Renee DiResta, author of "Invisible Rulers," speaks during an interview with AFP in Washington, DC, on August 27, 2024. Understanding disinformation has emerged as a political lightning rod in the US ahead of the November election, with academics and think-tanks facing lawsuits by right-wing groups and subpoenas from a Republican-led congressional committee. AFP spoke with Renee DiResta, author of "Invisible Rulers: The people who turn lies into reality." She was formerly with the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO), a non-partisan disinformation research project. (Photo by Bastien INZAURRALDE / AFP) (Photo by BASTIEN INZAURRALDE/AFP via Getty Images)

KIEL, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 4: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, CEO of Diehl Defence Helmut Rauch, The project supervisor at the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support and Lt. General Ingo Gerhartz, commander of the German air force (Inspekteur der Luftwaffe), during the operative launch of the Bundeswehr's first IRIS-T SLM air defence system at the Todendorf military base on September 4, 2024 in Panker, Germany. IRIS-T SLM, developed by Diehl Defence, is a medium-range system capable of bringing down drones, aircraft and missiles. Germany has already supplied Ukraine with at least three of the systems. (Photo by Gregor Fischer/Getty Images)

(L-R) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, CEO of Diehl Defence Helmut Rauch, Director General of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) Harald Albrecht and German Air Force Lieutenant General and Inspector Ingo Gerhartz pose in front of Germany's first IRIS-T SLM medium range air defence system at the military base camp in Todendorf, northern Germany, on September 4, 2024. The German military put into service on September 4 its first IRIS-T medium range air defence system, which has already been supplied to war-torn Ukraine to intercept Russian rockets, drones and missiles. (Photo by Daniel Bockwoldt / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL BOCKWOLDT/AFP via Getty Images)

(L-R) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, CEO of Diehl Defence Helmut Rauch, Director General of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) Harald Albrecht and German Air Force Lieutenant General and Inspector Ingo Gerhartz pose in front of Germany's first IRIS-T SLM medium range air defence system at the military base camp in Todendorf, northern Germany, on September 4, 2024. The German military put into service on September 4 its first IRIS-T medium range air defence system, which has already been supplied to war-torn Ukraine to intercept Russian rockets, drones and missiles. (Photo by Daniel Bockwoldt / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL BOCKWOLDT/AFP via Getty Images)

TOPSHOT - The CHIME Outrigger telescope is seen with one of the original 185 Foot radio telescopes at the Green Bank Observatory in the US National Radio Quiet Zone May 20, 2024, in Green Bank, West Virginia. Nestled between mountains in a secluded corner of West Virginia, a giant awakens: the Green Bank Telescope begins its nightly vigil, scanning the cosmos for secrets. If intelligent life exists beyond Earth, there's a good chance the teams analyzing the data from the world's largest, fully steerable radio astronomy facility will be the first to know. "People have been asking themselves the question, 'Are we alone in the universe?' ever since they first gazed up at the night sky and wondered if there were other worlds out there," says Steve Croft, project scientist for the Breakthrough Listen initiative. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

TOPSHOT - The Green Bank ObservatoryÕs 140 foot decommissioned telescope is seen while being updated from the 100-meter Green Bank telescope the US National Radio Quiet Zone May 20, 2024, in Green Bank, West Virginia. Nestled between mountains in a secluded corner of West Virginia, a giant awakens: the Green Bank Telescope begins its nightly vigil, scanning the cosmos for secrets. If intelligent life exists beyond Earth, there's a good chance the teams analyzing the data from the world's largest, fully steerable radio astronomy facility will be the first to know. "People have been asking themselves the question, 'Are we alone in the universe?' ever since they first gazed up at the night sky and wondered if there were other worlds out there," says Steve Croft, project scientist for the Breakthrough Listen initiative. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

TOPSHOT - The Green Bank Telescope, a 100-meter fully steerable radio telescope, is seen near a farm in the Green Bank Observatory in the US National Radio Quiet Zone May 21, 2024, in Green Bank, West Virginia. Nestled between mountains in a secluded corner of West Virginia, a giant awakens: the Green Bank Telescope begins its nightly vigil, scanning the cosmos for secrets. If intelligent life exists beyond Earth, there's a good chance the teams analyzing the data from the world's largest, fully steerable radio astronomy facility will be the first to know. "People have been asking themselves the question, 'Are we alone in the universe?' ever since they first gazed up at the night sky and wondered if there were other worlds out there," says Steve Croft, project scientist for the Breakthrough Listen initiative. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

TOPSHOT - Cows graze in a field near the Green Bank Telescope, a 100-meter fully steerable radio telescope, is seen at the Green Bank Observatory in the US National Radio Quiet Zone May 20, 2024, in Green Bank, West Virginia. Nestled between mountains in a secluded corner of West Virginia, a giant awakens: the Green Bank Telescope begins its nightly vigil, scanning the cosmos for secrets. If intelligent life exists beyond Earth, there's a good chance the teams analyzing the data from the world's largest, fully steerable radio astronomy facility will be the first to know. "People have been asking themselves the question, 'Are we alone in the universe?' ever since they first gazed up at the night sky and wondered if there were other worlds out there," says Steve Croft, project scientist for the Breakthrough Listen initiative. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)