Dr Keighley Perkins
@perkinskeighley.bsky.social
Research Associate in the School of Journalism, Media & Culture at Cardiff University / Researcher for DRAGON at Swansea University. Research interests: #radicalright, #politicaldiscourse & #onlineharms. https://drkeighleyperkins.co.uk
In this piece, Dr Tom Oliver traces how the word “algorithm” has changed over time: from its origins in rules-based arithmetic, through its precise mathematical meaning, to today’s much looser public use. 🔗 tinyurl.com/4d56x49m 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #language #socialmedia #tech #algorithm #AI
From equations to Instagram feeds: how ‘algorithm’ changed its meaning
Algorithms began as simple mathematical procedures, but today they shape what we see, buy and believe.
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WhatsApp is introducing new optional parental controls designed to give families more oversight while keeping teenagers’ private messages & calls encrypted. 🔗 tinyurl.com/nhx6xs8r 🧵👇 #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharms #Meta #WhatsApp #socialmediaban #socialmedia #childprotection #safeguarding
WhatsApp introduces optional parental controls for teenagers
The social messaging app will let parents decide on privacy settings for their child's account.
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This article by Dr Neophytos Georgiou explores emerging research on autism & engagement with extremist content while making an important distinction: autism alone does not explain extremist beliefs or violence. 🔗 tinyurl.com/4endmxu6 🧵👇 #extremismstudies #radicalisation #autism #mentalhealth
Are autistic people more vulnerable to extremist content?
People with rigid thinking patterns who prefer routine and order may be drawn to extremist groups’ black-and-white solutions. But autism itself is not the problem.
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Large language models work best for languages that are well represented online, which means minority & Indigenous languages can be poorly supported, misrepresented or excluded altogether. 🔗 tinyurl.com/5fkz5tsf 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #AI #artificialintelligence #language #languagepreservation
AI often leaves out minority languages – but some communities are turning it into a lifeline
AI is helping communities own and build vital tools for their minority languages – all without external funding.
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New book day! Very pleased to have a chapter in this collection on true crime, edited by the wonderful @tanyah.bsky.social and others who I don't have on Bluesky. Not entirely sure Loki was impressed though...
Words cannot describe how much I love this. The latest update to the Oxford English Dictionary includes six words and phrases from Wales, among them "twpsyn", "bwbach" and the wonderfully contradictory "now in a minute". 🔗 tinyurl.com/y7ptx6wd 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #language #Welsh #Cymraeg
'Now in a minute' among Welsh English words added to Oxford Dictionary
Six more Welsh English words and phrases have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
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The UK’s planned social media ban for under-16s now has a clearer timetable: Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy MP says it will come into force from March 2027. 🔗 tinyurl.com/4edw8aw9 🧵👇 #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharms #onlinesafetyact #socialmedia #socialmediaban #childprotection #safeguarding
UK social media ban to begin in March 2027, Culture Secretary says
Lisa Nandy, the government minister responsible for introducing the ban, pointed to March as a start date although the government says detailed plans will be explained in Parliament by Christmas this ...
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Could one of humanity’s greatest technologies have helped shape one of our communicative abilities? This fascinating piece from @hanachronism.bsky.social explores a new theory about the relationship between fire, gesture & the evolution of spoken language. 🔗 tinyurl.com/28cxpdz3 🧵👇 #langsky
How firelight may have shaped the origins of spoken language
New study suggests ancient campfires may have encouraged our ancestors to develop language.
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I’ll be presenting at this event! I’m taking a slightly different angle from my usual work & looking at how different ideologies across the radical right use imagery of war in their social media posts. I’m really looking forward to taking part! #langsky #extremismstudies
Prof. Catriona Pennell@teachlearnwar.bsky.social · 3w agoJoin colleagues from across @gw4alliance.bsky.social on 24 September for an online workshop, ‘Resisting Mythic Pasts: Memory, Nostalgia, and Democratic Resilience in Contemporary Britain’. With five papers and discussion on a timely political issue, sign up (for free) below:
This fascinating research found that autonomous AI agents, placed in experimental “societies”, began creating their own vocabulary, shorthand & shared meanings without being explicitly told to do so. 🔗 tinyurl.com/2uhxjsuw 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #tech #AI #artificialintelligence #language
AI models chatting in ‘surreal’ dialect mixing poetic language and tech bro jargon
Experts air concern over AI lingo redolent of James Joyce’s prose that is creating barriers to monitoring and oversight
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Primary schools and libraries across Wales will soon receive "Techosaurus Saves the School!", a bilingual storybook developed by @nspcc.bsky.social, Every Cherry Publishing & Sweet Cherry Publishing with @senedd.wales. 🔗 tinyurl.com/mva3298c 🧵👇 #DRAGON #safeguarding #onlineharms #onlinesafety
Articles - Hwb
Digital Learning for Wales.
