Very happy to contribute to the FIRST EVER Scottish Election Analysis Report, organised by Ana Langer, Christopher Carman, @ariadnevromen.bsky.social, and @maia-aa.bsky.social . Focusing on negative campaigning, @aybukeatalay.bsky.social and I analysed how parties adapted their tone on X. 🧵1/3

♥️

With his threat of a $1bn lawsuit against BBC, Trump’s assault on the media goes global

With his threat of a $1bn lawsuit against BBC, Trump’s assault on the media goes global

US president’s latest media target comes from across the pond as he continues to scrutinize coverage he does not like

theguardian.com

Apropos... 1) For all its challenges the BBC is the single most widely used source of news in the UK and is highly and broadly trusted across much of the political spectrum,. See e.g. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism research here: reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/bbc-und... 1/3

The BBC is under scrutiny. Here’s what research tells about its role in the UK

The BBC is the most widely used source of news in the UK. It has lower reach among the young and the less formally educated.

reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk

Next in the series "A Qualitative Look at Journalists’ Reporting & Potential Harm to Democratic Norms" at bit.ly/4ngz6S0, with the spotlight on the @poqjournal.bsky.social article by @ferreira-rr.bsky.social and @jfdaoust.bsky.social discussing when & how to report disturbing political news.

ICYMI: 📰 The Leverhulme Trust September Newsletter is out! Read it on our website now: www.leverhulme.ac.uk/newsletter @mphiljill.bsky.social @ferreira-rr.bsky.social @manmetuni.bsky.social @sheffielduni.bsky.social

My new research project is featured in the @leverhulme.ac.uk September newsletter — and it made the cover! A great start to my Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at @commmedia.bsky.social @liverpooluni.bsky.social. Grateful for the support and the generous spotlight on my work. Trying not to blush 👇

Leverhulme Trust@leverhulme.ac.uk · 11mo ago

The Trust’s September Newsletter is out now! Read about Jupiter’s polar meteorology, trauma-informed justice systems, language and human history in Indigenous texts from the Southern Cone, and much more: leverhulme.ac.uk/newsletter

In the middle of this devastating news cycle, I got to meet my journo hero: @arusbridger.bsky.social, now @prospectmagazine.co.uk, ex @theguardian.com, always fearless. We had a great conversation, with sharp @lionelbarber.bsky.social joining us online. Give it a listen 👉 shorturl.at/P2FtG

Does the news need gatekeeping?

Journalist Ayala Panievsky talks about her new book ‘The New Censorship’ in a time of democratic decay

shorturl.at

WTF is this? Normalizing authoritarianism repression as an electoral strategy www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Arrived at the office today to a wonderful surprise — a copy of my dear friend @panievsky.bsky.social’s brand-new book. A powerful and timely take on how media can be twisted to undermine public deliberation and amplify anti-democratic forces. Looking forward to learning from her brilliant work! 📚

📣 Hot off the press! Thrilled to see this paper with @jfdaoust.bsky.social published in Public Opinion Quarterly @aapor.bsky.social. Open access link below, followed by a short 🧵with our key findings.../1 academic.oup.com/poq/advance-...

To Report or Not to Report? A Qualitative Analysis of Journalists’ Perspectives on Harm to Public Opinion

Abstract. Journalists face intricate decisions regarding what to publish, especially when problematic content may impact public opinion in a way that could

academic.oup.com

If you are applying to a PhD, don't use an LLM in composing your proposal. If you are doing a PhD, don't use an LLM to do the writing and reading and thinking for you. Sorry, I am going to die on this hill.

Grateful for the opportunity to present at the #ICA2025 in Denver. I explored with @jfdaoust.bsky.social the journalists’ perceptions and editorial decisions on content potentially harmful to public opinion. Thank you to everyone who attended the session and contributed to the discussion.

I am attending the 75th Annual International Communication Association Conference in Denver, Colorado. Excited to join brilliant colleagues from around the world to explore critical questions at the intersection of media, journalism, and democracy. If you are here and would like to chat, DM me.

The US Administration has indefinitely blocked *all* student visa applicants from getting a visa interview. Worldwide, unconditional, no end date. All. International students are crucial to the US university system, American innovation, and future US prosperity.

