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Michael Shellenberger appears to be preparing another piece falsely claiming that a conference of researchers studying disinformation is tantamount to a shadowy cabal of censorship. Spoiler alert: conferences, in fact, are the definition of free speech. My response to his questions is below.

5/10/26, 3:45 pm89 reposts331 likes

Julie Hotard Ph.D., writer, effects of disinfo on social systems

@upine.bsky.social

2 post thread on this. bsky.app/profile/upin...

Julie Hotard Ph.D., writer, effects of disinfo on social systems@upine.bsky.social

From his wikipedia. He's on the faculty at Bari Weiss's Right Wing university. "As of 2026 Shellenberger is on the faculty of the University of Austin in the area of "Politics, Censorship and Free Speech."

Maarten Schenk

@mschenk.bsky.social

Some of the fallout: bsky.app/profile/msch...

Maarten Schenk@mschenk.bsky.social

An example of FIMI (Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference) in action at the @disinfo.eu conference? Apparently someone in the U.S. did not agree with the topic of a session named "USA as a FIMI threat: acknowledge, adapt, push back" and applied pressure on the sponsors...

Mike Bovril

@mikebovril.bsky.social

I don’t think it’s worth responding to him. It’s not like a mainstream media outlet where non response can have a serious reputational impact. Realistically very few people will read his article, despite his claims. And he will not treat your answers fairly