Melissa Ryan
CEO & Founding Partner, Inviolable
Seattle, WA
Melissa Ryan serves as CEO and founding partner of Inviolable, helping organizations build resilience against targeted attacks of hate, harassment, and harm.
Melissa is widely recognized as one of the foremost experts on right-wing online extremism. She became fascinated with right-wing extremism and disinformation in 2016 when she saw fringe extremist networks platformed by mainstream candidates and then elevated by political media. Throughout the campaign cycle, she tracked the growth and strategies of right-wing extremist networks and the spread of disinformation.
“I help people, policymakers, and institutions combat online toxicity and far-right extremism.”
She was among the first to chronicle the rise of the far-right online. Her weekly newsletter, Ctrl Alt-Right Delete, reaches more than 18,000 subscribers and drives the conversation among policymakers, journalists, and experts.
Her expertise is sought out by journalists, politicians, leaders, and everyday Americans who want to better understand how current events are shaped by social media and how political campaigns and advocacy organizations use digital strategy to engage voters. She has been quoted in dozens of outlets, including The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Reuters, Insider, NBC News, and the 19th News. Former President Barack Obama has cited her work in his remarks on disinformation.
In 2019, Melissa co-founded a coalition of climate organizations to build collective power to fight disinformation. Research she led at the coalition has driven change at digital platforms as well as legislation and regulation to rein in Big Tech.
Melissa was selected to join the 2023 inaugural cohort of the Obama Foundation USA Leaders program and serves as Board Chair of Netroots Nation. She has been a featured speaker at top conferences and events, including the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, the New York Daily News Innovation Lab, Netroots Nation, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Ryan’s career has spanned nearly the whole history of digital politics. She began as a blogger, writing about local and state politics for Connecticut Local Politics. Her commentary about the 2006 Senate race between Ned Lamont and Joe Lieberman brought her into national political prominence, and where she formed the basis of her understanding of how online communities can affect real-world outcomes.
Ryan has been at the center of major progressive fights ever since. Her pioneering online fundraising work raised more than $5 million online for Senator Russ Feingold’s 2010 campaign. She played a key role in mobilizing protestors and framing the story of the #WIunion protests of 2011, helping create an international story about Scott Walker’s anti-union power grab.
As digital director at the New Organizing Institute, Ryan managed and drove the training program that created what The New York Times Magazine’s Robert Draper called “the yawning digital divide between the two parties.” During her tenure as digital director of EMILY’s List, Ryan’s team added more than 1 million supporters to the PAC’s online outreach. In 2012, she managed outreach to progressive media and influencers for Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.
Visit Melissa’s website at melissaryan.net or follow her on Bluesky @MelissaRyan.bsky.social.