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This article from Dr Emily Chiang explores forensic linguistics, moving from cases where linguistic habits helped identify anonymous offenders to the wider role forensic linguists can play in authorship analysis & access to justice. 🔗 tinyurl.com/4yhkh3at 🧵👇 #linguistics #forensiclinguistics
Police Professional | Forensic linguistics Forensic linguistics – Police Professional
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This article from @theguardian.com raises a difficult but important question as Australia confronts rising peer-on-peer sexual violence. 🔗 tinyurl.com/yh9uwbya 🧵👇 #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharms #childprotection #safeguarding
The students returning to school after sexual assault: ‘You go back the next day, and you just deal with it’
Peer-on-peer violence is on the rise. But when schools must balance a duty of care to both victims and perpetrators, where does this leave girls who have to pursue their education in the shadow of sex...
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What happens when a label survives long after the world it was created to describe has changed? 🔗 tinyurl.com/5debjy2u 🧵👇 #langsky #language #linguistics #etymology #languagehistory
A journalist coined ‘the Bible Belt’ 100 years ago – it’s been oversimplifying the South ever since
‘The Bible Belt’ has been used for a century to describe religion and politics in the South. But it captured just some of life in the region then – and doesn’t capture what’s going on today.
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This fascinating piece from @theguardian.com examines the emergence of the Patriot Platform, a new anti-migrant movement whose recent protests combined highly organised offline action with a distinctly digital strategy. 🔗 tinyurl.com/2mst3ptc 🧵👇 #radicalright #extremismstudies
From black-clad agitators to an appeal for ‘Tommo’s Mum’: an unsettling week with the Patriot Platform
A militaristic operation with features of influencer culture, the new anti-migrant movement seems to show a shift in tactics and rhetoric
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The UK government is preparing legislation that would require technology companies to build protections directly into devices, preventing under-18s from taking, viewing or sharing nude images. 🔗 tinyurl.com/4zwbsx99 🧵👇 #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlinechildsafety #childprotection #safeguarding
UK to have world's strongest online child safety laws as government prepares legislation on nude images
The government will introduce legislation requiring tech companies to strengthen protections on devices and platforms to prevent children from taking, sharing or viewing nude images, helping tackle gr...
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This report from @wellcometrust.bsky.social & @moreincommonuk.bsky.social explores an incredibly important but often overlooked area: public opinion on mental health. 🔗 tinyurl.com/23jt2byc #healthcommunication #mentalhealth
Public opinion on mental health and new interventions | Reports | Wellcome
Drawing on research across Britain, this report explores public attitudes to mental health and makes recommendations for policymakers.
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Yesterday, the UK government announced plans for legislation requiring technology companies & apps used by children to prevent under-18s from taking or sharing nude images on their devices. 🔗 tinyurl.com/4adj352e 🧵👇 #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharm #childprotection #safeguarding
New law to force tech firms to prevent children from taking nude images
The government said it will legislate "as soon as they can" but may "reassess" its plans if firms make the desired changes sooner.
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Just how much did the 2026 Senedd election transform Welsh politics? New analysis from Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament captures the scale of May’s change. 🔗 tinyurl.com/2s3p27z9 #polsky #politics #politicalcommunication #journalismstudies
May 7, 2026: The election that transformed the Senedd
Mark Mansfield The seismic changes to Welsh politics brought about by May’s Senedd election have been revealed in a detailed analysis of the results. More than two-thirds of the 96 politicians elected...
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A photograph of the Pakistani flag flying over Cardiff Castle has resurfaced on social media - two years later - & contributing to a fresh wave of anger around national identity, immigration & belonging. 🔗 tinyurl.com/yrnbzp2t 🧵👇 #polsky #politics #politicalcommunication #Senedd #radicalright
Reform 'trying to start race row' over Cardiff Pakistan flag
The flag flew for two days in August, and an MP said it was an attempt to "dominate our culture".
