Guest Talk with Renee DiResta | A Troll's Guide to the Internet

Renee DiResta discusses human behavior in the digital built environment, arguing that the internet is no longer a wild space but rather a constructed ecosystem where users adapt their behaviors—similar to how animals adapt to urban environments. DiResta draws on her decade-plus of research studying digital manipulation tactics, algorithmic amplification, and coordinated networks (exemplified by her work on anti-vaccine movements) to frame online phenomena as products of designed systems rather than natural behavior.