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.
February 2021
Atlantic Council’s DFRLab publishes new report in Just Security: #StopTheSteal: A timeline of social media and extremist activities leading up to 1/6 insurrection
In-depth investigation offers the most comprehensive timeline for #StopTheSteal to date.
September 2020
Making sense of foreign interference claims on the eve of the 2020 US election
The DFRLab launches an interactive, open-source database that captures allegations of foreign interference relevant to the 2020 election. It assesses the credibility, objectivity, evidence, transparency, and impact of each claim.
September 2020
How Manny from Diary of a Wimpy Kid galvanized political activism on TikTok
Manny Heffley became a political symbol for young TikTok users to support Black Lives Matter protests around police brutality.
