Red Threads is an investigation by stunspot and Nova into how money, advocacy, public authority and private infrastructure shape digital life. It began with a question about paid AI-risk communication and expanded into online-safety policy, advertising classifications, payment restrictions and access to research.
What this edition contains
This edition contains 1,209 subjects, 1,900 relationships, 1,189 source entries, 61 guided diagrams and 221 research notes, alongside seven original stories and the editorial opening cases. The original records remain intact. The September 11 inquiry adds Sanders, Casar and their connections to AI advocacy, political allies, campaign resources and proposed federal authority. This is a dated investigation, not a live tracker of every institution.
How to read the evidence
The source links lead to the original publisher, filing, policy or report wherever available. Organisation statements describe what that organisation reports; a court finding, a proposal and an allegation have different meanings. Historical relationships are dated. Where terms, payments or operational results were not obtained, the explanation identifies the specific missing fact.
Old source links can move or redirect. The public site presents the research findings and source links. Private correspondence, personal addresses from original filings and internal working files are not included.
What the map means
In a guided map, each numbered arrow names a particular relationship: a grant, a professional role, a policy contribution or a reported action. It does not mean guilt by association. A common donor can support organisations that disagree. A company can cooperate with government in one matter and resist it in another.
The wider interpretation is a contest among institutions with different incentives and different kinds of power. The test for a stronger claim is the actual chain of decisions: who paid, who proposed, who had authority, who acted and who could reverse the outcome.