Donald Trump criticised for spreading misinformation about Hurricane Hélène
Last week I spoke to Sebastian Seibt from France 24. We talked about how neo-Nazi groups were using Hurricane Hélène. They aimed to show themselves as civil society actors, amplifying misinformation and conspiracy theories about the relief efforts favouring migrants.
I argued that the misinformation spread by US Presidential candidate Donald Trump was very damaging. His false claims about the Biden administration not supporting victims influenced the behavior of vulnerable citizens. They were more likely to turn to extremist groups like Patriotic Front for information and support than the authorities. In effect, they exploited this crisis to rebrand themselves as legitimate, credible actors.
Last week, Andy Bruce interviewed me. This was for a Reuters piece on the number of British police forces deciding to remove their Twitter/X accounts. I argued that the rise of hate speech, extremist content, and misinformation was a major factor. This led public organisations to leave the microblogging site for other platforms.
Thanks to Andy and Charlotte Morris for the invite. The article can be read in full here.
“The book enables a wide range of readers – academic scholars and researchers, but also citizens and activists – to grasp the relevance of contentious politics and how these are articulated and disputed in the digital era, especially in our increasingly datafied social world”
“This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the context of NI as a divided society, understanding the recent history of local protests and disputes (between 2012-2015) and the wider scene of the relations between NI, Ireland, and the UK”
“Overall, this book offers valuable and detailed insights into the ways that digital media shape and fuel contentious politics, social mobilisation and citizenship. It shows how online platforms can impact polarised societies negatively, by reproducing prejudice and hate speech, but also positively by managing inter-group tensions, avoiding violence and social unrest, and providing informal learning”
“This work can help academics, activists, political and media experts, as well as the general public evaluate the occurrence of disputable events, such as protests and demonstration parades, within profoundly fragmented contexts like NI particularly in the face of rising mis- and dis-information in the digital age”
I am very grateful to Penny for such a thoughtful review of the book, which can be read in full here
On Saturday I appeared on BBC Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme to discuss freedom of expression online. Suzanne Whitten (Queen’s University Belfast) and I discussed a variety of topics including Twitter/X owner Elon Musk’s claims to be a ‘free speech absolutist’, what type of platform regulation might emerge after the UK riots, and the contested definition of ‘free speech’.
Many thanks to Brian and the GMS team for the invitation. The segment can be listened to here.
Yesterday I had an op-ed published in The Scotsman. In ‘Social media tycoon won’t act to ditch harmful content, I review the various ways online platforms could be better regulated in order to avoid a repeat of the misinformation linked to the recent violence in the UK. These include calls for temporary shutdowns, stronger financial penalties, and even the suspension of operating licences. I also discuss the ways citizens can counteract hate speech and msinformation that contributes to civil unrest.
Many thanks to Charlotte Morris for helping arrange this. It can be read in full here.
On Monday I was interviewed by Orla Barry for a segment on international public radio news show The World. We discussed the likelihood of sanctions being applied by the UK government to social media platforms who amplified misinformation during the ongoing civil unrest.
Many thanks to Orla for the invitation. The segment can be listened to here.
interview on BBC Scotland’s The Nine, 6 August 2024.
Last night I appeared on BBC Scotland’s The Nine to discuss the role of social media in the ongoing UK riots. I discussed the difficulty of removing hate speech and misinformation from platforms that are not considered publishers.
Many thanks to Charlotte Morris, Ben Russell and the team on The Nine for arranging the interview.
The interview can be viewed here (it begins at 24:30).
Yesterday I spoke to Sebastian Seibt from France 24 about the role of social media in the riots seen in English towns and cities over the past week.
We discussed the role of public figures, journalists and influencers in amplifying misinformation that contributed to the violence. I suggested that it was too early to tell whether Russian disinformation agents had played a key role in the spread of false information about the Southport attacker.
In this piece, I analyse the role of social media misinformation in the Southport riots earlier this week. I explore how online platforms circulated false information alleging the attacker was Muslim, a migrant and a refugee.
I argue that while social media helped amplify tensions, their role should not be overblown. Politicians must also take some responsibility for their role in creating a toxic discourse surrounding immigration.
Many thanks to Avery Anapol for the invitation to write this piece.
I have an article in a new publication on the 2024 UK General Election edited by Dan Jackson, Julie Firestone, Emily Harmer, Einar Thorsen, Darren Lilleker, Katy Parry and Scott Wright. This rapid response report features 101 contributions from 130 UK and international academics .
Many thanks to the editors for the invitation to participate and all their hard work in producing this comprehensive report.
My article explores the Facebook ads paid for by the parties in Northern Ireland. I analyse who spent the most, who were the most prominent politicians, and the rhetoric deployed in these ads.
Dr Paul Reilly 
