• Research Associate

Max Rizzuto

Max Rizzuto is a research associate at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab based in Washington, DC. His work on extremism and disinformation has been cited by the Associated Press, Axios, Al Jazeera, Business Insider, and more.

He holds a bachelor’s in Science, Technology, and Society from Stevens Institute of Technology where he graduated with high honors. His senior thesis documented the early days of deepfake development communities with attention to the ethnography of early adopters and the progress of the codebase.

September 2024

Crypto-scam hosts pop-up livestream featuring a deepfaked Elon Musk 

by Max Rizzuto

'Traveling Circus' livestream raked in $50,000 over the course of two hours by featuring a deepfake of Musk to solicit investments
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February 2022

Kremlin outlets exploit suspicious user comments on German Navy chief’s resignation

by Eto Buziashvili, Max Rizzuto

Outlets cited suspicious comments giving the impression they represented broader German public opinion.
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February 2022

DC anti-mandate rally leveraged to broaden audience for anti-vax narratives

by Jared Holt, Max Rizzuto

January 23 anti-vax rally softened messaging and utilized support from anti-mandate doctors to reach broader audiences.
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