Interviewed about online abuse directed at Scottish journalists

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Paul Reilly

This week my colleague Catherine Happer and I were interviewed about the normalisation of abuse against journalists in Scotland. The article, published in The National, explored how politicians delegitmise the media and dismiss critical coverage as ‘fake news’. There have even been recent incidents of political aides grabbing journalists mid-question. This abuse of journalists is particularly ominous as we enter the final stages of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.

A few of my quotes from the article are below:

“It feels as if we are heading in the same direction as the US under Trump,” says Dr Paul Reilly, a Senior Lecturer in Communication, Media and Democracy at the University of Glasgow. “We see UK politicians dismissing critical media coverage as ‘fake news’, trying to avoid legitimate questions from the press by questioning their integrity and motives”

Farage is a case in point, Dr Reilly argues. “Farage has issued statements claiming he was going to boycott the BBC and yet still appears on their programmes,” he says. The contradiction only makes sense if you see the boycott threat as performance: a way to present himself as a victim of a hostile establishment while continuing to use its platforms.

Dr Reilly makes the same point from a different angle. “It certainly reinforces and strengthens existing patterns of distrust in our media and political institutions,” he says.

“It is little wonder that journalists are subjected to abuse and hostility online. Social media users frequently see video footage of political leaders accusing journalists of fabricating stories or trying to smear them – all because they are asking uncomfortable questions or scrutinising the actions and policies of our politicians.”

Dr Reilly cites this evidence, adding: “I would be worried that this trend may result in journalists being threatened, or worse still, attacked by members of the public.”

“This is one of the roots of the information crisis that has seen members of the public become increasingly disillusioned with democracy,” he warns.

Many thanks to Laura Pollock for the interview, which can be read here.

Interviewed about AI misinformation in Scottish elections

Posted on February 6, 2026 by Paul Reilly

I was interviewed by Jamie Mann (The Ferret) about AI misinformation and the upcoming Scottish Parliament election.

This De-noiser explores the evidence on how AI misinformation has impacted elections to date. From chatbots to deepfakes, there is increasing evidence that bad actors are trying to influence attitudes and voting behaviours.

A few quotes from the article are below:

Dr Paul Reilly, senior lecturer in communications, media and democracy at the University of Glasgow told The Ferret that “there’s a lot of evidence of efforts to subvert or manipulate public discourse”.

This includes the apparent “orchestration of bots” on X designed to “sow confusion and discord”, undermine trust and push people towards a certain position.

“I think there’s a bigger question about amplifying polarisation, and that is often what those behind these campaigns want to happen,” he added.

Reilly said that just 18 months ago, he would have considered the threat of AI-generated media on the democratic process to be an exaggeration. But the number of realistic deepfakes targeting political figures in recent months means it is now “a big concern”.

He said that while there’s not yet evidence that deepfakes can alter voting behaviour on a large scale, “it’s certainly a threat in elections coming”.

Reilly said there’s a lack of focus on AI compared to mis and disinformation, “but it’s part of the same thing”.

He argues that all institutions have responsibility to tackle misleading content, including media outlets who can fact check and debunk claims, and social media companies, which, he argues, “are still not taking their roles seriously enough”.

Many thanks to Jamie for the interview and Charlotte Morris for arranging it.

It can be read in full here.

Invited presentation at Memory, Conflict & Peace event

Posted on January 16, 2026 by Paul Reilly

Yesterday I gave an invited presentation at an event entitled ‘Memory, Conflict & Peace’. It was organised by the University of Glasgow’s Memory Lab, an interdisciplinary initiative exploring how memories are made, stored and retrieved by individuals.

Featuring a keynote by Prof. Ann Rigney (Utrecht University), the event considered how memory contributes to conflict. It addressed questions such as: How do official narratives sustain nationalism and preparedness for war? In what ways do digital media amplify, reshape, or contest memories of past violence? What can we learn from societies where memory of division remains a site of contestation?

My paper was called Random Access Memories or clichéd representations? How historical photographs of the Troubles are interpreted on Instagram. This was based on my previous article published in the journal Information, Communication & Society,

The slides can be read below.

View this document on Scribd

Many thanks to the organisers (Yulia, Maria & Craig), the other speakers and attendees for such an thought-provoking workshop.

TEN presentation on MCS Independent Research Project

Posted on December 17, 2025 by Paul Reilly

View this document on Scribd

Yesterday, I delivered a presentation at a symposium. The symposium, Leading Curriculum and Assessment Innovation, was organised by the University of Glasgow’s Teaching Excellence Network.

My presentation was titled ‘ Is a dissertation the best way to assess international students? Developing the MCS Independent Research Project’. I discussed the challenges I faced developing and implementing the IRP over the past few years. These challenges ranged from training staff and students to the workload implications of adopting this new model.

Thanks to Julia, Honor and Errol for organising the symposium, and the other participants for their inspiring contributions.