Darren Linvill

Darren Linvill is a professor in the department of communication and codirector of the Clemson University Media Forensics Hub. He studies online deception, focusing on foreign information manipulation and interference. In 2020, Darren cofounded the Media Forensics Hub, an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to building capacity to understand the context, origins, and impact of digital media. Linvill and his colleagues at Clemson are recognized for their expertise in identifying foreign threats aimed at manipulating social media conversation, including campaigns from Russia, China, and Iran targeting the integrity of Western elections. They have not only expanded our understanding of these campaigns’ strategy and impact, but also successfully developed tools to build resiliency against them.

Linvill has collaborated with many major media outlets, including CNN, NBC, NPR, BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and ProPublica, to advance public understanding of this research. In addition to his academic work, Linvill has written for Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and Lawfare.

Linvill’s project, “Polarization and the Role of Foreign Malign Influence,” will explore the strategies and tactics employed by foreign actors to foster partisanship and undermine the integrity of our elections using modern digital technology. Separating perception from reality, this work will examine how foreign influence has evolved, specific strategies employed by differing state actors, the potential impacts of these attacks, and what we can do to build a more resilient digital ecosystem.

May 2026