Category Archives: Uncategorized

Eighth review of Digital contention in a divided society published in Estudios Irlandeses

Posted on by
Reply

The eighth review of Digital Contention in a Divided Society has been published in Estudios Irlandeses . Sarah Ritt (University of Vienna) provides a very comprehensive reflection on the book’s key themes. Some quotes from the review are below:

“Online communities are their own little microcosms. Often either overlooked or blamed for everything wrong with today’s society, the online space has only rather recently become a subject of academic study, probably partly because in order to produce telling results, large datasets need to be retrieved, categorized, and analyzed This is exactly what Paul Reilly does in his monograph Digital Contention in a Divided Society“

“In order to root his analysis in the offline world as well, Reilly supplements it with an actors’ analysis of events coverage in main regional newspapers. This keeps his insight from being reduced to the infamous online “bubbles”.”

“Digital Contention in a Divided Society: Social Media, Parades and Protests in Northern Ireland is a valuable resource for those working with social media studies who are looking for a comprehensive and triangulated set of data that has been researched with a great amount of consideration for its social / historical contexts and the quantitative care necessary when working with a fast-changing environment such as social media platforms.”

I am very grateful to Sarah for such a thoughtful review of the book, which can be read in full here

Interviewed about AI misinformation in Scottish elections

Posted on by
Reply

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.

Interviewed about Trump administration’s social media activity

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Markus Winkler on Pexels.com

Last Friday I spoke to Hamish Morrison of The National. We discussed the Trump administration’s use of neo-Nazi references on social media. In the past few weeks, several US agencies have posted content directly referencing white supremacist figures like Willam Gayley Simpson.

I suggested that this was both an attempt to distract from the crises facing the Trump administration and a reflection of the attitudes of those close to the president. Som quotes are below:
“It’s not coincidence, it’s not an accident. It is something which is strategic communication and they must see value in that.”

“They’re reflecting back what they see from people who are supportive of,for example, ICE’s activity in Minnesota last week [the killing of Renee Nicole Good] or the Trump administration itself” 
“It’s choosing not to talk to the entire room, talking to a very small segment of it and that could be very politically damaging for Trump.” 

I also discussed how there are contradictory reports about who is posting content on behalf of Trump. It seems that nobody is dialling down his rhetoric. This will have a very negative impact on how the Republicans fare in the midterm elections later this year.

Many thanks to Hamish for the interview, and to Charlotte Morris for arranging it. The article can be read in full here.























































TEN presentation on MCS Independent Research Project

Posted on by
Reply

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.

Op-ed published in Scotsman on Sunday

Posted on by
Reply
Op-ed in Scotland on Sunday

Yesterday I had an op-ed published in Scotland on Sunday. I discussed the toxic immigration debates on social media and the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform party online. My argument was that we should be more sceptical of what we see online. There is already evidence that bots are used to amplify Reform’s talking points on this issue. The public is apparently obsessed with ‘small boats’ and ‘illegal immigration’. This is due to years of mainstreaming far-right narratives on this topic. I conclude with the argument that a collective effort is required. This effort must ensure that social media users are exposed to facts. It is essential they are not misled by false narratives on immigration.

The full text of the op-ed can be read here.

As always, many thanks to Charlotte Morris for helping arrange this. I also appreciate the editorial team at SoS for publishing it.

Invited presentation at event on social media and good relations in Northern Ireland

Posted on by
Reply
T:BUC Engagement Forum

Yesterday I was an invited speaker at a Together: Building a United Community (T:BUC) Engagement Forum event. The topic was ‘Social Media and its impact on Good Relations’.

I spoke about my ongoing research on social media, parades and protests in Northern Ireland (2012-current). I drew on the results of my book (Digital contention in a divided society), #Brexitriots study, and encyclopedia entry on belief echoes. I discussed how online platforms amplify mis-and disinformation that undermine community relations during contentious events.

My slides can be viewed below:

It was interesting to hear from the other panelists and to hear the questions and feedback from the audience.

Many thanks to Paul Killen and the NICRC for the invitation.

Presentations at MeCCSA 2025

Posted on by
Reply

This week I was at Edinburgh Napier University to attend the annual MeCCSA conference. The theme this year was ‘Identity and Belonging’, with a specific focus on how identities are mediated and mediate themselves.

First, I was part of a Glasgow University Media Group panel on the Cost of Living Crisis. I presented an overview of the key findings with Cairsti Russell and Gavin Hawkton (unfortunately Catherine Happer was unable to join us due to ill-health).

Key themes included the debate over the use of the word ‘crisis’. There was also a focus on the impact of austerity and cuts in public services on low-income households. Our results suggest that media coverage of the COLC prioritised business perspectives over those of civil society. Citizens are increasingly attracted to alternative news sources. The slides from the session can be viewed below:

These findings are from the GUMG’s forthcoming book ‘Bad News for the Cost of Living Crisis’. The book, edited by Catherine Happer, Alison Eldridge and me, will be published with Palgrave Pivot in December 2025.

My second paper was on my ongoing research on social media, parades and protests in Northern Ireland. I drew on my book Digital Contention in a Divided Society and article on #Brexitriots in my presentation. It explored hashtags as affective ritualised responses to contentious events in Northern Ireland. I examined who was behind these discursive formations online, and who benefited from this activity. The slides can be viewed below:

Thanks to everyone who attended the sessions. asked questions, and provided important feedback on the work.

Webinar: Turning Your PhD Thesis into a Book

Posted on by
Reply

On 25 June (9-10:30am GMT), I will be one of the keynote speakers (along with Weiyu Zheng, National University of Singapore) at a webinar as part of the Activism, Democracy & Social Justice series.

The focus of my talk will be on how to publish monographs as an early career researcher. I will provide some advice on how to convert PhD theses into books, including things to include in the proposal and how to write for audiences outside academia.

There will also be a Q&A for ECRs to ask questions about topics such as balancing research and teaching, building international research collaborations, and maximising the impact of research.

Many thanks to Jun Liu (University of Copenhagen) and Yu Sun (University of Glasgow) for the invitation.

You can register for the webinar here

Publication: Article on #BrexitRiots published in International Journal of Communication

Posted on by
Reply
The start of the brexit riots
byu/mrdougan inbrexit

My article ‘The Blame Game? #Brexitriots as an affective ritualized response to civil disorder in Northern Ireland has been published in the International Journal of Communication.

This paper focuses on how the April 2021 violence in Northern Ireland were discursively framed on Twitter. I argue that #Brexitriots was an affective ritualised response to civil unrest in Northern Ireland. It demonstrated a lack of knowledge of the grievances fuelling this violence.

The abstract is below:

The protests and violence in Northern Ireland in April 2021 were nominally a manifestation of Loyalist anger at the “Irish Sea border” created as part of the deal that saw the United Kingdom leave the European Union. Social media were widely blamed for having amplified tensions surrounding the protests. This study explores how affective publics, mobilized on Twitter, responded to the “Brexit riots.” It does so by providing an overview of how online platforms are used during contentious episodes in divided societies, examining the background of the disorder, and presenting the results of a reflexive thematic analysis of #brexitriots tweets (N = 8287) posted between April 9 and April 13, 2021. Results indicate that #Brexitriots was an affective ritualized response from tweeters who appeared unaware of the manifold grievances of the protesters. They used these events as a source of partisan political expression, confirming their view that the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union was a mistake.

I would like to thank Suay Özkula and Victoria Baskett for their feedback on an earlier draft of this study. Also, a special mention to Kady and the IJOC team for their editorial help.

The paper is published Open Access and can be read in full here