    Trump is expected to revive his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen, using selectively declassified intelligence as “receipts.” Here’s how to spot the tricks used to sell that story.

  3. Keep the Cat Memes Flowing: Interpretive Polarization and the Strategy Behind One of 2024’s Most Effective Political Narratives

    JD Vance admitted he promoted the debunked "eating the pets" claim because he had to "create stories" to get media attention. This essay explores how political narratives are intentionally engineered to outlast factual corrections.

  4. Happy July 4! We beat Stephen Miller in court.

    A federal court dismissed Hines v. Stamos in full — the America First Legal "censorship" suit against the Election Integrity Partnership and Virality Project.

  5. Why X's Community Notes is Struggling to Factcheck the LA Mayoral Election

    The "Spencer Pratt got 0 out of 24,000 votes” rumor was obviously false. Fifty Community Notes tried to debunk it. So why did none of them appear?

  6. Red Mirage, Blue Shift, Online Cope

    What Spencer Pratt's viral campaign tells us about online hype, election fraud spin, and what we'll see in the 2026 midterms.
Browse the full archive →