Welcome to The Freedom Academy! I’m Asha Rangappa, and I’m an Assistant Dean and Senior Lecturer at the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs. I’m also a lawyer and the former Dean of Admissions at Yale Law School. And before that, I was a Special Agent in the counterintelligence division of the FBI.
Many of you know me from my legal commentary about current events on TV, in print, and on social media. But when I began thinking of launching a Substack this past September, I wanted to focus on something different, topics that I’m passionate about in my professional work but which aren’t always covered in the news. I decided to create an outlet that offers a perspective on our current moment through the lens of information warfare, since that is the conflict that we are in, both at home and abroad.
Why should we care about disinformation?
The threats in the realm of information warfare — things like disinformation, foreign influence operations, and domestic propaganda — are largely invisible. They come in the form of speech, which we as a nation hold sacred and also believe is safe. After all, words aren’t bombs or guns; they don’t result in explosions or dead bodies, the things that we have come to associate with “real” threats to our national security, democracy, and way of life.
But words shape our perceptions — of our politics, of our institutions, and of each other — and perceptions shape actions. We saw the consequences of this on January 6, 2021.
When I was at the FBI, most of my cases involved foreign influence operations involving propaganda and disinformation. The Bureau calls these, fittingly, “perception management” operations. Perception management referred for foreign intelligence activities that sought to influence the opinions and attitudes of people in the United States in ways favorable to that intelligence service’s interests. This might include recruiting a journalist to plant stories, or creating domestic publications that looked organic, but were really run by a foreign government. At the time I worked these cases — in the twilight of the analog age and in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 — they felt not-so-urgent compared to the external terrorist threat we faced then.
The internet and explosion of social media over the last twenty years has fundamentally altered this threat landscape. It’s offered foreign governments — often authoritarian countries that eschew an open society — a way to easily weaponize democratic values, like a free press, against us. More recently, it’s allowed domestic actors to adopt tactics once used by foreign adversaries as a political strategy, also against us. I personally believe that disinformation, broadly speaking, poses the greatest threat to our democracy today.
The way to counter this threat — or “neutralize” it, as we would say in the Bureau — is to expose it. Information warfare is most effective on an unwitting and highly reactive target. Like shining an ultraviolet light on a crime scene that’s been cleaned with bleach, we can shine sunlight on disinformation efforts and fortify ourselves against “psychological hacking” attempts by understanding how these tactics work, why they are effective, and what vulnerabilities they seek to exploit.
To this end, I have been teaching a graduate level class called Russian Intelligence, Information Warfare, and Social Media for the last five years. One thing I’ve learned is that part of the reason it’s so hard for citizens, let alone policymakers, to wrap their heads around this threat is because it doesn’t neatly fall into a single discipline. My course incorporates the fields of history, intelligence, technology, psychology, sociology, and journalism, just to name a few areas from which I draw readings and other materials. The cool thing is that this kind of interdisciplinary approach offers the chance to connect the dots in new and interesting ways.
What is the Freedom Academy?
Occasionally I’ve posted some of these interesting insights or connections I was researching or teaching in my class on social media, and noticed that my followers wanted more. Many asked me if I allowed guests to audit the class, whether I taught the class online, or if I could share my syllabus. They had genuine excitement, which got me excited. So I decided to create a new syllabus for a course called “Democracy in the (Dis)Information Age” just for Substack — and the Freedom Academy came to life.
On my About page, I’ve written about the history behind the original attempt to create the Freedom Academy in the United States. It’s a fascinating and hopeful concept, and I hope to create the spirit of that idea here. Each week (usually on Wednesdays), I’ll post a reading or video along with my written “lecture” on that topic. I’ll do regular Zoom “office hours” for Q&A, and also post discussion prompts to share your thoughts and comments with each other. My hope is to also do some video interviews/guest lectures each month with authors of some of the books and articles we are reading. The weekly lessons will build on each other and refer back to earlier topics, but they will be presented in bite-sized chunks that can stand alone if you missed some weeks or are coming in late. For me, having the chance to go through my material bit by bit is a huge luxury, as it gives me a chance to do a deep dive on nuances that I sometimes can’t explore when I am forced to cover it all in one semester. Here on Substack, we have all the time in the world! (And trust me, we won’t run out of material.)
