Name: Paolo Attivissimo (yes, that's my real surname; it means “very active” in Italian).
Occupation: IT journalist and consultant, technical translator, science writer, hoax buster.
Photos for press use: There are a few here. Don’t expect much.
Mail: paolo.attivissimo@gmail.com.
Main website: Attivissimo.net.
Main blog: Disinformatico.info.
Twitter: @disinformatico (primary), @AttivissimoLIVE (for livetweets).
Facebook: No, thanks, I quit in June 2013. I only have a placeholder page now.
WhatsApp: nope. I refuse to give my phone contacts to Facebook.
Instagram: disinformatico.
Youtube: Antibufala.
Telegram: t.me/il_Disinformatico.
Signal: +41 79 759 8264.
Work phone (CH): +41(0)79.759.8264.
Micro-CV:
Paolo Attivissimo is an information technology writer and journalist, science communicator, public speaker, technical translator and interpreter, and hoax buster. He has written 18 books in Italian on various information technology topics and over 100 articles for Le Scienze (the Italian edition of Scientific American). Since 2006 he hosts the Il Disinformatico radio show on Swiss National Radio and TV (RSI). He is a consultant for RSI and for Italian broadcasters RAI and Mediaset on information technology and media misinformation. He has accumulated over 100 million views on his blog Disinformatico.info and has 410,000 followers on Twitter. Born in York (UK), he lives and works in Lugano, Switzerland, with his wife Elena, half a cat and far too many computers and gadgets.
Trivia:
- He helped make a crop circle (near Turin, 2014)
- He went to NASA to pick up a Moon rock to take on a science tour of Italy and Switzerland
- He is one of the reference Italian translators for the astronauts who went to the Moon
Mini-CV:
- Science and information technology writer, journalist and translator;
- Host of Swiss National Radio’s Il Disinformatico since 2006;
- Author or coauthor of 18 Italian-language books on IT subjects and of the blog Disinformatico.info;
- Consultant for Swiss National Radio and TV (RSI), Mediaset and RAI, and speaker on information technology and Internet-related topics, conspiracy theories, hoaxes and misinformation in the media;
- Consultant of the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies in 2016-2017 on the “fake news” phenomenon;
- Creator of the Servizio Antibufala (Antibufala.info) hoax busting website;
- Author of articles for La Borsa della Spesa, Wired.it and Le Scienze (the Italian edition of Scientific American);
- Creator of Moonscape, a free documentary about the first manned Moon landing using restored footage, broadcast by Italian national TV network RAI Scuola;
- Writer of “Moon Hoax: Debunked!”, debunking Moon landing conspiracy theories;
- Until April 2016, President of CICAP Ticino (Cicapticino.ch), an association that studies alleged paranormal phenomena and pseudoscientific claims.
Born in: York (GB) in 1963.
Currently living in: Lugano, Switzerland, since 2004, with wife, half a cat (Trilli, shared with the neighbours) and way too many digital devices.
Latest books: “Facebook e Twitter: manuale di autodifesa” (2013, in Italian), “Moon Hoax: Debunked!” (in English, 2013) and “Luna? Sì, ci siamo andati!” (in Italian, 2018).
Awards and acknowledgements: Premio Italia 2016 as translator. 2011 Tweet Award as “geekiest tweeter”. The blog Disinformatico.info won the Macchianera award in 2008, 2009 and 2013 for best Italian-language technology popularization blog. There’s an asteroid named 357116 Attivissimo (2001 WH) thanks to its discoverers at the Astronomical Observatory of Cavezzo, Italy.
Work I’m particularly proud of: I’ve interviewed and acted as Italian-English interpreter for Moonwalkers Buzz Aldrin, Ed Mitchell and Charlie Duke and Apollo astronauts Al Worden and Walt Cunningham, and I’m a contributor to NASA's Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. Since 2009 I’ve been working on a free documentary, Moonscape, that shows the Apollo 11 moon landing and excursion using restored and resynchronized footage and audio (it’s now available as a free download). I have a passion for debunking pseudoscientific claims: I've also worked extensively to examine 9/11 conspiracy theories and facts for Italian-speaking readers, creating the collaborative blog Undicisettembre, contributing to books on the subject and appearing several times on Italian national TV. I’m also proud of my translation work for actors from Star Wars, Star Trek and other science fiction productions, such as Peter Mayhew, Dirk Benedict, Denise Crosby, John DeLancie, Kate Mulgrew, William Shatner, Brent Spiner, Marina Sirts, Nick Tate and many more. I‘ve also done pro bono work for digital identity protection of victims of violence against women for several Swiss organizations.
