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.

About the Author

Renée DiResta is an associate research professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University and a contributing editor at Lawfare.

Her work examines rumors and propaganda in the digital age. DiResta’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Wired, Foreign Affairs, Columbia Journalism Review, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Yale Review, The Guardian, POLITICO, Slate,and Noema.