Is the Freedom Academy free?
For the Freedom Academy course, which is the meat of this Substack, the initial lessons will be free, and I will offer free previews of the course material from time to time. But, my goal is to create an interactive community built around enthusiasm for the subject, a robust exchange of ideas, and camaraderie — much like a real classroom. So after the first few weeks, the weekly lessons, as well as the ability to participate in discussions and Zoom chats, will be for my paid subscribers.
But there is free content! Every Monday (and more frequently if I can), I will publish a free post. Ideally, these will offer an angle on topics in the news connected to things we are covering in class. But when the news cycle gets really juicy, they may involve longer pieces inspired by the thoughts or threads I post on Twitter. (And if Twitter tanks completely, this is where you’ll find me and my hot takes, and they will definitely be free!)
All of this, of course, is both an experiment and a work in progress. I’ll enable comments on some of my free posts, so please do offer feedback and let me know what you’d like to see and hear more about as a subscriber.
Thank you for taking the time to visit my Substack. I hope you will subscribe to any version of it that piques your interest. I’m so excited to get started on this journey together.
Hi, Professor Rangappa!
My name is Jonathan, i’m a senior at Florida State University majoring in Political Science with a minor in Global & Homeland Security. Thank you so much for doing this and I appreciate the opportunity to learn from you.
I’m excited to dig in! Thanks again
Excellent! Thank you for subscribing and I look forward to having you in class!
Hi Asha! We have “talked” before on email about your Navy t-shirt, lol. I just subscribed for the free part. In my younger years, I was blessed enough to have obtained two Masters Degrees. One in Counseling and one in School Social Work. Fast forward 20 years and now I’m retired with a terminal illness. Being on Social Security, I have to watch my money in case it gets taken away by the Republicans. As I have previously told you, my wife and I have been fans for quite a few years now and we are thrilled that you are doing this venture. In a previous life, I was also a teacher at a small community college teaching about teenage suicide prevention so I know what it takes to teach a college level course with the prep, etc. Kudos to you! Keep up the good work and remember what I told you previously, you are a breath of fresh air in today’s world.
Thank you so much, Dan! I am so sorry to hear about your illness. I do appreciate your kind words and your support! And yes, teaching is a ton of work but has big rewards, as you know. I hope you enjoy the publication!
All the best for your plans! I am hesitant to subscribe since there are already other substacks that I would like to subscribe to, as well, but haven't (Seth Abramson, et al.) because I can foresee a monthly equivalent of a car loan payment from accumulated substack fees. Ongoing payments are a budget buster, even ongoing annual payments. It seems that Substack itself needs to offer a broader access program, allowing users to select preferred sources, for a reduced fee. Maybe five substacks for the monthly $5 fee, 15 for $10, 50 for $20, etc.. For the actual (miniscule, compared to print) cost of online publication, that would still result in substantial remuneration for contributors, as well as the umbrella organization., once the legions of avid readers follow.
Agree! My substacks are adding up! Thing is, the NYT is only $4/mo and WAPO is about that. Want to read and support more of this independent journalism, but it's a cost. So far, I follow Kristen DuMet (sp?), Angela Denker, and Steve Schimdt...not cheap, but worth it!
I am looking forward to your class! I'm bothered by the freedom to lie and am curious about the reach of the First Amendment. Apparently it doesn't extend to people under oath or to lying to various agencies. I wonder if legislation could exploit this fact to stanch the firehose of lies from elected officials: Every X months they must answer a defined range of questions in public under oath.
Hello Asha, Just wanted to say that I very much enjoy your legal take on a lot of things that are going on today! Good luck with your new Freedom Academy.
Thank you, Harry!
I am looking forward to learning and engaging
Same -- thank you for joining!
I am a reporting analyst in the banking industry in Wisconsin and have a master's degree in history. I am here to learn more about the dark arts of disinformation.
