Why misinformation often feels convincing
Why misleading claims can feel coherent and persuasive even when evidence is weak — and what that reveals about everyday reasoning.
Draft
Research and intellectual craftsmanship
Renato Russo
Researching how people make sense of data, media, and evidence
I study how people build explanations and beliefs while navigating complex information environments. My work combines research, thinking tools, and public writing to explore how data, media, and evidence shape everyday reasoning.
Learning Sciences · Data, media, and public reasoning · Columbia University
Latest essay
All essaysWhy misinformation often feels convincing
A public-facing essay on why misleading claims can feel coherent, intuitive, and trustworthy even when they are not.
Draft essayPublic scholarship
Research themes
How people come to believe what they believe
Why arguments without evidence convince, and what that reveals about how we process information day to day.
Digital platforms and public debate
How the design of social media shapes what people understand about politics, science, and society — for better and for worse.
Tools for studying public reasoning
Experiments, simulations, and interfaces that make belief formation and disinformation processes visible.
Affiliation
Columbia University · Teachers College
Learning Sciences
Work
Research, tools, and writing that help make sense of how people understand the world.
Essays
Research translated for people who make decisions.
Written for those who need to understand these phenomena, not necessarily those who study them.
How people actually interpret data online
What happens when ordinary people encounter charts, numbers, and evidence on social media — and how they turn them into explanations.
Draft
Why evidence rarely changes minds the way we expect
A look at belief change as a process of interpretation rather than simple exposure to facts.
Draft
Thinking Tools
Interfaces, simulations, and conceptual tools that help make complex ideas thinkable.
Belief Drift
A prototype for exploring how discourse can gradually shift beliefs across acceptable, questionable, and harmful directions.
Explore tool
Decision Tree Experiments
Interactive tools for studying how people reason through public policy questions and competing claims.
Explore tool
Media Sensemaking
Research designs and analyses focused on how people interpret evidence in social media environments.
Explore tool
Research
Peer-reviewed work exploring the cognitive and social dimensions of online sensemaking.
Twisted Knowledge Construction on X/Twitter
Russo, Blikstein & Literat
Information and Learning Sciences · 2024
Just Asking Questions: Can a Far-Right President Turn Agentic Knowledge Construction into Political Manipulation?
Russo & Blikstein
Information and Learning Sciences · 2023
Weaponizing John 8:32: The Complex Interconnections Between Religion and Politics on Brazilian Twitter
Russo, Literat & Blikstein
Social Media + Society · 2023
How I can help
Research-grade rigor applied to practical questions about belief, media, and public reasoning.
Media organizations
Editorial consulting and team workshops on how audiences process evidence, disinformation dynamics, and the cognitive underpinnings of viral content.
Government and policy
Research and analysis on information ecosystems, online radicalization, and the Brazilian media landscape.
Consulting and agencies
Talks and workshops on public reasoning, belief formation, and communication in polarized environments.
Now
What I'm currently working on.
A lightweight snapshot of the questions, tools, and writing currently shaping my work.
Dissertation
Studying how people construct explanations and beliefs when interpreting ambiguous data in media environments.
Thinking tools
Building interactive tools, simulations, and exploratory interfaces for studying belief formation, public reasoning, and sense-making.
Writing
Developing public-facing essays that translate research on evidence, data interpretation, and misinformation.
Location
Based in Rio de Janeiro, completing doctoral work at Columbia University. Available for consulting and speaking from September 2026 — reach out early if you have a project in mind.
Contact
For collaborations, talks, projects, and conversations.
I work with media organizations, government agencies, and consulting firms on disinformation, public reasoning, and media ecosystems. Available for consulting, research, and speaking from September 2026 — reach out early if you have a project in mind.
Available for consulting and speaking from September 2026 — reach out early if you have a project in mind.
Discuss a project