Will Robinson

Inoculation Works. Now We Have to Scale It. What a new deepfake study tells us about detection, prevention, and the next phase of the information war.

A new study from researchers at the University of Iowa offers something rare in the fight against political disinformation: good news. We can inoculate against disinformation.

open.substack.com/pub/willrobi...

The Right Is Already Using AI. We’re Still Debating It. How refusing to engage with AI is widening the disinformation gap

The Right Is Already Using AI. We’re Still Debating It.
open.substack.com/pub/willrobi...

No Kings: Why They’re Afraid of Our March When those in power sneer at a march, it’s because they recognize what it means. A march the signal that people have remembered their power. The only question is - what will we do with that power?

open.substack.com/pub/willrobi...

The Overview: Three Strategies the U.S. Resistance Needs Now Crowd size grabs headlines. Structures, rituals, and defections win.

🚨 Lesson from Abroad, Urgency for Home 🚨

Crowd size grabs headlines. But real power comes from structure, discipline, and defections. If we want to win here, we need to learn from what actually worked there. open.substack.com/pub/willrobi...

Stop Measuring Marches. Start Building Power. Progressives have taken thousands of actions and put millions in the streets. If protests alone could stop Authoritarianism, we’d be done by now. What works is structure, discipline, and defections.

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Please listen to the DemLabs podcast of about a Cacerolazo - using pots and pans to protest Authoritarianism!

Spending $200 billion on ICE is a terrible idea I've covered federal law enforcement for two decades. Here are the things that worry me most.

"We’re creating something even more dangerous to the country: A masked monster of a law enforcement agency, one uniquely unsuited for its new power, authority, reach, and funding levels."

Yesterday, I joined @momsrising.org and @civilrightsorg.bsky.social at #NABJ50 to highlight how parents, educators, and community leaders are speaking out for all students—and against the attacks on public schools.

Trump’s Tax Bill Will Starve Public Schools. Kids are Next An estimated 18 million kids could lose access to free school meals because of Trump's tax bill.

As I said in my op-ed, Trump’s newly-signed tax bill, which Republicans overwhelmingly voted for, slashes food assistance by ~$186 billion—the largest cut in American history.

18 million children will lose free school meals. We must hold these lawmakers accountable.

The Most Trusted Messengers Aren’t on TV - They’re in Your Phone and Just Down the Street They’re not polished or paid to persuade. They’re neighbors, coworkers, and cousins—sharing WhatsApp messages, posting Instagram Reels, and building trust one conversation at a time.

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Responding to Changes in Digital Communications with Will Robinson - The Great Battlefield Podcast Will Robinson returns to The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about what he's been up to at The New Media Firm and his Substack where he's calling for change to how we communicate with voters.

Responding to Changes in Digital Communications with Will Robinson
Here is the link - greatbattlefield.com/episode/resp...

Sent from my iPhone

The Stories Democrats Aren’t Telling (But Should) We can still talk about policy. But policy comes after connection—and connection starts by putting the audience first.

Let’s stop debating explaining and let’s start connecting. Because one powerful story can do what a dozen fact sheets can’t.

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I Actually Read the Declaration of Independence And what struck me most were the grievances: a list of accusations against King George III that feel more pointed and poetic than any speech today.

I Actually Read the Declaration of Independence. Some of our Founder's grievances sound very familiar. open.substack.com/pub/willrobi...

Authentic > Polished Why Low-Fi Political Videos Are Winning Hearts—and Votes

Authentic > Polished: Authenticity beats polish every time. The most persuasive political videos today aren’t studio-produced—they’re shot on phones by real people telling real stories. open.substack.com/pub/willrobi...

10 Signs You’re Dealing with a Sociopath Does this apply to you anyone we know?

10 Signs You’re Dealing with a Sociopath
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The $900 Million Message That Missed the Moment: What Future Forward Got Wrong Democrats can’t afford to hand over their story to an algorithm.

The $900 Million Message That Missed the Moment: What Future Forward Got Wrong
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Tell Charlie I said hi! Ask him how we met

Biden diagnosed with ‘aggressive form’ of prostate cancer | CNN Politics Former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer, according to a statement from his personal office Sunday, and it has spread to his bones.

I understand that President Biden is a public figure who has spent decades in the spotlight. But for an exposé to be released at a moment when his family is enduring yet another personal tragedy feels needlessly cruel. www.cnn.com/2025/05/18/p...

Terrorists Continue to Pay for Check Marks on X, Report Says

Danger Will Robinson! Elon Musk's platform X (formerly Twitter) granted verified status to accounts associated with designated terrorist organizations.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/t...

#verifiedterrorists #xbluecheck #elonmusk

The New Empire: How the Right Built a 24/7 Culture Machine—and Why Progressives Must Catch Up Overview: Part 2: Core Infrastructure — Broadcast, Digital, Influencers, and Funding

The New Empire: How the Right Built a 24/7 Culture Machine—and Why Progressives Must Catch Up Overview:
open.substack.com/pub/willrobi...

The New Empire: How the Right Built Their 24/7 Culture Machine Part 1: From Goldwater to Bots: How the Right Engineered a Permanent Media Machine

The Democratic brand is at a low point, while the right wing has built a 24/7 culture machine. To fight back effectively, we first need to understand how we got here. Please read and share.

#DisinformationCrisis #FightTheRight #FiftyFiftyOne #PeoplesMovement

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Trump’s D.C. U.S. attorney pick appeared on Russian state media over 150 times Trump nominee Ed Martin’s 100-plus appearances on Russian state-directed media RT and Sputnik from 2016 to 2024 alarm some former national security officials.

The DC attorney nominee has appeared dozens of times on Russian state media
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

How the Right Won the Media War — And What We Can Still Do About It A three-part exploration of how the American right built a decentralized, emotionally resonant, and wildly effective media empire—while traditional media crumbled and progressives got stuck in outdate...

The American right built a decentralized, emotionally resonant, and wildly effective media empire—while traditional media crumbled and progressives got stuck in outdated campaign tactics. They are winning the media war.

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Democrats Need To Change How We Buy Media In a recent Nielsen report, broadcast TV accounted for just 21.2% of total television usage

It’s time for Democrats to break their broadcast campaign ad addiction. open.substack.com/pub/willrobi...

Will Robinson | Substack Progressive media consultant and activist.

Democrats remain heavily invested in traditional political communications - and we lose.
In contrast, the Republican Party and aligned right-wing media ecosystems have rapidly adapted to disruption by embracing digital-first, always-on communication platforms.

More…

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The Trump Musk brown shirts are about to decimate the Department of Education, putting free and reduced lunches for 20 million school children on the chopping block. Tell Congress that protecting our kids is more important than pleasing billionaires.

The Republican budget resolution makes $880 billion in Medicaid cuts over a decade, affecting nearly 80 million Americans. This also provides $4.5 trillion in tax cuts - with most going to Billionaires, millionaires, and corporations.

A new generation of Democratic leadership rises! Thank you Rep. Budzinski!

Donate to The Trevor Project The Trevor Project https://give.thetrevorproject.org/campaign/666531/donate

Help! My Trevor Fundraiser has surfaced a wave of incredible hate on my social media pages - mainly the Faceplace. The bot posts are threatening and have bad spelling! Please support the Trevor Project and stand up for our kids. Thanks!

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