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This BBC News analysis traces the connection between two anti-migrant protests in Dover & Portsmouth to Danny Thomas (Danny Tommo). 🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... 🧵👇 #radicalright #Dover #Portsmouth #farright #extremismstudies
What we know about Dover and Portsmouth anti-migrant protests and organiser Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas organised the demonstration in Dover - seemingly after weeks of preparation - and was also present in Portsmouth.
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This fascinating research from Fangzhou Wang, Ph.D. examines romance scams as carefully constructed processes of social engineering and deceptive communication. 🔗 tinyurl.com/yc4rft83 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #forensiclinguistics #languageandlaw #romancescams
Daejon Love case highlights online romance scams: Research reveals scammers’ tactics – and how to defend against them
Dating apps have given an ancient profession, confidence scamming, a high-tech boost.
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New @unicef.org research estimates that almost 1 in 5 children aged 12–17 across 21 countries experienced at least one form of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse in a single year. 🔗 tinyurl.com/3wbaa28d 🧵👇 #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharms #childprotection #safeguarding
1 in 5 children across 21 countries have experienced tech-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse – UNICEF
More than half of abuse occurred on mainstream social media platforms; less than 1 per cent of all experiences were reported to authorities, new report finds
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The Māori word "kaitiakitanga" has been named the world’s most beautiful word, selected from 223 words across 75 languages for its sound, meaning, rarity & cultural significance. 🔗 tinyurl.com/y4bb9ua2 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #language #languagepreservation #indigenouslanguages
Recognition of Māori word "kaitiakitanga" highlights the value of
The Māori word "kaitiakitanga", which expresses the responsibility to care for the natural world, has been named the world's most beautiful word by the language learning platform Babbel.
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You might have heard about the landmark Meta case in the US but what does it actually mean for online child safety? Under a massive $18bn court settlement, Meta has agreed to sweeping default protections for users under 18. 🔗 tinyurl.com/yeyu4fv2 🧵👇 #DRAGON #onlinesafety #safeguarding
UK expects Meta to match US child safety measures after $18bn settlement
Minister calls for Instagram owner to extend sweeping new safeguards for young users to Britain
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This analysis from @isdglobal.bsky.social introduces “lexical laundering”: the process by which vocabulary originating in extremist spaces migrates into mainstream discourse while retaining its original in-group meaning for those who recognise it. 🔗 tinyurl.com/44cmtb8y 🧵👇 #langsky
Lexical laundering: The mainstreaming of antisemitic neologisms from 4chan and forums - Institute for Strategic Dialogue
New ISD research traces 'lexical laundering'— how antisemitic slang moves from 4chan into mainstream feeds while keeping its in-group meaning.
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A new report from Llais Cymru highlights a significant gap between the number of people who can speak Welsh & the availability of Welsh-language healthcare. 🔗 tinyurl.com/382577wz 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #language #healthcommunication #Welsh #Cymraeg
Llais calls for action as new report reveals inconsistent access to Welsh language health and social care services is affecting people’s dignity, wellbeing and treatment | Llais
Er bod 27% o'r boblogaeth (828,000 o bobl) yn gallu siarad Cymraeg, mae data StatsWales o 2024 yn dangos mai dim ond 12.6% o feddygon teulu sy'n nodi sgiliau iaith Gymraeg uwch neu hyfedr. Mewn rhai b...
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This piece by Matthew Flinders looks beyond familiar debates about trust in politicians to consider the increasingly difficult realities of political life in the UK. 🔗 tinyurl.com/3w3h95zk 🧵👇 #polsky #langsky #politics #politicalcommunication #linguistics
How political life in Britain became so dangerous
The security of politicians has increasingly been in the spotlight.
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A great piece exploring the often-overlooked craft of game localisation looks at the work behind translating Final Fantasy from Japanese into English. 🔗 tinyurl.com/2ff39pxx 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #translation #fanstudies #gamestudies #gaming #popularculture #FinalFantasy
Why translation is a hot debate for the world’s biggest games and shows
A Final Fantasy veteran says some debates over localization can overlook the nuances of the craft.
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