Rubio Reportedly Pauses New International Student Visa Interviews

More than 1.1 million international students were enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities in the 2023-2024 school year.

forbes.com

More morally abhorrent and politically counterproductive speech from Starmer. 1. It propagates a nativist narrative by blaming immigration/immigrants for the UK’s economic and social ills. 2. It thereby also whitewashes Tories for years of destructive economic and social policies.

Paul Brand@paulbrand.bsky.social · last yr.

If you thought the PM’s speech was punchy, his foreword to the immigration white paper says high net migration has done “incalculable damage” to the country. That is a serious shift in tone for a Labour government/party.

The race to the bottom is on as Starmer delivers his great immigration reset | John Crace

The race to the bottom is on as Starmer delivers his great immigration reset | John Crace

A week after Reform cleans up at the local elections, the prime minister decides it’s time to ‘take back control’

theguardian.com

BREAKING: "Given these circumstances, we have decided not to hold another ICA conference in the United States during this administration and have delayed our contract with Chicago until May 2029." #ICA25

Competitive Authoritarianism. Textbook definition.

Brad Heath@bradheath.bsky.social · last yr.

President Trump has personally ordered the Justice Department to open an investigation of Democrats' primary ways for raising donations. It is the third time he has personally ordered an open-ended criminal investigation, each against a perceived political foe. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/u...

Take 5 min, email your alma mater, and ask them to follow suit (if they haven't already, and most haven't). President, provost, and public relations officer.

Celeste Pewter@celestepewter.bsky.social · last yr.

Let's be clear: more universities need to follow this.

The Trump administration is asserting the power to disappear people into foreign gulags without due process and openly discussing putting citizens there next. This is tyranny. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/u... www.nytimes.com/live/2025/04...

El Salvador’s President Says He Won’t Return Maryland Man Who Was Wrongly Deported

An Oval Office meeting between President Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador was a blunt example of Mr. Trump’s defiance of the federal courts.

nytimes.com

It was a pleasure to participate in the Milton Wolf Seminar, organised by the American Austrian Foundation, the Annenberg School for Communication, and the Diplomatische Akademie Wien. I am grateful for the kind invitation and the opportunity to share my research. 1/3

Tariffs are not just bad for the world economy, but also for science. This is one more hit to research. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Tariffs hit science labs: Trump levies raise cost of supplies

Import taxes on staples such as microscopes, glassware and computer chips will affect institutions already feeling financial strain.

nature.com

Beyond the politics of it all, this a good case for placebo effects in natural experiments

Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · last yr.

The obvious reality here, as Pierre well knows, is that he lost his lead as soon as Trump started attacking Canada. But MAGA lives in an online alternate reality created by their thought leaders like Turd.

This is an excellent piece on the current threat to regional universities, which educate and impact far more people than the Ivies, but are completely ignored in the legacy media and national debate.

A University, a Rural Town and Their Fight to Survive Trump’s War on Higher Education

The administration’s research funding and DEI cuts present an existential threat to regional public universities like Southern Illinois University, the economic backbone of the conservative rural regi...

propublica.org

“Demoralised university staff, whose pay has been declining steeply in real terms, are not responsible for the dysfunctional marketisation of higher education, which is at the root of today’s financial black hole. Successive Conservative governments are, having failed to foresee how treacherous… 1/3

How do you cover a country in a constitutional crisis? Learn from actual crisis communication. No two-sideism, no euphemisms but strong words, focus on consequences, and point to help. @froomkin.bsky.social 💡 #journalism

Excited to be part of this episode of a new podcast series organised by the Canada team of the JRP Project. Thank you to the team for the opportunity to share my research, and a special thanks to Mariam Kourabi for being such a great interviewer. m.youtube.com/watch?v=UOr5...

EP 2 DR FERREIRA

YouTube video by JRP Canada

m.youtube.com

Scenes from Syria’s prisons are streaming across social media sites. For a history of the horrors within them, which serve as a further testament to the unbreakable spirit of the Syrian people in the face of immense violence, this book was published by I.B. Tauris one year ago.

Now I have just read this new great book by @vstetka.bsky.social and @sabinamihelj.bsky.social! It can be recommended anyone interested in the role of media and communication in processes of democratic backsliding! And it is open access! @polcomm.bsky.social library.oapen.org/handle/20.50...