Invisible Rulers

The People Who Turn Lies into Reality

By: Renée DiResta

Narrated by: Anna Caputo

An eye-opening look at the small communities of propagandists revolutionizing politics, culture, and society.

“Essential and riveting reading.” —Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation

Invisible Rulers is about a profound transformation in power and influence that is altering our politics, our government, and even our relationships with friends and neighbors. Today, online propagandists increasingly shape public opinion and even control our relationship to the truth. Our shared reality has splintered into discrete bespoke realities driven by algorithms, influencers, and curated content. Very little can bridge the divide, making democratic consensus nearly impossible to achieve.

Renée DiResta exposes how these propagandists and their followers undermine the institutions that make society work, from anti-vaccine zealots who flood social media with fringe viewpoints to political influencers who use AI-generated images to manipulate our perception of reality. She also provides readers with a new conception of civics that helps us understand and fight back against these new invisible rulers.

Good exposer of the corporate and political forces behind what we are exposed to

Nice and fairly thorough history of internet manipulation for our attention and consumption. Nicely tied in with a historical perspective. A bit autobiographical - by the nature of who the author is I guess. Surplus of examples, but limited and mostly wishful thinking proposed solutions.

This booked wrecked me emotionally and I’m grateful it did.

This was an emotional rollercoaster type of experience. At moments, the intensity of my feelings made me want to stop (or throw my airpods away), yet I couldn’t—and I’m so glad I didn’t. The last chapter, left me feeling more informed, self-aware, and, surprisingly, optimistic. I highly recommend it.

the more things change...

Propaganda is not new but has morphed and expanded. Essential insight into the wierding of online and offline communication by lucrative tale-spinning influencers. How propaganda ate the internet. Some helpful hints on doing some things but more on how it unfolded and laying out and connecting the elements than providing a complete set of fixes. Especially valuable for gaining a sense of orientation as to what is going on and what types of responses haven't been working so as to help figure out more options for the future and not dispair. Getting a grip on what is going on is in itself empowering and that is a direct counter to the purpose of the propaganda to disorient, and cause disengagement. So the overall effect of the book feels to me hopeful and a foundation for staying engaged and figuring out better options for future communication world, Kind of like pulling one boot out of the mud and looking for a better place to put it down, while being very aware of the other boot still being deep in the mire. Since the author didn't read the book, I was very glad to hear her voice on the Moderated Content podcast June 12, 2024, during which she discusses the book and interacts with Annalee Newitz, author of Stories are Weapons (apparently not yet available as an audiobook) as well as Alex Stamos and Evelyn Douek on the book's topics. I think on the podcast their interactions add a bit more about what to do. As the two authors respond to one another and to questions, they expand a bit more on some points.

explains a lot

Cogent analysis explaining a new, near insurmountable, barrier to an informed citizenry. Recommend to your friends buried in social media

The best book on the topic

Read this and you’ll understand how we got into this mess, and some steps to take to fix it.