So glad you are on here! Looking forward to the class. I am business and public policy faculty at the Haas School of Business at UC-Berkeley, where I teach undergrads and grad students. (On occasion, I write about 5G and cybersecurity.) Very much looking forward to your class! And yes, I enjoyed the brief cat cameo during your introductory video. ;-)
Ha! I think the cat may make more cameos throughout the course! Thank you for joining.
So good to see you here.
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it
This sounds very intriguing so I am going to give it a try. I think I am a little intimidated that it could be over my head but we shall see. I studied International Relations in Berkeley in the sixties and it was an unforgettable imprint that has stayed with me to this day. Thanks, Asha, for offering this. I am a longtime member of Ruth BG's Lucid group.
Good points, all. I remember "Periscope" to be one of the best new sources. It allowed instant live video feeds from anywhere in the world. It even had a map so that you could zoom into anywhere that had an emerging news story and find at least one, usually more, live feeds from cell phones. Like you, I hope the platform can survive. But I can't be a part of it while it allows the traitor trump back on. His words actually caused insurrection and death. But, like you, I hope it survives somehow and finds a way to return to sanity.
Subscribed! Can’t wait to get started!
Hi Asha… I enjoy hearing your legal perspective and I’m excited to hear you are are doing this. I will definitely carve out some time to tune in.
Thank you so much!
Hi Asha, I’ve followed you for a while and have learned from your analyses. I’m very glad you decided to write The Freedom Academy. I know it will be work and will consume a lot of your time so I want to thank you for your efforts and for sharing your time. Oh, btw, I also use a steam mop on our kitchen floor!
Thank you, David! I recognized your name from Twitter. It is going to be a labor of love but I have a feeling it will be worth it! I am already loving the more meaningful interactivity here compared to the bird app.
Dear Asha, I am thrilled at the opportunity to learn from you! Also, I have bought two steam mops and I got three friends to get one, too.
Thank you for starting this, I am so excited!
I’m thrilled (both that you’re here, and that you are a steam mop proselytizer)! 😄
I'm so glad you are doing this! I've been kicked off of Twitter!!! My crime? A person suggested that trump would not return even if Elon allowed him to and I responded,
"He's a publicity whore, he'll go anywhere and to any depths to get any amount."
For this I was locked out for "posting violence..." I'm not kidding! They said they would allow me back on if I deleted that tweet, which I'm not going to do, there was nothing the least bit violent about it. I've gone from one of Elon's biggest fans to one of the biggest non-fans. So glad to see you writing this substack! Thanks! Ken P.S. I also subscribed to your and Renato's podcast, "It's Complicated", excellent podcast!
Thank you! Glad you are here!
I subscribed to "It's Complicated" too.
I love Renato and Asha ! When the sky is falling they always calm me down :) And the sky has been falling a lot in recent years! LOL! I hope this platform takes off and we see them here and others. Twitter is over for me. Sadly, but probably for the best. Onward! :) Oh... wait... I see... by "this platform" I was thinking this post was on the 'new twitter' , post.news Pretty good, hopefully it, or another platform will prevail!
He said he wanted free speech. Instead, he’s just censoring mostly the left in the same way he thinks the previous management censored mostly the right.
“Owning the libs” may be what his “base”—which greatly though not entirely overlaps Trump’s base—wants; but it’s no way to administer the international Town Square.
I only hope that after the company’s market value tanks, some rational party or group of parties will buy it at the fire sale and manage it more responsibly.
Or else that some such consortium will start a true substitute elsewhere from scratch—AND SOON.
I’m not at all sanguine about the prospect of losing that popular forum where so many people turn to find out “what’s going on”, scan the (legacy media and other) news “headlines” and click on anything that interests them to learn more, exchange opinions, network, market their art or business, chat about pop culture or hobbies, seek or offer advice, empathy, or mutual aid, and (perhaps best of all) interact as equals with intelligent people who in real life might consider themselves “out of our league” (#WritingTwitter)—ALL IN ONE PLACE AND ALL WITHIN THE SAME FEED. Without changing platforms or servers or instances or ANYTHING.
Some have great hope that one or more other currently-existing platforms can substitute for what we may be about to lose; I DO NOT.
So far every “alternative” platform, including this one, may be good for some purposes but not for others. (Oh, and the PAYWALLS!)
