Monthly Archives: November 2024

New journal article: Tunisian Journalists and Climate Change Reporting

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I have contributed to a new article out in African Journalism Studies this week. Led by Mokhtar Elareshi and Samar Ben Romdhane (University of Sharjah), we examined how Tunisian journalists report on climate change. The interview-based study (n=7) explores challenges like online disinformation and instability within government that shape their climate journalism. We argue that youth-led climate activism enables these journalists to amplify diverse voices and advocate for marginalised communities.

Thanks to Mukhtar for his leadership on this and the reviewers at AJS for their constructive feedback. The article can be read in full here.

Elon Musk’s X: Interviewed for Dazed article on Social Media Exodus

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Photo by Mati Mango on Pexels.com

Earlier this week, I spoke to Thom Waite. It was for a Dazed article on the role of Elon Musk’s X. The focus was during the recent US Presidential Election. We discussed whether the recent exodus from X will continue. We also explored reasons why people would choose to stay on the microblogging site.

Many thanks to Thom for the invitation. The article can be read in full here.

BBC Interview: AI vs Human Moderators

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BBC Breakfast interview on social media content moderation

This week I was interviewed by BBC Tech editor Zoe Kleinman. It was for a piece on the human cost of social media content moderation. We discussed whether it was possible for AI to replicate the job done by human moderators. I argued that human moderation was necessary, but that these jobs are very harmful to those who do them.

The clip can be viewed below.

I also contributed to this article exploring the human costs of moderating traumatic images and videos.

Many thanks to Zoe, Georgina and the BBC crew for the chat, and to Charlotte Morris for helping organise this.

Why Social Media Misrepresents Public Sentiment

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I have written an essay for the Glasgow Social Sciences Hub. My essay discusses why social media is an unreliable barometer of public opinion. I argue that bot activity and manipulation gave US voters a skewed reality. This happened in the run-up to the 2024 US Presidential Election. I also point to the problem of information pollution and how citizens actively avoid news on these platforms.

Thanks to Charlotte Morris for the support in getting this out. The piece can be read in full here.