Huge fan of your perspectives and looking forward to supporting you here! Best of luck!
Thank you so much!
I really enjoy your analysis. I find your explanations of things intelligent and very easy to understand. My gut tells me we are of similar vintage. Thank you for your efforts to get good information out there!
Thank you!
Very glad you’re doing this. Will recommend to friends!
Thank you!
You've linked to a private page (the link to your About page).
So I don't think I can edit the post after it goes out but today's post had all of the background info found on the About page. I hope it was helpful/informative!
Yes, thanks for that. And I realized that I can simply click on the About link at the top of the home page (duh-uh).
Eek! Thanks for letting me know, will fix. (And thanks for being here!)
Found you! I did it 😀
Hi Professor. If you were new to this field, which of the three books you recommended would you begin with: Messing With the Enemy; Active Measures; or Bowling Alone?
I think Messing With the Enemy would be a good intro, followed by Active Measures. Bowling Alone is excellent but more of an overarching framework to understand the former two (which we will explore in class)
It's been a while since I read Bowling Alone. Are you saying the collapse of social organizations in the US it covers is related to disinformation taking root in the US?
More the accompanying collapse of social trust, and also the negative externalities created by excessive bonding social capital (exacerbated by social media) at the expense of bridging social capital
👍🏻
thx.
Fun fact. We’re touring colleges with my son here in CT. We’ve toured both our alma maters so far and so much has changed. Wish I could go back. I’m telling myself this is the same thing 😆
Asha - What about the cost of ignorance? The cost of failure to invest in our workforce, both in terms of the value of raising the bar for our people's sake and for the value of competition in the global marketplace? That would be a great topic for...discussion? presentations? something else?
Asha, I am late to the party, but I have immediately subscribed! I have enjoyed following your insights on Twitter and as a guest on Deep State Radio. Love the idea of an interdisciplinary course as all
Information dissemination cross many academic boundaries.
What is fascinating and yet scary to me is how disinformation is used not only in psy-op from a military/diplomatic/foreign policy perspective, but also with grifters like Trump and narcissists like Musk to control the dialogue.
This is often used by companies for internal and external control so your lessons are far reaching and applicable to everyday encounters.
Look forward to what is coming!
Let me get this straight, an ex-FBI agent is going to lecture me on misinformation? Yea right Lucy hold that football still. When did US citizens decide they needed government operatives to tell them what is true or not? I wonder why so many social media companies are hiring ex FBI and CIA employees. You be the judge.
Just listened to your interview with Mary Trump & linked from there to your Substack. Thank you for offering your Freedom Academy classes; but like others I am working within a budget, so I am grateful that you offer differing membership levels.
Is there a level of subscribing that comes with a steam mop? Seriously, I appreciate your brilliance.
Is there a level of subscribing that comes with a steam mop? Asking for my curious cats.
Good day Ms Asha: i've been lucky to have caught you a few times on MSNBC ; not a political-type I am, BUT, wondered whether i am simply living at a time when Republicans/Conservatives of the USA are so uniformly crazy. I hope that there is room for some optimism in whatever you will be offering - - -good luck!/kmwfk-brampton-ontario-canada
Exposing disinformation as you say is necessary. But you seem to avoid the topic of CENSORSHIP by a number of Federal agencies including…Yes, our and your DOJ’s FBI! I guess it’s easier and more effective than EXPOSING disinformation?
Hi Asha! My wife and I are both on Social Security. With the new Congress and McCarthy being the Speaker, how worried should we be about our Social Security? Is this just “propaganda” being spread or is it a possibility that they could cease the program all together? There is a “rumor” being spread that the reason McCarthy was able to wrangle all the necessary votes is because he put Social Security and Medicare on the table.
Hi Asha! Just joining late. Looking forward to it!
Hi, Professor Rangappa!
My name is Charles, and l've been following you for a while now. I paid the $6 and want to know how access the content that's available to me?
Hi, Professor Rangappa!
My name is Charles, and l've been following you for a while now. I paid the $6 and want to know how access the content that's available to me?
very attractive discourse
Thank you for moving away from Twitter!
lol...you're a nut.